The biomass heat network of the University of Valladolid is underway

The Heat Network built by Rebi is a thermal energy distribution system, fed with forest biomass, that runs through urban roads, and that currently provides domestic hot water and heating to 22 buildings of the University of Valladolid and 4 of the Junta of Castilla y León.

The rector of the University of Valladolid, Daniel Miguel San José, and the Minister of Development and Environment of the Government of Castilla y León, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones y Fernández, inaugurated this Tuesday, November 3, the Urban Heat Network with UVa forest biomass.

The inauguration was part of a technical conference that was held at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Valladolid throughout the morning and under the title 'Current situation of heat networks powered by biomass'. The conference session was opened by the Vice-Rector for Heritage and Infrastructure of the University of Valladolid, Luis Manuel Navas Gracia. Among others, SOMACYL, AVEBIOM, IDEA and EREN participated in this Conference, presenting their point of view about this type of Networks; Specifically and due to its characteristics, the UVa heat network stands out among the most important in the country.

The guided tour of the Biomass Heat Plant of the University of Valladolid was led by the company REBI. Technician Virginia Borondo Molpeceres presented the Central and all its equipment and systems to the students, so that they could have a more technical view of the facilities.

The visit began with the natural journey that biomass takes to become heat and energy for the University buildings. They first analyzed the forest biomass unloading area, “which is made up of a large shaft where the trucks unload. From this shaft, a conveyor belt is responsible for transporting the forest material to a sieve, which will separate the excessively large product and the fine one, so that two centrifugal fans drive the optimal product into the silo. The loading capacity is 20 tons per hour of chips, and the storage capacity of the silo is 1,800 m3,” Borondo said.

Once inside the silo, the chip is transported through a system of mobile rakes to the interior of the plant, where a system of screws programmed together are responsible for taking the material to the interior of the boilers; There the combustion of the biomass takes place and the transfer of energy to the water from the Network, which is responsible for providing heating and domestic hot water (DHW) to all the university students in Valladolid.

In order to address the complete heat demand, the Plant has 3 CVT Ventil boilers, each with a power of 4,700 kW: a total of 14,100 kW. Each boiler includes a sophisticated smoke purification and filtering system that guarantees that emissions are well below the levels required by the strictest European regulations. “In this way, the CO2 emissions of the Campus are reduced by 6,800 tons per year compared to the current gas and diesel systems available in the University buildings,” insisted the Rebi technician.

To improve the operation of the boilers, they are linked to two large buffer tanks, of 40,000 liters each, through which the heat is supplied to the 12 km long, 600,000 liter network, which runs through the university campuses. . The pipe that has been used for this Network is a pipe prepared and designed for heat networks, which has special insulation. The diameters used range from the largest DN 350 to the smallest connection at DN 32.

Once all the equipment and systems that make up the plant, pressure groups, pumps, filters, energy meters, etc., had been analyzed, the visit ended in the Control Room of the Plant where the students were able to observe a photographic compilation of the evolution of the works throughout this last year and a large cartographic plan of the entire network route. 

Likewise, in this room they were able to see the complex Control System that regulates all the components of both the Central and the connected buildings, verifying that all the parameters are recorded and graphed with the aim of improving efficiency and productivity every day. operation of the Heat Network.

The infrastructure has been promoted by the Government of Castilla y León, through SOMACYL (Public Society of Infrastructure and Environment of Castilla y León), and the University of Valladolid. Financing has been provided by the European Investment Bank and the ERDF Funds.