Industrias Doy, a world reference company in the manufacture of coke for foundry based in Asturias, Spain, has reached an agreement with EDP for the design, construction and commissioning of the most modern and complete system for the treatment of fumes and energy use for the generation of electricity for self-consumption in its facilities in Trubia. The Roces Inversiones Group company invests 13.2 million euros in these environmental improvement and energy efficiency measures, which will come into operation at the end of the first quarter of 2021.

For Industrias Doy and for the Roces Inversiones Group itself, “this is a very important investment effort, but one that we have considered essential to guarantee the continuity of industrial activity at our Trubia facilities and the maintenance of employment. As an Asturian business group, we are committed to the industrial future of our region and we believe that efficiency in production and the implementation of all improvements that make industrial activity sustainable and committed to improving our environment are two of the main factors that will guarantee this future”.

For EDP, “the agreement with Industrias Doy is an example and result of the close relationship we maintain with our industrial clients, with whom we share our experience in this type of environmental improvement, like the latest generation desulfurization systems that we have in place in our electrical energy production facilities. With this investment, Industrias Doy reinforces its commitment both to sustainability, comfortably complying with the emission limits established by its Integrated Environmental Authorization, and to efficiency, while reinforcing its competitiveness through energy savings”.

The environmental improvements essentially consist of a smoke treatment plant for the reduction of sulfur oxides and solid particles, which will have the best available technology and will guarantee the activity of the Asturian production facilities of Industrias Doy, complying with environmental requirements.

The smoke treatment plant will allow a reduction of SOx emissions of up to 70% and of solid particulate emissions of up to 86%, both compared to current values. The new equipment will be incorporated into the factory's current flue gas outlet system to capture the sulfur oxides present in the gases.

The process carried out in this plant consists of injecting hydrated lime with a high specific surface area (HSS) which, when chemically combined with sulfurous gases, captures sulfur, generating an inert solid powder.

Next, a particle filtering system will be available, which consists of a series of sleeves where, in addition to completing the sulfur capture reaction, both the particles formed in the reactor and those previously present in the gases, thus avoiding their emission into the atmosphere.

In addition to these environmental improvements, the Industrias Doy project will have an energy use system, based on an electric power generation group that will take advantage of the residual heat from the battery process. With a power of 3.9 MW, it will generate energy for the factory's own consumption. In total, it will produce 28,300 MWh per year, the equivalent of the average annual consumption of 8,000 homes.

This energy use system is a clear example of Industrias Doy's commitment to energy efficiency and the circular economy. For the generation of electrical energy, it will use the residual heat contained in the gases resulting from the factory's production process, which until now was not used. Since the temperature of the gases is reduced before applying the smoke treatment, no additional fuel is necessary, but it will only be the heat contained in the exhaust gases that will be used to generate electricity, thus avoiding the annual emission of 15,000 tons of CO2, a positive impact on climate change like that produced by 1,125,000 new trees.

In the works, which are already underway, 150,000 man-hours of work will be invested, and 50 direct jobs will be generated from 35 companies, mainly Asturian.

The new equipment will occupy a surface area of ​​2,400 square meters and will require more than 475 tons of metal elements, equivalent to the weight of 40 city buses.

The execution and start-up of these improvements is part of the line of projects that EDP develops for its industrial clients. The company offers the latest technological innovations, adapted to each need and generating strategic alliances, with the aim of increasing the business competitiveness of clients through energy saving, efficiency and environmental protection.

This investment effort is a clear sign of Industrias Doy and EDP's commitment to employment and the region, at the same time that it reinforces one of the strategic priorities of both companies, their environmental commitment. In addition, it monitors the continuous investments that both EDP and Industrias Doy have been making in the adoption of measures for the renewal of equipment and updating of production facilities and processes, aimed at reducing emissions and contributing to a growing improvement in air quality.