IWB Bahnhof

Among other services, IWB (Industrielle Werke Basel) supplies energy to the greater region of Basel, Switzerland’s third-largest city.

The mission

IWB Bahnhof formerly relied on fossil gas to fuel its district heating network. The plant in Basel is committed to achieving peak performance with a carbon-neutral fuel. After evaluating various options, including biogas and electricity, wood powder emerged as the most suitable choice. Wood powder closely mimics the functional properties of fossil gas while offering substantial environmental advantages and rapid load regulation. The fuel supply system utilises a hot water network fueled by wood powder, which is derived from locally sourced wood pellets.

Client:

IWB Bahnhof

Industry:

Energy company

Solution/product:

BKtech BioFlex 2×15 MW for hot water production

Interesting facts:

Since the building in which the installation of the process plant takes place is of high cultural value, great care had to be taken during such an installation. For this reason, the hot water boilers and other equipment were first raised and then brought in through the facade windows.

BKtech tackles complex challenges through experience and commitment

Stefan Crollet

IWB Bahnhof

We get a flexible and high-performance process system for the future

Benedikt Gratwohl

IWB Bahnhof

We have a sustainability strategy that is strongly focused on achieving international, national, and local goals

Benedikt Gratwohl

IWB Bahnhof

An energy company in need of high performance

Swiss company IWB Bahnhof has fully embraced bioenergy through the use of wood pellet powder. Their long-standing plant needs to function at its best during the cold winter months. “Pellets are the way to go,” says Benedikt Gratwohl, Head of Plant Engineering.

The process

The project commissioned by IWB to BKtech involves the installation of the process plant in an old central building in the city of Basel.

BKtech installs a hot water system that includes two 15 MW hot water boilers to supply hot water to IWB’s district heating system. The hot water system consists of a fuel management solution, a milling system to convert wood pellets into wood powder, and a powder system that houses multi-fuel burners. The latter offer maximum flexibility in terms of fossil-free fuel choice, as they operate on biogas and bio-oil as well.

Locally sourced wood pellets are ground into wood powder in a mill located on the ground floor of the building. The wood powder is then transported to a silo to be dosed into burners located on hot water boilers, which are themselves located on the ground floor of IWB’s process hall.

BKtech installs a high-quality flue gas cleaning system with ceramic filters and SNCR (Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction) to meet IWB’s requirements for emissions, NOx and particulate matter. In addition, two economizers are installed for the process plant to achieve maximum efficiency. BKtech also provides control and automation systems suitable for integration into IWB’s master control system.

Wood powder is incinerated in hot water boilers, generating fossil-free energy for IWB’s district heating system, the main purpose of which will be to be tapped for peak load when needed.

Find out how wood powder can be harnessed for energy generation

I am proud that we at BKtech have the honor of being part of IWB’s journey toward fossil-free energy supply for its district heating customers. IWB has been fully committed to the project and it is an added pleasure to be able to support them with our extensive experience and through a plant running on wood powder as fuel.

Christer Rosendahl

BKtech