SUEZ WOOD WASTE TO ENERGY FACILITY SUPPLYING STEAM TO FRENCH CHEMICAL COMPLEX

SITA has officially opened a facility that will supply steam from the combustion of non-recyclable waste wood to 15 industrial companies operating at the Roussillon Chemical Platform in France, including Novapex, BlueStar, Adisseo and Solvay

The Les Roches–Roussillon Chemical Platform is one of the key stakeholders of the ‘Rhône-Alpes Chemistry Valley’ industrial hub. It is a multi-operator platform built on 150 hectares of space and largely creates basic chemistry products that supply many chemical sites in the Rhône-Alpes region.

According to SITA - a part of Suez Environnment (Paris: SEV, Brussels: SEVB) - the ROBIN waste to energy plant is the first of its kind in France. It produces steam using waste such as wood from forestry activities, reject material from the paper recycling process and previously non-recyclable woods such as treated timber.

The plant uses fluidised bed boiler technology in which different types of pre-ground biomass feed a boiler, where they come into contact with sand heated to 850°C. Air is injected to mix the biomass together to ensure homogeneous combustion. This is said to offer better combustion and a better steam production yield.

SITA claimed that the use of this solution enables 85% of the energy contained in the fuels to be used and recovered as steam in a cleaner, more cost-effective manner.

The company added that the solution, which allows the platform’s energy resources to be diversified, stabilises energy costs and reduces the Roussillon Chemical Platform’s annual CO2 emissions by 60,000 tonnes, marks a concrete step in the energy transition.

ROBIN produces high-pressure steam at a rate of 25 tonnes per hour, distributed entirely to the industrial companies operating at the platform through OSIRIS GIE, and covers 15% of their energy needs which are equivalent to those of a city of 150,000 people.

The OSIRIS GIE manages pooled services and infrastructure at the platform. Its purpose is to offer utilities and reliable, cost-effective industrial services to the companies on partnership terms.

Christophe Cros, deputy chief executive officer of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT in charge of Waste Europe, commented: “This contract illustrates our desire to put the circular economy at the heart of our strategy: by transforming waste into new resources, we play a significant role in the energy transition of our industrial customers.”

“The steam produced by ROBIN is a local and renewable green energy source which secures our partners’ essential resources of the future,” he added.