It was announced today that RJM International is a Finalist in two categories of the forthcoming Institution of Chemical Engineers 2025 Global Awards:
Finalist – Oil, Gas and Energy Transition Award for the Abono Coal-to-Gas Conversion Project in Spain
Finalist – Industry Project Award for the ZETES 2 Unit 3 Coal-Fired Plant Upgrade Project in Turkey
Commenting on being short-listed as Finalists for these two awards, John Goldring, Managing Director of RJM International said, “These two projects were very different in terms of scope, but common to both was RJM’s unique approach to tackling a project. We take the time to fully understand how a plant is operating and identify all the issues that will need to be resolved to deliver a custom-built, reliable, and cost-effective solution that will meet all the client’s objectives.
“In both cases, we enhanced plant reliability, reduced carbon and harmful emissions significantly, and have helped to secure the long-term future of the plants as their countries and owners work towards an affordable low carbon future.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our own people who delivered these exceptional performance results, working in successful partnership with our customers at the plants; Eren Enerji at ZETES and Wood plc at Aboño.
“I would also thank our suppliers who worked hard to manufacture our solutions to the highest quality.
“It is also very gratifying that RJM’s skills and experience are being recognised through these IChemE awards, by our peers in the energy sector,” he added.
The Awards dinner will be taking place at the Mercure Hotel, Piccadilly, Manchester on Thursday 20th November 2025.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
Aboño Coal-to-Gas Conversion Project, Spain
The purpose of this 556 MWe power station coal-to-gas upgrade project at Aboño II in Gijón, Spain, was to equip the plant with state-of-the-art combustion technology and convert it to firing a much cleaner fuel – natural gas – and to cease firing coal. The new RJM burners and firing system were also designed to provide fuel flexibility with the ability to fire a combination of natural gas, hydrogen and BFG (Blast Furnace Gas). EDP selected Wood to execute project scope, including in-depth feasibility studies, brownfield boiler modifications and commissioning. The background to this project is that the Spanish government has decreed that all coal-firing will cease in the peninsula in August 2025. Therefore, to maintain generation capacity in that region, Aboño II needed to be converted to a cleaner fuel and be generating reliably by the end of August 2025. Following the coal-to-gas conversion, all the key emissions metrics have been significantly reduced: + 1.3m tpa of coal no longer being fired + CO2 emissions of 2.9m tpa reduced by 30% (depending on volume of BFG firing) + SOx emissions of 130mg/Nm3 reduced to zero + Primary NOx emissions of 845mg/Nm3 reduced by 70% + CO emissions of 4ppm reduced to zero. Using BFG as a second fuel delivers an additional environmental benefit, reducing emissions of CO2 by a further one million tonnes pa. In addition, with the coal yard, flue gas desulphurization, conveyors, hoppers, mills and classifiers no long needed, this freed up 5 MWe of parasitic load.
ZETES 2 Unit 3 Coal Plant Upgrade Project, Turkey
ZETES 2 Unit 3 is a modern, 615 MWe supercritical coal-fired power plant located at Zonguldak in Turkey. The plant is owned and operated by Eren Enerji and is equipped with opposed-firing boilers and NR3 burner technology supplied by Dongfang of China, under licence from Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems. The plant came online in 2010 and fires local and imported bituminous coal. The project objectives were 1) To improve combustion performance; 2) Mitigate unplanned outages due to tube leaks; 3) Improve boiler efficiency and 4) Reduce emissions of NOx and CO. These issues had arisen because despite the fact that the plant was fitted with the well-respected NR3 burner, RJM established that unit performance was sub-optimal due to a combination of: poor burner dynamics resulting in long flames and uncontrolled combustion; the burners being thermally damaged due to flames burning within the burner itself; the plant’s OFA system was unable to control unburned material; varying burner to burner settings resulting in different burner dynamics between burners; and with CO levels fluctuating considerably.
At ZETES 2 Unit 3, the benefits that RJM’s performance upgrade project include making the plant much more efficient, now operating with one fewer mill in service and increased boiler efficiency from 92% to 94%. This means it now uses less fuel to deliver the same amount of power. In CO2 terms this is the equivalent of a saving 80,000 tonnes per annum of carbon no longer emitted, which is a significant societal benefit. The combustion improvements also mean that NOx emissions have been reduced by nearly half, a reduction of 47%. This is having a lasting and positive impact on air quality in the vicinity of the power plant.
ENDS