The strategic objectives of COMET are: developing new expertise by initiating and supporting long-term research co-operations between science and industry in top-level research, and extablishing and securing the technological leadership of companies. By advancing and bundling exting strengths and by integrating international research expertise Austria is to be strengthened as a research location for the long term.

The competence center BEST - Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH is funded by BMK, BMAW and the federal states Vienna, Lower Austria und Styria within the scope of COMET - Competence Centers for Excellent Technologies. The program COMET is managed by the FFG. 

As a link between academic research and industrial technology development, our vision is to develop and demonstrate sustainable and circular biorefinery processes and technologies for producing green gases, green liquid fuels, and green products, all of which will support the transition to a climate-neutral, zero-fossil-carbon economy. Consequently, the resource basis will be extended to include organic residues, wastes, and carbon dioxide. Conversion technologies will be enhanced or redesigned to ensure their efficient and economical operation, and to allow the value cycles based on new feedstocks to be integrated into the system. By using our excellent experimental facilities, ranging from lab to pilot and demonstration scale plants, our goal is to conduct applied research of the highest scientific quality.

We apply advanced digital methods for technology development, and for the basic automation, optimization, and monitoring of the operation of individual technologies and entire plants. With the help of holistic and technology-neutral planning tools, we ensure that biorefineries and energy supply technologies are optimally integrated into a sustainable, renewable energy system.

Intelligent digitalization solutions support the efficient operation of waste incineration plants and reduce pollutant emissions.

The incineration of household waste is a fundamental part of Austria's waste management system. Every year, more than 700,000 tons of waste are incinerated in Vienna alone, generating environmentally friendly heat and electricity for hundreds of thousands of households. Efficient and clean waste incineration is a major challenge from a process engineering point of view. The inhomogeneous composition of the waste to be incinerated is largely responsible for this. This inhomogeneity manifests itself in varying fuel properties, resulting in strong fluctuations in calorific value as well as potential pollutant emissions, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and chlorine compounds (e.g. HCl). This can result in the need to add a higher-grade fuel, such as heating oil, or create unwanted pollutant emission peaks.

In this project, methods were developed to determine the properties of the delivered waste by using measured values of the combustion process and the delivery system. Based on this, an optimal premixing of the remaining, not yet incinerated waste is to be carried out. Due to this systematic premixing of the waste, a more homogeneous composition, a more constant calorific value and thus a more stable combustion process can be achieved. Furthermore, possible pollutant emission peaks can be smoothed.

Methodological approach

The basic functionality of the developed methods can be divided into two main parts.

First, a so-called fuel estimator calculates relevant waste properties, such as calorific value, water content or pollutant emission tendency, from measurements of the combustion process and assigns them to crane loads of supplied waste. The following graphic shows an example of this for the calorific value. In the second step, a 3D model of the bunker, in which the delivered waste is temporarily stored, is used to trace the origin of the waste. In the case of problematic waste, the fraction still remaining in the bunker can then be optimally premixed.

Outlook

The developed methods (fuel estimator & bunker model) provide the basis for an optimal automated mixing of the different waste fractions. These cost-effective digitalization methods from the field of "Industry 4.0" allow for increasing the efficiency of waste incineration plants without requiring any mechanical modification of the plant. By homogenization of the waste, the addition of higher-grade fuels, such as heating oil, can be reduced and pollution emission peaks avoided.

Partner

• Wien Energie GmbH, Austria

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