WOOD FIRED HOT WATER BOILER FORHEATING GREENHOUSES

Summary

This project deals with biomass energy utilisation at the greenhouse company. The customer produces various types of flowers, bouquet roses being the main product.

The company is using natural gas for generating the heat required for the greenhouses through two new 11 MW (each) boilers. In addition, the company has a need to install a 4,0 MW boiler. The additional boiler could be either natural gas boiler or biomass one. This boiler also will be used for greenhouse heating, and it will be a water heating boiler. The analysis of these two options presented in chapter Savings.

Investment opportunity
Company, operating the greenhouses, has opportunity and economic reason for an investment to start to utilise biomass in heat production in order to cover the needs of the greenhouses.
It could replace a considerable amount of the purchased natural gas with biomass. In addition, the prevailing trend of natural gas price in Ukraine is increasing, and even relatively rapid changes are expected in the near future, making biomass use even more competitive than at present. / Highlights
Expected annual energy production: 18800MWh
Expected annual natural gas savings: 2000 000 m3
Expected annual use of biomass: 10000 t/y

Important biomass source for the boiler house will be wood chips. Wood chips will be produced from the wood residues from parks and green zones, as well as from forests located close by. Other sources of the wood residues are woodworking enterprises and wood felling sites.

Fuel characteristics of wooden sawdust and wood chips

Parameter / Units / Wood chips / Sawdust
Solid density / t/m3 / 0,900 / 0,900
Bulk density / t/m3 / 0,380 / 0,275
Moisture content / % / 55 % / 50 %
Lower heat value on dry basis / MJ/kg / 19,0 / 19,0
Energy density, wet / MWh/t / 2,00 / 2,30
Energy density, solid, wet / MWh/m3 / 1,80 / 2,07

Project description

The whole biomass boiler system will consist of the following components:

  • the biomass handling facility, including chipper and tractor with a front-end loader;
  • the biomass receiving and feeding systems;
  • the biomass boiler, with a capacity of 4,0 MW.

The boiler house will work throughout the heating season from September till May.

Operating conditions of the new biomass boiler

Parameter / Units / Value
Boiler thermal capacity / MW / 4,0
Annual hours of operation / h/y / 4 700
Annual boiler thermal output / MWh/y / 18 800
Boiler thermal efficiency / % / 85
Required annual fuel input / MWh/y / 22 118

Savings and other benefits

The total investment costs of the new biomass boiler plant is 770000 Euros,while the cost of the natural gas boiler is 145 000 Euros (in both cases including VAT). The savings that result from the additional investment (625 000 €) for the new biomass boilers and chipping equipment, in comparison with the investment for the natural gas boilerpresented in the following table.

Savings (€) from the installation of the new biomass boiler

Year / Total savings (€)
2007
2008 / 258 626
2009 / 345 080
2010 / 400 055
2011 / 411 805
2012 / 429 284
2013 / 446 542
2014 / 452 819
2015 / 458 960

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