Holcim Group-owned LEC has selected Italian firm Turboden for the installation of a waste heat recovery system at its cement plant in Fujairah, UAE.
Turboden, a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group company, together with ENGIE Solutions GCC, was selected by LEC for the production and installation of the 10MWe WHR Organic Rankine Cycle system at the plant.
Based on a closed-loop thermodynamic cycle, the Organic Rankine Cycle system will help LEC avoid 29 kilotonnes per year of CO2 emissions from the grid – representing a reduction of 28% in power-related emissions.
Turboden says that, traditionally, the cement industry involves heating raw materials to 1,500 degrees Celsius – the temperature of molten lava – to make clinker, the base of cement. Fossil fuels often provide the energy, giving the cement industry a bad reputation in sustainability circles. The waste heat recovery system based on the ORC technology, will capture lowtemperature waste heat, and operates without water.
Paolo Bertuzzi, Turboden CEO, stated: “We are proud that the Holcim Group, already our customer with three other waste heat recovery plants, has again chosen Turboden for this first project in the United Arab Emirates. At COP 28, this year in the UAE, we will have the opportunity to present this energy-saving and CO2 reduction project to raise awareness of energy-intensive industries.”
Ian Harfield, MD, ENGIE Solutions GCC, said: “Industrial decarbonization is critical if the region is to meet its CO2 emissions reduction targets. With our partners, we can again demonstrate how large industrial sectors like cement manufacturing, can successfully transition to more energy-efficient systems without impacting production. As more such use cases emerge, we can establish an effective path to net-zero in the region.”
The plant is scheduled to start up by the end of 2023
Turboden specialises in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems, suitable for distributed generation, that generate electric and thermal power exploiting multiple sources, such as renewables (biomass and geothermal energy), traditional fuels, and waste heat from industrial processes, waste incinerators, engines, or gas turbines.
