COGENERATION AS AN INTEGRATED ENERGY CHOICE IN THE BRICK MANUFACTURING PROCESS: THE WIENERBERGER CASE

Cogeneration allows for costs to be minimized and CO₂  emissions to be reduced, without compromising production of large amounts of energy.

COMPANY

The first in Europe and the second in the United States for producing fair-faced bricks and thermal clay blocks, the Wienerberger Group is a sector leader in Italy, with its 900 ton produced.

REQUIREMENT

The Bubano Wienerberger plant, near Imola, already featured a 1 MWe gas-turbine cogeneration system, which, however, had become technologically obsolete. The new system required electrical energy for production plants and thermal energy for brick drying.

SOLUTION

Weinerberger’s engineers have expressly requested a system capable of yielding about 2,500 KWe of energy. In particular, the drying application requires the use of hot fumes. AB specialists designed a system capable of doing much more than a gas turbine: it uses the hot water produced by the endothermic engine via installation of air/water batteries. Wienerberger has experienced the advantages of having an outdoor container, rather than one in the plant.