7 Apr 2015
Vielle-Saint-Girons, France – DRT, a supplier of rosin and turpentine-based products to the rubber industry, has started up a biomass co-generation power plant at its site in Vielle-Saint-Girons.
The biomass power plant is operated by Biomass Energy Solutions VSG, a newly created company involving DRT, Cofely (GDF SUEZ Group) and the Caisse des Dépôts.
The co-generation unit is intended to substitute the consumption of fossil fuels using by-products obtained from the distillation of tall oil, said Eric Moussu, sales & marketing director at DRT.
The plant is designed to use 150 kilotonnes (kt) per year of biomass: generating 97 GWh of power, 214 GWh of steam and saving 20kt of CO2. Efficiency is said to be over 65 percent, compared to 35 percent for a conventional power plant.
The project will also create 15 jobs on site and contribute €9 million per year to the local wood energy industry, according to the French company.
Established in 1932, DRT specialises in the development of rosin and turpentine extracted from pine resin for the perfume, adhesive, rubber, chewing gum and food supplement industries, among others.
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