Energy from waste – opening of the CWDP in Białystok

On 9 February, the Municipal Waste Disposal Plant in Białystok was officially opened, where electricity and heat will be produced thanks to thermal waste neutralization. The installation is friendly to the environment and the residents of Białystok. It is an element of the emerging modern waste management system, which also includes the implementation of selective waste collection and the construction of a sorting plant at the landfill in Hryniewicze. The construction of the CWDP is the largest investment in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in recent years.

Białystok is one of the first cities in Poland whose authorities have seriously treated the problem of adapting waste management to European regulations. The EU policy assumes the maximum reduction of the amount of waste landfilled in the traditional way.

Lech is implementing the project on behalf of the City of Białystok

In 2010, the Municipality of Białystok entrusted the municipal company “Lech” with the implementation of the project “Integrated waste management system for the Białystok agglomeration”, the most important task of which was the construction of a municipal waste incineration installation. The company will also manage the newly built facility.

The construction was carried out by a consortium of companies: Budimex S.A. (consortium leader), Keppel Seghers Belgium N.V. and Cespa Compania Espanola de Servicios Publicos Auxiliares S.A. The contract provided for the design of the installation and then the construction, which lasted 751 days. A total of 2000 people participated in it. During the period of the most intensive assembly work, there were 457 people on the construction site every day.

On 31 December 2015, in accordance with the agreement, the facility was taken over by the “LECH” company from the contractor: – The construction of the CWDP in Białystok in record time and the fulfilment of all guaranteed parameters confirm Budimex’s responsible and effective approach to the implementation of investments in the energy sector –Says Piotr Świecki, Director of Power and Industrial Construction at Budimex. – Thanks to this project, we have expanded our competences. Our long-term goal is the strong position of Budimex as an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) company in the broadly understood energy sector.

Co-financing of the project from the European Union

The total cost of the project “Integrated waste management system for the Białystok agglomeration” is PLN 393 million net, of which the construction of the CWDP in Białystok – PLN 333 million. For the implementation of the entire project, the “Lech” company obtained PLN 210 million from the European Cohesion Fund, under Measure 2.1 Comprehensive projects in the field of municipal waste management with particular emphasis on hazardous waste of the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment. PLN 164 million comes from a grant from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

On 31 December 2015, in accordance with the agreement, the facility was taken over by the “LECH” company from the contractor: – The construction of the CWDP in Białystok in record time and the fulfilment of all guaranteed parameters confirm Budimex’s responsible and effective approach to the implementation of investments in the energy sector –Says Piotr Świecki, Director of Power and Industrial Construction at Budimex. – Thanks to this project, we have expanded our competences. Our long-term goal is the strong position of Budimex as an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) company in the broadly understood energy sector.

Co-financing of the project from the European Union

The total cost of the project “Integrated waste management system for the Białystok agglomeration” is PLN 393 million net, of which the construction of the CWDP in Białystok – PLN 333 million. For the implementation of the entire project, the “Lech” company obtained PLN 210 million from the European Cohesion Fund, as part of Measure 2.1 Comprehensive projects in the field of municipal waste management with particular emphasis on hazardous waste of the Operational Programme Infrastructure
and Environment. PLN 164 million comes from a grant from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

Electricity and heat from waste

The CWDP is able to process 15.5 tons of waste per hour, i.e. up to 372 tons per day. Up to 120 thousand of them can be thermally neutralized for a year. tons of municipal waste.

Thanks to the technology used, it will be possible to produce approx. 38 thousand MWh of electricity and approx. 360 thousand GJ of heat energy that will go to the municipal heating network and will be used for own needs. This amount of electricity can power about 16 thousand. households, and heat energy in winter to heat about 875 single-family houses.

The CWDP is to receive mixed municipal waste from Białystok and nine neighbouring municipalities. It is also assumed that residues from the waste sorting process will be accepted, the calorific value of which is above 6 MJ/kg and, in accordance with the regulation of the Minister of Economy, they cannot be landfilled. The first transports of waste arrived at the facility at the end of September, when the contractor began the so-called “Waste Transport”. hot start-up of the installation.

Environmental protection at the highest level

– Environmental protection is a priority in the design and operation of the CWDP in Białystok. The facility is equipped with a flue gas treatment installation (FGD) that captures and neutralizes pollutants and toxic compounds – says Michał Stefanowicz, President of the Management Board of PUHP “LECH” in Białystok, which is the investor and manager of CWDP – The installation cleans flue gases from nitrogen oxides (NOx), acid pollutants, heavy metals, dioxins and fiurates, and dust. As a result, exhaust gas emissions are at a minimum level, far from the permissible values set out in the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment on emission standards from installations.

The exhaust fumes are constantly monitored by Lech’s services and environmental protection inspectorates. The CWDP in Białystok also uses state-of-the-art solutions that prevent unpleasant odours from the waste unloading hall from escaping to the outside – thanks to the vacuum generated, they are sucked inside the building. Therefore, they are not burdensome to the environment.

– The construction of the CWDP and the creation of a modern waste management system is a benefit not only for the current residents of Białystok and the Białystok agglomeration, but also care for future generations who will be able to enjoy a good condition of the environment – adds Michał Stefanowicz, President of the Management Board of PUHP “LECH”.

The first incineration plants in Poland

The CWDP in Białystok is one of the first to be put into operation in Poland and was the first in the country to receive an occupancy license. Similar installations were launched in Bydgoszcz and Konin. This year, they are to be ready in Poznań, Kraków and Szczecin. In Western Europe, there are approx. 400 waste incineration plants.

Municipal Waste Disposal Plant in numbers

• 120 thousand tons – this is how much municipal waste can be burned annually by the CWDP in Białystok
• 360 thousand GJ – heat can be produced annually by the CWDP
• 38 thousand MWh – electricity can be produced annually by the CWDP
• 3.3 hectares – area of the area occupied by the plant
• 43 meters – the height of the building in which the boiler is located
• 50 meters – chimney height
• 37 meters – boiler height

Modern pro-ecological solutions

• WATER RECOVERY – all rainwater from the CWDP area (roofs, roads, squares) is recovered
  and used for the technological process – water from the municipal network is used
  at a minimum level – mainly for social needs.
• HEAT RECOVERY – hot water for social purposes is heated thanks to heat recovery from air compressors operating in the facility’s installation.
• DETECTION OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE – a radioactivity detector is installed at the entrance to the CWDP, so there is no danger that radioactive materials will end up in the installation.
• CARS LEAVE CLEAN – waste transport vehicles leave the CWDP area cleaner than they entered – before leaving, they pass a washer that cleans the chassis
  and wheels.
• CLEAN EXHAUST GASES – the facility is equipped with a flue gas treatment installation (FGD), which captures and neutralizes pollutants and toxic compounds. As a result, the emission values are significantly lower than the permissible values, which is ensured by a system of constant monitoring of exhaust gases.

The way of waste to be transformed into CWDP

1. Cars with waste are subject to registration and weighing at the entrance gates to the CWDP.
2. In the hall inside the building, where cars enter, the waste is unloaded and sent to the bunker. Thanks to the negative pressure in the hall, unpleasant odours do not escape outside the building.
3. Waste from the bunker is fed by an overhead crane into the boiler hopper.
4. Through the charging shaft and the dispenser, the waste goes to the boiler grate, where it is burned at a temperature of approx. 1000 degrees C.
5. Combustion flue gases are directed to the flue gas treatment system:

– after cleaning, the fumes go into the chimney

– Exhaust emission levels are monitored at all times – their level is minimal – far from the permissible values set by the regulations.