Today in Pordenone The solution to urban air pollution: presented the ´boiler´ that does not pollute

Zero emissions on site. The result of an unprecedented public-private collaboration.


It comes from Pordenone an example of practical cooperation between public and private, able to tackle - and to greatly reduce - issues of great social importance, such as urban pollution and its effects on public health. On the one hand the government (Ministry of Environment, AREA Science Park, Province and Municipality of Pordenone) ready to finance experience and innovative technologies, and on the other firms (STP Ltd, Rhoss Spa) able to design and engineer innovative solutions. In between, the constant overruns of PM10 emissions in our cities and the necessity to find alternatives to fossil fuel boilers in homes and condominiums.

Pordenone has chosen a new route, starting in the public school district "Centro Studi", the testing of  the ´high-temperature heat pump´. Zero emissions on site. Low operating costs. Renewable energy from 70 to 75% that can reach 100% with the use of electricity supplied by solar panels. These are the main features of the new heat pump, rebaptized the ´boiler´ that does not pollute. It can produce hot water over 75 ° C, thus capable of replacing the existing heating boilers without the need to rebuild the systems. A true technological breakthrough in the field, an all-Italian innovation, designed by STP (spin-off business recently established in the Science Park of Trieste) and engineered by Rhoss Spa. The project is part of the plan of AREA Sciente Park for the production and efficient use of  ENERPLAN energy, co-funded by the Ministry of Environment. The experiment shows the concrete support of the Province of Pordenone and the support of the Municipality of Pordenone.

Existing heat pumps can not be used with the operation of central heating - which constitute the absolute majority of urban systems - because they are not able to supply heated water to warm enough. The new solution, however, dispenses about 80 ° C and can then replace the existing boilers without further work on housing and equipment. The prototype system installed showed returns even better than the ones expected - actual output of 115 kW, 100 kW significantly higher than budgeted - heating and gym locker rooms and producing hot water for the school district. The facility will also serve to the Pordenone laboratory for testing and improving the technology and its performance. This first test, very satisfying, brings the achievement of the creators’ main goal closer: to replace the traditional boiler heating systems, for example in condominiums, with high-temperature heat pumps.

This solution would have multiple benefits. Starting from the cheap ones: the initial investment is slightly higher than buying traditional boilers but, over time, offset by substantial savings on the bill: the expenditure for the plant, in fact, pays for itself (payback) in less than four years. From a management perspective, the costs are very low, with greatly reduced maintenance requirements and the elimination of administrative permits and inspections and safety. On the energy side, it  is renewable at least 70% of the energy needed to generate the heat, with very positive effects on the ecological side: zero emissions on site, drastically reduction of the pollution in cities.

APPLICATIONS

The primary target market for high-temperature heat pump consists of the existing municipal buildings (condominiums, historic buildings, schools, hospitals, etc.). and from industrial / commercial ones, which, together with vehicular traffic, are the main sources of pollution in our cities. The heat pumps that are on the market today are characterized by discharge temperatures around 50 ° C, and they can not be used for buildings with traditional heating system. This is a serious limit that the new HT pump exceeds, thanks to a flow temperature of 70 to 80 ° C and has a "Coefficient Of Performance" - the ratio between the amount of heat output and the amount of electricity expenditure - around 3.

This is a real technological leap, which, summed up in a word, moves from "casaklima" to "condominiumklima" with a scope far broader and more potential for a high positive impact on the environment, especially in cities. The sites that lend themselves well to the replacement of boilers with high-temperature heat pumps are those where there is a presence of rivers, culverts or outcrops, wells, lakes, ponds and marshes, networks of aqueducts, sewers, water, Beale, ground water, waste heat from the condensers of power plants, waste water from industrial processes.