Summary
Suez relies on instrumentation from Endress+Hauser to closely monitor energy-from-waste processes at its household waste recycling centre in Billingham, UK. Controlling the dosing of additives using a raw gas analyser optimises chemical use and minimises waste, providing more upstream control for the plant. Then, post-abatement monitoring verifies that the gases are safe to be released to the atmosphere.
The benefits
390,000 tonnes
of household and commercial waste processed per year.
54 MWh
of electricity provided to the National Grid every hour.
60,000 homes
provided with power.
The results
The measurement solutions give Suez greater visibility and control across the energy-from-waste process – from optimising reagent dosing to continuously verifying emissions at the stack. With reliable, accessible data supporting both process efficiency and regulatory compliance, the systems are helping the Billingham plant operate more proactively and with greater confidence.
“It allows us to rectify faults a lot quicker than before.”
The challenge: Ensuring process optimisation and environmental compliance
At Suez’s energy-from-waste plant, household waste is fed into a furnace at temperatures strictly maintained above 850°C to ensure it burns completely and safely. The intense heat is used to generate high-pressure, superheated steam that is piped into a turbine to generate electricity for export to the power grid. To comply with stringent limits on emissions and optimise processes, Suez has to closely monitor the whole energy-from-waste process.
Dosing control
First, the acidic flue gas that results from the burning process has to be neutralised with lime and ammonia before being released into the atmosphere. The quantity of additives is closely monitored for process control and cost purposes. After treatment the neutralised gases are passed through a highly efficient bag filter to remove the particulate matter before being sent up the chimney stack. The stack emissions must be closely monitored in accordance with limits defined by the Environment Agency.
Our solution: Gas analysis and emissions monitoring
The Suez Billingham plant is split into three distinct lines. On Line 3, an MCS300P raw gas analyser is used to control dosing of the chemical reagents added for flue gas abatement. This gives the plant more reliable data and control over their dosing systems, improving efficiency and enabling proactive rather than reactive maintenance.
Meeting environmental obligations
The neutralised flue gas is then monitored via a continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) on all three lines comprising the MCS200 and Combiprobe CP100. The CEMS ensures the gas released from the final stack meets the Environment Agency’s statutory daily and half-hourly Emission Limit Values (ELVs) under the Industrial Emissions Directive.
Remote access
Using SOPAS software, Endress+Hauser engineers can access the CEMS remotely for commission¬ing, configuring and troubleshooting. “Having that dial-in aspect is really good for diagnosing faults,” says EC&I Engineer Scott Almandares. “We didn’t have that option with our old CEMS analysers, so it allows us to rectify faults a lot quicker than before.”
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