Functional and environmental appearances of a plant of cogeneration with particular reference to the italian paper industry

Paper industry is a productive sector characterized from elevated energetic consumption, due to the principal characteristic of the productive process, which requires a simultaneous requirement of electric energy and of heat under form of vapour. The increase of the consumption of energy causes an increase of the polluting issues that alter the ecosystem in irreversible manner. This has pushed the authorities toward the search of new fit solution to reduce the issues of the "gas shuts" and particularly the issues of CO2. Among the different proposed solutions the one that has met better interest from part of the firms is represented by cogeneration. A plant of cogeneration allows the heat caused from the combustion not to be lost, like it happens in a conventional plant of production of electric energy, but is recovered for other uses. An enterprise that invests in cogeneration is aware of the notable benefits of economic and environmental order that any derives. Economic advantages concern the saving of primary energy mainly due to the joined production of electric energy and heat. In industrial applications that require a fairly high temperature, the obtainable saving with cogeneration instead of separate production of energy and heat is about 20-30%. With the cogeneration therefore an elevated output of the system is gotten, measured from the electric energy and from the energy caused. The fuels used in the cogeneration are usually liquid or gaseous Currently, also because of their small environmental impact, gaseous fuel like methane is preferred. Normally a plant of cogeneration, fed to methane, allows for each KW a reduction of the issues of CO2 equal to 450 gr. if compared with the separate production of electric energy (thermoelectric) and thermal energy (conventional boiler). This aspect of cogeneration underlines the importance and highlights the role that this technology has in national and international environmental politics. Here is therefore underlined the contribution that the cogeneration could give to our country for the attainment of the appointments engaged with the Protocol of Kyoto, in base to which Italy undertakes to reduce the own issues of gas.