PRESS RELEASE
February 6, 1995
Power company goes in for flue-gas desulphurisation
Breakthrough in Poland for wet scrubber technology

For the first time ever, a wet flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) plant is to be constructed in Poland completely without any foreign subsidy. The State Power Company ZEPAK has decided to instal a large FGD installation at its Konin plant, financed in Poland entirely on a commercial basis.

For ABB Fläkt Industri AB, the Swedish company which has won the contract for this plant, this means a breakthrough into the Polish market for wet scrubber technology. Total value of the order is SEK 230 million, and the fact that it does not require any form of foreign financial support which makes it a new and very interesting stage in progress towards cleaner air.
ZEPAK is one of the leading suppliers of electricity in Poland, producing about 11% of the country's electricity.
The city of Konin lies between Warsaw and Poznan, and ZEPAK is replacing its existing brown-coal-fired power station there with two new boilers totalling 110 MW output, one of which is complete and the other under construction.

High cleaning efficiency
The new FGD plant common for two boilers, is designed to remove 95% of sulphur dioxide in stack gases. The brown coal burned in the power station has a 1% sulphur content and at full power 1.5 million m3 of stack gases will be desulphurised each hour, having a very positive effect on the environment, in other countries as well as in Poland.
The by-product from the desulphurisation process is gypsum, a material used in the production of wallboards for the building industry.

Wet scrubber technology
The wet scrubber technology manufactured by ABB is based around a conventional spray tower. This is well-established technology which provides a simple, rugged, and very reliable solution.
The limestone used as an absorbent is delivered to the power station in powder form, so that no separate grinding plant is necessary.
Demisting the flue-gases is important for reliable operation of the scrubber. The design incorporates a robust demisting system with high separation, low risk of blockage, and ease of access for maintenance.
The scrubber is built of rubber-clad concrete and will be integrated to a new smokestack which is included in the order. The technology of integrating the scrubber in a concrete stack is well established at ABB Fläkt Industri, but is less often applied in the power-generation industry.

Breakthrough
The plant is of considerable interest since it is the first of its type in Poland and will therefore serve as a reference installation.
‘We are very pleased to have made this breakthrough in Poland with our wet scrubber technology' said Anders Wiktorsson, Sales Engineer for ABB Fläkt Industri at Växjö, Sweden. ‘There is a very great need to improve the environment, and our technology certainly does this, but economic realities have meant that not much cleaning plant has been ordered. Now things are getting better, thanks to a steadily improving economy and more stringent requirements from the authorities, and this is favouring other countries, too', he concluded.


Caption:
Layout of the flue-gas desulphurisation installation sold by ABB Fläkt Industri to the Polish power generation company ZEPAK. The various parts of the installation are: A-scrubbing unit with stack; B-forced-draught fan; C-flue-gas re-heater; D-limestone silo; E-gypsum store.








For further information, please contact:
ABB Fläkt Industri AB
S-351 87 Växjö
Sweden
Anders Wiktorsson, Sales Engineer
Tel: +46 470 875 43 or
Thomas Miléus, Sales Manager
Tel: +46 470 872 60
Fax: +46 470 872 22


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