Concern for a clean environment and, in particular, the plans to halt the rise of carbon dioxide in the air have led to the massive construction of photovoltaic and wind farms over the last decade, which convert the energy of the sun and wind into electricity. At the same time, coal-fired power plants have begun to shut down. The energy crisis, which has cut off Europe’s access to cheap natural gas, has significantly shaken up the electricity generation situation. However, it has not changed the orientation of the energy sector towards low-carbon technologies, where solar power plants and wind farms prevail.

Because solar and wind power are not always available exactly when users need them, the massive build-up of solar power plants and wind farms, together with the shutdown of fossil fuel power plants, has brought with it a series of problems related to the operation of electricity grids. This is why this decade has seen developments in the energy sector focused on electricity storage technologies, i.e. batteries for short-term use and hydrogen technologies for seasonal electricity storage. At the same time, plans for this decade foresee the most efficient use of sustainable fuels, such as untreated or treated wood waste, sewage sludge and residual industrial and municipal waste that cannot be otherwise recovered. The fact is that thermal treatment of sustainable fuels allows for electricity and heat to be produced at the time when users want it, and is significantly less damaging to the environment than landfilling.

At GP sistemi, we have attempted to find answers to the above challenges. That is why we offer project development in the thermal treatment of sustainable fuels, build solar photovoltaic power plants and develop projects to produce green hydrogen and green oxygen from surplus electricity.

In the field of thermal treatment of sustainable fuels, we also offer the implementation of combined heat and power (CHP) plants based on the utilization of bubbling fluidized bed technology. The latter enables optimal combustion of both waste biomass, which includes not only wood but also some crop residues, animal excrements from poultry farms, as well as sustainable fuels, such as sewage sludge, paper sludge and residual industrial and municipal waste that cannot be otherwise recovered.

Awards

  • Finalist of the 2014 Werner von Siemens Energy Efficiency Award

     

  • Energy winner of the online voting for the best renewable energy project at the Energy Days 2015 in Portorož/Portorose.

     

  • Gold Innovation Award, bestowed by the Savinjsko-Saleška Chamber of Commerce and Industry in June 2015.

Concern for a clean environment and, in particular, the plans to halt the rise of carbon dioxide in the air have led to the massive construction of photovoltaic and wind farms over the last decade, which convert the energy of the sun and wind into electricity. At the same time, coal-fired power plants have begun to shut down. The energy crisis, which has cut off Europe’s access to cheap natural gas, has significantly shaken up the electricity generation situation. However, it has not changed the orientation of the energy sector towards low-carbon technologies, where solar power plants and wind farms prevail.

Because solar and wind power are not always available exactly when users need them, the massive build-up of solar power plants and wind farms, together with the shutdown of fossil fuel power plants, has brought with it a series of problems related to the operation of electricity grids. This is why this decade has seen developments in the energy sector focused on electricity storage technologies, i.e. batteries for short-term use and hydrogen technologies for seasonal electricity storage. At the same time, plans for this decade foresee the most efficient use of sustainable fuels, such as untreated or treated wood waste, sewage sludge and residual industrial and municipal waste that cannot be otherwise recovered. The fact is that thermal treatment of sustainable fuels allows for electricity and heat to be produced at the time when users want it, and is significantly less damaging to the environment than landfilling.

At GP sistemi, we have attempted to find answers to the above challenges. That is why we offer project development in the thermal treatment of sustainable fuels, build solar photovoltaic power plants and develop projects to produce green hydrogen and green oxygen from surplus electricity.

In the field of thermal treatment of sustainable fuels, we also offer the implementation of combined heat and power (CHP) plants based on the utilization of bubbling fluidized bed technology. The latter enables optimal combustion of both waste biomass, which includes not only wood but also some crop residues, animal excrements from poultry farms, as well as sustainable fuels, such as sewage sludge, paper sludge and residual industrial and municipal waste that cannot be otherwise recovered.

Awards

  • Finalist of the 2014 Werner von Siemens Energy Efficiency Award

     

  • Energy winner of the online voting for the best renewable energy project at the Energy Days 2015 in Portorož/Portorose.

     

  • Gold Innovation Award, bestowed by the Savinjsko-Saleška Chamber of Commerce and Industry in June 2015.

Bubbling fluidized bed combustion technology

Cogeneration (CHP) plant

At the heart of the facilities, there is a combustion chamber with a built-in bubbling fluidized bed. This is a kind of whirlpool, only with hot sand being used instead of water. Hot air is blown in from the underside, causing the sand grains to move randomly and rapidly, similar to what you might see in a sandstorm. When the fuel is slowly sprayed into the heated bubbling fluidized bed, it immediately dries out and starts to burn, irrespective of the level of water content.

The under-pressure caused by the fan installed in front of the stack causes the half-burned fuel to rise, passing through an area above bubbling fluidized bed, which has a number of inlets for a mixture of fresh air with a relatively high oxygen content and recirculated flue gases that contain little oxygen. By precisely regulating the quantities of both types of gas, the control system of the plant precisely controls the combustion temperature, thus achieving very high boiler efficiency, very low emissions of toxic substances in flue gases and a very low residual carbon content in the ash.

From the combustion chamber, the flue gases pass through a steam boiler, where they give up heat to water vapour, before entering the stack they pass through a system of dry and, in some cases, wet flue gas cleaning. This removes toxic substances and dust particles from flue gases. The overheated water vapour, which has absorbed heat from flue gases, passes on to a steam turbine, which generates electricity by means of an electric generator, and then to the heat exchanger, where it transfers the heat to another media and is liquefied.

Bubbling fluidized bed combustion technology

Cogeneration (CHP) plant

At the heart of the facilities, there is a combustion chamber with a built-in bubbling fluidized bed. This is a kind of whirlpool, only with hot sand being used instead of water. Hot air is blown in from the underside, causing the sand grains to move randomly and rapidly, similar to what you might see in a sandstorm. When the fuel is slowly sprayed into the heated bubbling fluidized bed, it immediately dries out and starts to burn, irrespective of the level of water content.

The under-pressure caused by the fan installed in front of the stack causes the half-burned fuel to rise, passing through an area above bubbling fluidized bed, which has a number of inlets for a mixture of fresh air with a relatively high oxygen content and recirculated flue gases that contain little oxygen. By precisely regulating the quantities of both types of gas, the control system of the plant precisely controls the combustion temperature, thus achieving very high boiler efficiency, very low emissions of toxic substances in flue gases and a very low residual carbon content in the ash.

From the combustion chamber, the flue gases pass through a steam boiler, where they give up heat to water vapour, before entering the stack they pass through a system of dry and, in some cases, wet flue gas cleaning. This removes toxic substances and dust particles from flue gases. The overheated water vapour, which has absorbed heat from flue gases, passes on to a steam turbine, which generates electricity by means of an electric generator, and then to the heat exchanger, where it transfers the heat to another media and is liquefied.

The company GP sistemi has built the following plants for cogeneration of electricity and heat from sustainable fuels: Melamin Kočevje, Slovenia, 2014; Energy 9, Croatia, 2018; paper mill in Central Slovenia, 2020; Bertemes, Belgium, 2022. A plant for thermal treatment of hazardous waste is currently under construction for the company Elixir, Serbia.

The company GP sistemi has built the following plants for cogeneration of electricity and heat from sustainable fuels: Melamin Kočevje, Slovenia, 2014; Energy 9, Croatia, 2018; paper mill in Central Slovenia, 2020; Bertemes, Belgium, 2022. A plant for thermal treatment of hazardous waste is currently under construction for the company Elixir, Serbia.