26.01.2024
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
A multi-million euro district heating project is taking shape. 18,000 households are to benefit from a project planned by BASF, Technische Werke Ludwigshafen and Stadtwerke Frankenthal.
Heat from the sewage treatment plant - this sober description has had a new ring to it in the Vorderpfalz region since January 24. On this day, the chemical company BASF, together with its partners Technische Werke Ludwigshafen (TWL) and Stadtwerke Frankenthal, presented a project in which several hundred million euros are to be invested.
BASF wants to work with the utilities to utilize the waste heat from one of the largest industrial wastewater treatment plants in the world. The wastewater treatment complex is located in Frankenthal (Rhineland-Palatinate) on the Rhine and, according to BASF, treats around 90 million cubic meters of its own production wastewater and 20 million cubic meters of wastewater from the partner cities involved and from Bobenheim-Roxheim every year. This amount is equivalent to the wastewater of three million people.
The construction of a large heat pump will make the waste heat available to 18,000 households as district heating in the future. According to Volkmar Langefeld, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Frankenthal, the pump with a heating capacity of around 50 MW could be installed by the end of 2027. The partners first want to examine the economic viability and feasibility of the project by the end of 2024. At any rate, there was great optimism at the media event.
District heating is no stranger to the Frankenthal sewage treatment plant site. For more than 30 years, the heat generated by the incineration of sewage sludge has been used there. However, the treated wastewater still has untapped potential, as it currently ends up in the Rhine, which is not conducive to further heat supply in the long term.
The project partners think more of using the heat generated as a CO2-free source for heating private households. This would save 60,000 tons of CO2 compared to heating with gas or heating oil. According to the project partners, Frankenthal's wastewater has a comparatively high outlet temperature, which increases the efficiency of the planned heat pump compared to a conventional heat pump. This would also significantly reduce the amount of electricity required in relation to the amount of heat generated.
The city of Frankenthal would have a district heating connection in its area for the first time. According to TWL board member Dieter Feid, district heating already accounts for a good 20 percent of the heat supply in Ludwigshafen. The project partners are expecting public funding from the federal government for efficient heating networks.
Author: Volker Stephan
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