Italian custom door and furniture maker ICM Spa is showcasing the benefits of industrial energy and resource efficiency by installing a superheated (130°C) water wood boiler and two of GE’s 125kW Clean Cycle heat-to-power organic rankine cycle (ORC) generators at its manufacturing plant in Brugnera, in the northern province of Pordenone, Italy.
The new biomass boiler system converts the factory’s wood waste into renewable energy to heat and power the factory. GE’s Clean Cycle solution — which also includes piping, heat exchangers, a cooling tower and service support — converts excess heat from the boiler generation into 200 kW of net electrical energy that is sold to the grid, capitalizing on a feed-in tariff to generate additional revenue.
GE is presenting ICM’s Clean Cycle project and other innovative energy applications at this week’s Ecomondo international sustainable materials and energy trade fair in Rimini, Italy. The Clean Cycle generator is a new kind of ORC heat-to-power system for biomass boilers and landfill gas engines. Previously, ORC has been used to generate reliable power in larger-scale industrial facilities.
“Our biomass boiler system with GE’s Clean Cycle technology greatly enhances our factory’s industrial sustainability by allowing us to sell electricity to the regional grid, creating an important new revenue source,” said Bruno Silvestrin, owner of ICM.
“This project illustrates our commitment to technological innovation within Italy’s home furnishings sector.”
“The boiler produces superheated water that is used to power the Clean Cycle generators, which then convert the heat from the boiler into 200 kW of net electrical energy. The Clean Cycle units also make it easier for ICM to amortize the cost of the boiler,” ICM’s Silvestrin added.
By recycling its wood waste to provide power and heat for the factory as well as power to the regional grid, ICM is actively supporting Italy’s national goal to increase the country’s renewable energy production to 17 percent by 2020.
Progeco s.r.l., the sales and service provider for GE’s Clean Cycle generators for biomass applications in Italy, sold and installed the two Clean Cycle heat-to-power generator units and associated equipment (piping, heat exchangers, cooling tower) at ICM’s factory in September 2012.
“Our Clean Cycle project with ICM underscores the need for smaller-scale ORC solutions for industrial facilities around the world as businesses seek to become more resource efficient and globally competitive,” said Francesco Dattilo, general manager, Southern Europe, Gas Engines for GE Power & Water.
