Authorised Treatment Capacity
Lines currently in operation: 140,000 t/year
At full capacity (2010): 240,000 t/year

Type of waste allowed
Municipal solid waste and non-hazardous special waste produced in the province; hospital waste with a maximum limit of 5000 t/year, also coming from outside the region.

Technology
Once the scheduled operations have been completed, the entire plant will have the following configuration at full capacity:
1.Waste receiving, storage and feed section;
2.Combustion line with moving grate furnace,
The combustion chambers are semi-adiabatic or refractory-lined and with built-in boiler so that part of the heat can be transferred to the steam generator.
In order for the waste to be burned completely, evenly distributed pre-heated air will be injected at various levels (both beneath the grate and above it) to increase the thermodynamic efficiency of the process.
The primary air is aspirated directly from the waste trench and sent to the combustion chamber through the hoppers under the grate.
The secondary air, necessary for completing combustion of the unburnt particles in the fumes, is taken from the boiler room and put into two opposite points of the combustion chamber. The capacities are automatically adjusted according to the post-combustion temperature, post-combustion level of oxygen and concentration of carbon monoxide.
The post-combustion area is defined as the combustion chamber section after the last air injection.
This area is made in such a way that fumes are guaranteed to remain for more than 2 seconds and their temperature is higher than 850°C, as required by current regulations.
To ensure the temperature is kept in correspondence with the combustion chamber of each line, two auxiliary natural gas burners are installed. They go into operation automatically when the set point temperature (usually 870°C - 900°C) is reached in order to keep the temperatures higher than the above-mentioned legal limit.

3.Waste storage prior to disposal or recovery at authorised plants.
4.Horizontal steam generator.
The boilers are distinguished by the fact that their first radiating section is built into the combustion chamber, whose walls are lined with water pipes protected by refractory material.
The boiler is cleaned by a percussion system that generates vibrations, thus causing the dust deposits to become detached from the exchange surfaces.
The removed dust accumulates on the bottom of the boiler body, and is then transferred to the storage section through a hopper system.

5.Gas treatment line made up of:

• Non-catalytic system that reduces NOx by injecting urea into the post-combustion chamber,
• Electrostatic filter for removing flying ashes,
• Neutrec dry system for reducing acid gases, dioxins/furans and heavy metals by injecting sodium bicarbonate and activated carbon into a reactor and then removing the powder in a bag filter;
• Catalytic system for reducing NOx by injecting ammoniacal solution

6.Storage of light dust and ashes produced by the gas treatment section
7.Thermal cycle for the cogeneration of electricity and thermal energy common to the two lines,
Operation of a new turbine common to the two lines is planned in the final configuration, with the existing one being discontinued, as is installation of a new air condensation system to replace the existing one.
The rated capacity of the new turbine is 32 MW.
The electricity produced is sent to a High Voltage station and from here it will be connected to the HERA-owned Modena Nord station by a newly-built underground long-distance line. Then it will be sold to the national transmission network.

8.Water demineralising plant,
9.Auxiliary units and services.
A draught fan will be installed downstream of the treatment system to keep the entire line under vacuum and convey the treated gases to the chimneys (80 m in height).

Monitoring systems
The two emissions points (chimneys) are monitored according to current regulations:

• Continuous monitoring of the concentration of macro-pollutants, dust and process parameters (oxygen level, humidity level, fumes flow rate and fumes temperature);
• Periodic monitoring of the organic micro-pollutants and heavy metals with analytical campaigns.

The plant has obtained UNI EN ISO 14001 and UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 certification