Japanese general heavy equipment manufacturer IHI Corp. and Voith Paper, Germany, have founded Voith IHI EcoSolutions GmbH & Co. The joint venture, in which Voith and IHI each hold a 50% interest, is being technically managed by Voith Paper and will be headquartered in Heidenheim, Germany.
The joint venture provides complete thermal fluidized bed power plants especially for the paper industry. They facilitate an effective and environmentally friendly combustion of solid waste materials, which also generates electrical energy and steam, Voith notes.
Stationary and circulating fluidized bed technologies are part of the joint venture. The big advantage of these combustion technologies, according to Voith, is that only small amounts of emissions are generated by the process of energy production. Fluidized bed power plants thus facilitate adherence to the strictest guidelines for environmental protection. Also, Voith adds, this type of power plant is extremely efficient in operation, while the waste materials that come about in paper production can be optimally utilized for thermal power generation.
The new joint venture further expands Voith Paper's expertise in combustion technologies and offers its customers value-enhancing recycling systems with the use of fluidized bed technology. Voith already has an offer in this market with its CTC (controlled thermal conversion) technology. The use of CTC means that the paper sludge that accumulates in the preparation of recovered paper can be converted into reactive minerals. In addition, Voith IHI EcoSolutions now supports paper producers with completely integrated combustion solutions that are tested and further developed in IHI's own development center.
TAPPI
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