In Germany, Papierfabrik Palm GmbH & Co. KG (Palm), a leading European manufacturer of newsprint and corrugated base paper made from 100 percent recovered fibre has begun commissioning part of its revamped and expanded combined heat and power (CHP) plant at its Wörth am Rhein paper mill. Once again, Austrian flue gas treatment experts Scheuch GmbH were selected to provide a state-of-the-art flue gas treatment system to ensure regulatory compliance.
One of Europe’s leading manufacturers of newsprint and corrugated base paper made from 100 percent recovered fiber, Palm operates five paper mills across Europe, with the mill in Wörth am Rhein, in southern Germany, being one of the most efficient in the world.
The PM6 paper machine, which started up in 2002, has a capacity of 650 000 tonnes per year and is the world’s largest machine for production for corrugated base paper. Since 2007, a company-owned on-site combined heat and power (CHP) plant supplies the Wörth mill with steam and electricity.
Repeat order
In 2008 Scheuch was selected to install a textile filter with additive metering to clean the flue gas for the 50 MWth CHP plant. As part of a project to modernize and extend the site, Palm decided to invest around EUR 100 million to upgrade and expand the existing CHP plant.
Amongst other things a new boiler to utilize residuals from paper manufacturing such as rejects was installed and is undergoing commissioning. In addition, a novel new generation gas turbine from Siemens that can utilize natural gas with up to 50 percent blend of hydrogen is being integrated to match peak loads and grid flexibility.
For the former installation, Scheuch was once again tasked with installing a textile filter system featuring high-efficiency sorption and a downstream selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to ensure compliance with the strictest of emissions regulations for the new 44 MWth CHP unit on the Wörth site.
Compliance with the limit values has always been the top priority within the Palm Group and for this reason, flue gas cleaning operations must be absolutely problem-free and reliable. We are pleased to see that the actual emission values being generated at full operation are well below the legal limit values, commented Dr Andreas Haas, Chief of Engineering Management, Papierfabrik Palm.
