Ugljevik coal power plant in BiH connects desulfurization unit

Regular desulfurization finally started in RiTE Ugljevik’s thermal power plant. The project was implemented by Mitsubishi Power, which recently received a similar order for the Nikola Tesla B coal-fired unit in Serbia.

Almost a year after testing started, the RiTE Ugljevik mine and coal power plant just took over the desulfurization system from Mitsubishi Power, formerly known as Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems. The construction of the unit cost EUR 85 million, financed through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, better known as JICA.

Interim Chief Executive Officer Čedomir Stojanović said it was the firm’s biggest investment since the power plant was built, in 1985. In his words, the upgrade enables another 20 years of operation and the construction of other factories.

Project began 11 years ago

Sulfur dioxide emissions were cut to 150 kilograms from 18 tons per year, the CEO claimed and revealed output this year is set to top the plan by 10% and bring net income despite the coronavirus impact.

An unnamed Chinese company is interested in producing plasterboard from the synthetic gypsum, a byproduct from desulfurization

The first deal was signed in 2009 and the flue gas desulfurization system was already built four years ago. Yokogawa Electric Corp. supplied the integrated production control system for the monitoring and control of purification.

In the meantime, Czech company Termochem repaired the dust filters. Still, the 300 MW thermal power plant was the biggest emitter last year of SO2 in the Western Balkans – 88,302 tons or 9.7 times above its allowed level, according to a report compiled by Bankwatch.

Tasovac: Dust, sulfur dioxide emissions are now “negligible”

Ugljevik generates a third of electrical energy in the Republic of Srpska, one of the two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. The firm is a subsidiary of Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske.

Milutin Tasovac, electricity production head in RiTE Ugljevik, said desulfurization turned the thermal power plant into the most environmentally friendly one in former Yugoslavia and that dust and sulfur dioxide emissions are now “negligible.”

He revealed a Chinese company is interested in producing plasterboard from the synthetic gypsum, a byproduct from desulfurization, and to hire 80 people. Ugljevik has coal with a high share of sulfur, between 3.5% and 5%.

Mitsubishi Power to deliver desulfurization systems to Serbia’s Nikola Tesla B thermal power plant

In other news, Mitsubishi Power recently received an order for two flue gas desulfurization units for lignite-fired power plant Nikola Tesla B in Serbia. They will have the capacity of 670 MW each, matching the power plant’s two units.

The Japanese company noted it is its third such deal in the region, after Ugljevik and Nikola Tesla A, and added the desulfurization sets are among the strongest in the world.

The Japanese supplier said sulfur dioxide emissions in Nikola Tesla B would be reduced by 96%

Operation is scheduled to commence in 2024. SO2 emissions will be cut by 96% and they will comply with the European Union’s Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and the new BREF – best available techniques reference requirements, the announcement reads.

Mitsubishi Power established a consortium with domestic firms Energotehnika Južna Bačka, Goša montaža and EX ING B&P Construction to implement the project.

The two power plants operate under state-owned Elektroprivreda Srbije and its TENT subsidiary. Mitsubishi Power is controlled by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.