First Italian P-WAVE project at medium-sized WtE boilers – two boiler lines equipped with one P-WAVE generator each
Manual explosion cleaning avoided with one P-WAVE Generator at the final superheater of each boiler line. Follow-up order for the second line received based on positive results.
About the plant
The Ferrara WtE plant has two medium-sized boilers with a waste treatment capacity of 9 t/h each. It is operated by HERA Ambiente. The horizontal boilers are originally from RUTHS with a STIEFEL water-cooled stoker grate. The design throughput per boiler is 30 t/h of steam at 46 bar and 400 °C. The width of the grate and open boiler passes is 4,8 m, reduced to 2,27 m in the horizontal convective boiler section, where the P-WAVE Generator is placed.
Challenge
The plant's boiler passes narrow sharply in the convective section, from 4,8 m at the grate down to about 2,3 m, making fouling control in that zone especially important for maintaining steam output and boiler availability.
P-WAVE solution
Cleaning of the final superheater section in the horizontal convective pass (2,27 m wide). One PWG-S unit is installed on each of the two 30 t/h boiler lines. The units were delivered through P-WAVE's Danish partner Dublix Technology ApS (part of Yokogawa Group – automation system supplier at Ferrara). Dublix also carried out installation and commissioning. The first unit was ordered in November 2024 and commissioned in April 2025. Based on its results, a follow-up order for the second boiler line was placed in November 2025 and the unit went into operation at the beginning of 2026.
Each unit produces powerful supersonic pressure waves, currently running on a four-hour cycle at HERA's request, with the option to move to more frequent cleaning as needed.
P-WAVE Generator in operation:
Video: https://www.p-wave.ch/video/pwg-ferrara.mp4
Operation results
Since commissioning, the P-WAVE generators have fired over 1,700 cleaning cycles with a clean-firing rate above 99%, a strong reliability record for a relatively young installation. Manual explosion cleaning of the superheater section is no longer needed.
Extracted real-time data from the COCKPIT:
Customer feedback
The customer accepted the installation, and the follow-up order for the second boiler line confirms the positive feedback.
Interested in P-Wave for your boiler?
Talk to our team about your configuration and cleaning requirements.