 |
|
The first of Torrevaldaliga Nord’s three absorber towers under construction: the core of the tower (the rectangular structure on the left) is built entirely out of Outokumpu’s super-austenitic 1.4565 plate. Courtesy of MHI |
July 30, 2008 marked a major advance in Italy’s power market. The country’s power utility Enel inaugurated the first of three units at the refurbished Torrevaldaliga Nord power plant in Civitavecchia, north of Rome. Converted from oil to coal-fired power, the plant will help reduce Italy’s heavy dependence on oil in its energy mix, which has put Italian consumers’ energy bills 30% higher than the European average.
Torrevaldaliga Nord points to the future of coal-fired power generation. Employing the most advanced technologies available, the plant will be the most efficient in its class and one of the cleanest worldwide. Sulfur dioxide and particulate emissions are both down by 88% and nitrogen oxide emissions by 61% from the previous oil-fired operations. Overall, emissions will be 50% below the limits set down by the EU legislation.
Sulfur dioxide is a severe pollutant when released into the atmosphere, guilty of acid rain. At refurbished Torrevaldaliga Nord, sulfur dioxide is removed from the coal combustion flue gas in absorber towers (“desox” towers), where this acid is scrubbed off with calcium carbonate acting as a neutralizing agent.
The process environment in absorber towers is extremely harsh because of high acidity and the presence of chlorides. To counter these conditions at Torrevaldaliga Nord, Enel chose Outokumpu’s super-austenitic 1.4565, a grade specifically developed for such working conditions. The core of the absorber towers is built entirely out of 1.4565 plate from Outokumpu.
Enel’s choice for Outokumpu was based on their positive experience of the grade used earlier in a similar application at two Enel plants in Italy, La Specia (2001) and Brindisi (2002).
Torrevaldaliga Nord’s remaining two units are under construction with similar absorber towers, built out of the same Outokumpu material. The second unit is scheduled for completion in 6 months and the third in 10 months after the first. At the same time, a similar but smaller facility is under construction by Enel in Fusine near Venice, again employing the same material.
Enel’s plans for clean coal technology do not end there. The company is working towards zero-emission power generation from coal, developing methods for the capture and safe containment of carbon dioxide.
Outokumpu will continue to help effect tangible improvement in the global environment with products that fight the toughest industrial conditions, imperative for making this improvement possible.
 |
|
Torrevaldaliga Nord in Civitavecchia. Courtesy of MHI |
Project
Absorber (“desox”) towers for the removal of sulfur dioxide from combustion flue gas at the three units of the Torrevaldaliga Nord (Civitavecchia) coal-fired power plant in Italy, with capacity of 1980 MW, corresponding to 4% of the country’s power need
Owner
Enel SpA, Italy’s largest power company and Europe’s second listed utility by installed capacity
Engineering
Desox absorber: DCFS technology for sulfur removal by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry (MHI)
Outokumpu supply
Total of 600 tons of super-austenitic 1.4565 (S34565) hot rolled (quarto) plate for three absorber towers
Outokumpu has supplied an additional 200 tons of 1.4565 for a similar facility of Enel in Fusine, Italy
Contact:
Enrico Casiraghi
Outokumpu SpA, Solbiate Olona, Italy,
Phone +39 0331 319411
Email enrico.casiraghi(at)outokumpu.com
Rudolf Meuskens
Energy Segment, Outokumpu Group Sales & Marketing
Phone +49 (0) 173 2592 823
Email rudolf.meuskens(at)outokumpu.com