In Finland, biorefinery developer NordFuel Oy has announced that it will begin site preparations for its Haapavesi biorefinery investment at the end of May 2022 by launching the demolition of existing equipment and buildings that will not be used for the biorefinery.
NordFuel’s biorefinery will be located in the Haapavesi condensing power plant area and will utilize existing buildings and industrial infrastructure, such as the electricity grid connection.
The demolition work will make room for the biorefinery’s new energy center and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.
Ninety percent of the buildings can be used. The new energy center will be built mainly inside the existing walls, and the current raw material handling and supply system will be utilized for the needs of the biorefinery. The cost savings are pretty significant, and the area’s landmark, the high chimney, will remain in place, said Matti Asikainen, CEO of NordFuel.
The peat-fired boiler and turbine plant will be dismantled from the existing power plant. The demolition contractor is Lotus Demolition Oy, which has experience in similar industrial demolition work.
Per waste legislation, as much of the demolition waste as possible will be recycled for recovery. As a result, over 99 percent of the material from the site will be recycled.
At Lotus, we always emphasize environmental responsibility in demolition projects. We take care of sorting the materials during demolition and deliver the materials properly for reuse. During the project, we measure the carbon footprint of the demolition in real time. Then, we share the collected information with the customer who can use it, for example, in their environmental reporting, said Kimmo Palomäki, CEO of Lotus Demolition.
The Eskolanniemi industrial zone in Haapavesi has a valid chemical industry permit, and once the site preparation works are completed, the site will be ready for construction of the biorefinery.
Once fully operational, the biorefinery will produce 65,000 tonnes of advanced bioethanol, and 150 GWh of biogas for traffic use each year.
In addition to advanced biofuels, the biorefinery produces 60,000 tonnes of pure liquefied biogenic carbon dioxide (bioLCO2) and 70,000 tonnes of lignin pellets.
The biorefinery’s products will replace fossil fuels and are estimated to reduce fossil CO2 emissions, mainly from transportation, by about 225,000 tonnes annually.
