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The goal is 100 megawatts

Oltan-Köleoğlu Enerji entered the renewable energy market in 2014. Today the company is the Turkish biomass market leader, and operates several power plants. Crambo, Nemus and Axtor machines take care of the necessary fuel conditioning.

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Oltan-Köleoğlu Enerji has ambitious goals. By 2023, it wants to be generating 100 megawatts of renewable energy every year at four biomass plants. However, the fuel is made up of some very different materials – sawmill waste, waste wood, rootstocks, agricultural and forestry residue. This means the choice of the right processing machines was critical for getting consistent fuel quality. Oltan-Köleoğlu Enerji engineers took the challenge to Seven Environmental Technologies, Komptech’s sales partner in Turkey.

Ice-cold testing

A good relationship was soon established, but to be sure that Komptech’s machines met requirements, before any decision to buy was made some in-use testing was needed. And so, in the middle of the Austrian winter, a team from Oltan-Köleoğlu Enerji traveled to Frohnleiten and did a reality check. In snow and freezing temperatures, the machines were fed all the materials they would be expected to face later. Success! In early 2019 a Crambo, two Axtors and a Nemus drum screen were purchased for the power plant in the province of Afyonkarahisar.

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Three operational power plants, another in planning

In addition to Afyonkarahisar, Oltan-Köleoğlu Enerji operates plants in Çorum in northern Anatolia and Samsun on the Black Sea coast. A fourth is in planning. The Çorum plant produces five megawatts of renewable energy annually. The Afyonkarahisar and Samsun plants make much more, around 27 megawatts each. All three use a wide range of regional waste such as rootstocks, forestry residue, waste wood, reeds, bark, corn straw, cotton plant stems, nutshells and the like. At the end of 2021 the fourth plant, in Konya in southern Analolia, is slated to begin operations. With a capacity of 40 megawatts per year, it wil be the company’s largest so far.

“In addition to the toughness and performance of Komptech’s machines, reliable service was a big factor in our decision to buy.”

Naci Seven

The task: 750 tonnes per day

The Afyonkarahisar plant operates in shifts, around the clock, seven days a week. The processing machines are in use up to 14 hours a day to prepare the 750 tonnes of biomass the plant consumes every day. Additional production is stored as a buffer. This reserve is enough for a few days, but a continuous resupply of fuel must be assured. That means that reliable processing of the different materials is critical.

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Tough machines for steady use

The Crambo is ideal for preshredding rootstocks. Even the biggest pieces fit into the generous shredding chamber. Two low-speed drums with teeth aggressively take in the material, yet are resistant to the high amount of earth and sand in this particular case. A Nemus drum screen then screens the shredded rootstocks. An Axtor universal shredder does the final shredding. It’s the multitalent within this machine trio. With fixed teeth and sharp blades, it gives a constant grain size, regardless of whether the input material is sawmill waste wood or bales of cornstraw.

Service with Komptech Connect!

“In addition to the toughness and performance of Komptech’s machines, reliable service was a big factor in our decision to buy,” says Naci Seven of Seven Environmental Technologies. In order to ensure maximum availability, the energy company entered into a maintenance agreement with Komptech. Once a month a Komptech service specialist visits the machines for inspection and maintenance. One these occasions, Oltan-Köleoğlu Enerji workers also receive training and the spare parts stock is discussed. The energy company also uses the Connect! condition monitoring system. This monitors the machines and reports their condition from Turkey coast directly to Komptech in Frohnleiten, enabling condition-based maintenance. At the same time, a local partner is being prepared so it can take over servicing.

Continued success

The first four Komptech machines have met the high expectations placed on them and confirmed the rightness of the materials conditioning line concent. So Oltan-Köleoğlu Enerji has made the decision to purchase 13 more Komptech machines to fit out its other biomass power plants.