Italian multinational Lucart is a European leader in the production of tissue paper, air-laid paper, and machine-glazed paper. It was the sector’s first company to focus on self-production of electricity and steam with cogeneration turbines to reduce CO2 emissions at their plants.

 

Challenge

Lucart is a long-standing pioneer of energy-efficient solutions in the pulp and paper industry—and today continues searching for ways to increase operational efficiency at its production plants. To that end, they selected Baker Hughes as technology partner to improve the efficiency and carbon footprint of existing combined heat and power (CHP) plants at two of its sites in Tuscany.

Solution

We supplied two NovaLT™12 gas turbines to upgrade two CHP plants already in operation with older Baker Hughes equipment (which will remain on site as standby units). CHP installations at industrial operations can enable owners to access high-efficiency incentives, unlock savings on transmission charges, and participate in grid-balancing services. For CHP applications, the NovaLT™12 is designed to produce up to 12.5 MW of electricity and up to 24 TPH of saturated steam with no need for post-firing in the heat-recovery steam generator. This can reduce typical plant energy costs by up to €3 million per year—and eliminate approximately 7,000 tons of CO2 per year versus a conventional solution where electricity is produced by the national grid and steam is produced with a gas boiler.
The Baker Hughes family of NovaLT™ gas turbines includes 5-20 MW options for more efficient, cleaner power generation in a wide range of industrial and emerging energy applications. Fully designed and assembled in Italy, the turbines are characterized by extremely extended maintenance intervals and proven fuel flexibility which simplifies future adoption of clean fuels like hydrogen.

Benefits

The first unit started operating at Lucart’s Diecimo paper mill in December 2019, and the second unit is scheduled to start up in Porcari in 2021.

The NovaLT™12 turbines will provide secure electrical and thermal power for these two important Lucart facilities. They will significantly reduce energy costs for plant operations, and improve carbon footprint—reducing CO2 by 11% and NOx by 40%. This eliminates approximately 2,500 tons of CO2 every year, equivalent to more than 500 cars, compared to the previous technology.