New trigeneration plant and new boilers produce all the heat energy necessary for the Bologna University Hospital (AOU)

The Sant'Orsola Malpighi Hospital in Bologna - among the oldest and most important it Italy - remains a point of reference for international hospitals.

In addition to being a major medical centre for the treatment of certain diseases, a teaching hospital and research centre for the University's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, today it is also a point of reference for energy conservation and efficiency.

In fact, the new development plan for the hospital includes a technological plant with regenerative high efficiency systems - for a value of €27.6 million - which reduces fuel consumption, emissions and air pollution.

The new technological centre of the 31 buildings of the Sant'Orsola Malpighi complex will use Baltur burners, a guarantee of safety, efficiency and reduced pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. The expected benefits are: -27% of primary energy and -22% in emissions.

The steam thermal power plant has four generators - two 2.3 MW (3.3 t/h) and another two 5.3 MW (7.6 t/h), equipped with modulating burners and inverters on the fans with continuous control of combustion parameters (O2 and CO).

Baltur is proud to have taken part in a project whose keywords are "Energy efficiency, maintainability, accessibility, simplicity, redundancy, business continuity," as explained by Engineer Paolo Genta, head designer and works director of CAIREpro, the oldest cooperative of architects, engineers and design in Europe.

The University Hospital (AOU) will save 4.863 toe/year of primary energy, -27% of the current amount consumed.

With regard to emissions of pollutants from the combustion of the gases, the following reductions are expected:

NOx: 350 mg/Nm3 (Sant’Orsola, Malpighi) à NOx: 100 mg/Nm3
CO: 200 mg/Nm3 (Sant’Orsola, Malpighi) à CO: 50 mg/Nm3
PM10: 7 mg/Nm3 (Sant’Orsola) and 15 mg/Nm3 (Malpighi) à PM10: 5 mg/Nm3.

The project - prepared in advance by the internal Coordination of Integrated Technical Activities and approved by the AOU in 2009 - was presented at the 21st World Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris in 2015.

Because of its importance the project received a 20-year loan of €32 million from the European Fund for Energy Efficiency.