Chlor-alkali and PVC company Vynova Group (Tessenderlo, Belgium) has inaugurated a state-of-the-art hydrogen-fired steam boiler system at its site in Tessenderlo, Belgium. By the end of this year, the company will install a second, identical steam boiler. Thanks to both boilers, Vynova will reduce the CO2 emissions of its Tessenderlo production site by 10,000 tons per year. The project represents a total investment of more than 8 million euros.
In Tessenderlo, Vynova produces various base chemicals that are used for instance in the construction industry, the medical world, the food industry and for water purification. As part of that production process, hydrogen is obtained as a by-product. That hydrogen will serve as fuel for the two new steam boilers. Vynova will use the produced steam in its processes, for instance to further purify its products.
“We have recently expanded our production capacity for various products, which means we are also generating more hydrogen as a by-product. We already use a large part of that hydrogen for various applications in our processes. Thanks to the new boilers, we will also be able to make maximum use of all the additional hydrogen we generate,” says Dimitri Wouters, Site Manager of Vynova Belgium.
Each steam boiler will have a burner capacity of more than 20 MW and will be able to produce 30 tonnes of steam per hour. In total, the boilers will be able to generate about two-thirds of the steam consumed by the Tessenderlo site. Previously, steam boilers running on natural gas were used.
As the combustion of hydrogen does not generate any greenhouse gases, this investment further reduces Vynova’s carbon footprint by about 10,000 tonnes per year. That corresponds to the CO2 emissions of 2,000 households who cook and heat their homes with natural gas.
The hydrogen-fired boilers are part of a major investment programme in new technologies to boost the sustainability performance and efficiency of Vynova’s plants. Since 2016, the Vynova Group has already invested more than 200 million euros at its Tessenderlo site as part of that programme.
“The chemical industry is a sector in full transition towards a more sustainable and circular business model. This investment in innovative hydrogen-based technology highlights our firm commitment to be an industry leader in that sustainability journey, both through continued targeted investments in state-of-the-art production units as well as by enhancing our product offering of circular, renewable and low-carbon products,” concludes Vynova President Christophe André.
By Mary Page Bailey
Source: chemengonline.com
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