Reducing our CO₂ emissions with a regenerative oxidizer

Over recent years, Metalcolor has invested in numerous projects which have produced substantial energy savings. The new “regenerative” solvent incinerator is the most significant achievement in terms of fossil energy savings and energy recovery.

The changeover from a recuperative incineration system to a regenerative system combined with high-capacity heat exchangers means that it now takes less energy to incinerate our solvents, and we are able to maximise heat recovery, which leads to even more energy savings.

Thanks to the high-temperature hot air obtained by heat recovery from the incinerator, the furnaces of the two coating lines consume considerably less gas. The daily challenge is to recover as much hot air as possible from the incinerator to obtain the lowest possible gas consumption. This is monitored online by management software for all our energies and has resulted in a 35% reduction in gas consumption per kilo of aluminium, or 3000 MWh per year.

The excess heat from the incinerator also heats the entire Metalcolor site and eliminates the need of fossil fuels such as fuel oil and propane, resulting in a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions.

Morgane Bourdon
ISO & IMS Coordinator