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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - VULKANO (Novel integrated refurbishment solution as a key path towards creating eco-efficient and competitive furnaces)

Teaser

Summary

Currently, intensive industries are continuously facing new challenges in order to increase the efficiency, reliability and flexibility of their processes. In particular, due to being one of the most energy intensive processes, industrial furnaces have been the focus of multiple researches in order to address radical improvements in the competitiveness and energy, environmental and cost performance at system level. For that purpose, the development of improved designs based on new materials, alternative feedstocks, equipment and the integration of permanent monitoring and control systems into new and existing furnaces seem to be essential instrument to meet those demands.

In that sense, the overall objective of VULKANO project is to design, implement and validate an advanced retrofitting integrated solution to increase the energy and environmental efficiency in existing preheating and melting industrial furnaces currently fed with natural gas; through implementing combined new solutions based on high-temperature phase change materials (PCMs) for energy recovery systems, new refractories, optimized co-firing strategies and burners, advanced monitoring and control systems and a realistic and powerful tool able to optimize the integration of the solution with upstream and downstream processes, following a life cycle and cost thinking, along the value chain. Therefore, VULKANO project will contribute not only to update the mainly old-aged European furnaces but also to create a path to follow in order to ensure a successful design in case of new furnaces and replicable sectors.

In conclusion, VULKANO project aims to increase the overall energy efficiency in the intensive industry, to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and the pollutant emissions released, to reduce also CAPEX and OPEX cost, to develop a comprehensive methodology taking into account the life cycle thinking and assure a successful exploitation strategy for the VULKANO solution able to enhance also the promotion of eco-innovative solutions and improve the employability in sustainable markets.

Work performed

During the first 30 months and after having set some of the main basis for the development of the retrofitting solution (alignment of the various expertise involved in the consortium, collection of all the technical data from the demo sites, definition of the final design of the retrofitting solution and the holistic in-house tool design and development and the starting-up of the demonstrators), the real implementation in steel and ceramic sector has started. In order to develop this final design, VULKANO consortium worked in parallel on the different technology solutions:

- Phase Change materials (PCM) at high temperature to recover waste thermal energy. The suitable PCM has been developed. In this sense, the set of operating conditions and equipment are established. The basic engineering of the system has been finished.
- New refractories. Prior to complete the refractory production, the main characteristics for withstanding the operating conditions of the industrial sectors were identified, defined the compositions of innovative refractory solutions able to improve their performances and the possibility of re-use industrial by-products for the production of innovative refractories evaluated and identified.
- Co-firing burners for gas substitution. The final version of the co-firing process scheme was achieved, the complete list of burner equipment was defined and prepared to be purchased. This process included the feasibility of the natural gas substitution by the different syngas sources; development and validation of the combustion model by CFD simulations; analysis of the co-firing in the existing burners and potential burnersÂ´ adaptation related to high thermal share of syngas fuels in the combustion mixture.
- Monitoring and Control System (M&CS). Prior to develop the suitable software modules to satisfy the specifications given (developed in an advanced stage), the user requirements for future M&CS were developed, the functional design specifications and the proper additional instrumentation needed were defined and the applicability of metaheuristic-algorithms as optimization technique analysed.
- Holistic In-House Predictive Tool. Being in the last stage of the development of the individual toolâ€™s algorithm and the interface design, the following items in the design of such tool have been addressed and integrated: mass and energy balances for the baseline of each sector; modelling of the technology solutions by mathematical equations; selection of key parameters for these solutions and the definition of the most suitable LCA/LCC/TA methodology among others.

A final market analysis is ongoing, after analyzing the customersâ€™ needs and expectations regarding the product for ceramic, steel and aluminum sectors. Besides, a complete set of tools and materials to promote the project among the identified stakeholders within the corresponding sectors is available.

Final results

VULKANO project aims to demonstrate an advanced and integrated retrofitting solution based on the combination of different strategies to increase the energy and environmental efficiency of industrial furnaces (melting and preheating furnaces) and their upstream and downstream processes. The on-site demonstration will be carried out in 2 intensive energy consumer sectors (steel and ceramic industry) and also the project demonstrate the replication in other sectors through a virtual demonstrator including melting and preheating furnaces (aluminum sector). The use of advanced energy recovery system for better upstream and downstream integration, improved refractory materials, co-firing, advanced monitoring and control system and a predictive tool covering a life cycle perspective to manage the existing industrial furnaces are essential strategies to enhance energy conservation, efficiency, productivity and reduced pollutant emissions that are included in the VULKANO integrated solution.

VULKANO project aims to contribute to the 5 levels of expected impacts leaded by SPIRE04: (i) Reduce the energy consumption by at least 15%, (ii) Reduce the operating costs by at least 15%, (iii) Reduce NOx, SOx and CO emission by at least 25%, (iv) Reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs of the furnaces by at least 15% and (v) Clear business cases for the deployment of the solutions in industry.

Specifically, the direct impact expected by VULKANO project can be estimated into two different timelines (end and beyond the project). The expected results for the demo cases can be summarized as: (i) at least 7970 MWh of NG saved, 226kâ‚¬ saved in VULKANO demo sites (ceramic and steel) and 1953 tons CO2eq reduced considering around 5600 potential users and 130TWh NG/year consumer in a 1 year frame at the end of the project; (ii) at least 9TWh of NG saved, 250Mâ‚¬/year saved by end users and 2.2 millions of tons CO2eq/year reduced considering that VULKANO solution will be implemented in 15% of the potential user 20 years beyond the project.

As indirect impacts, VULKANO project aims to enhance the promotion of a new eco-innovative integrated solution in global markets making easier the replicability process, increasing the commitment with future needs and trends, contributing to Best Available Techniques (BAT) for Energy and Environmental Efficiency, and decreasing the external dependence on fuels together with improving the employability.