Mascioni S.p.A. (Cuvio-VA), an important Italian yarn-dyeing factory, appointed W.T.E. to design and engineer the way to substitute coal for PKS (Palm Kernel Shell) and dried sewage sludge in its 50 MWth boiler. The boiler had to deliver superheated steam (455 °C e 64 bar) to a co-generative thermal cycle, including a new full condensing turbine. A full electric configuration was preferred, although also a steam bleeding was considered, in order to support, if any, the industrial process.

A yearly biomass consumption of 112000 t (8000 h/y) has been foreseen.

In the ambit of the job W.T.E. has designed handling and feeding systems of new fuels, verified the combustion chamber shape and residence time, explored all the combustion auxiliaries suitability and delivered a project of a new gas cleaning system.

The new power plant will be designed to operate independently from the main production process, therefore the installation of three auxiliary boilers (shell boilers) fed by natural gas was foreseen, in order to satisfy the needing of steam from the facility, both for integration and emergency. These equipment will replace two old existing boilers.