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Italian renewable energy company Green energy Enel has developed technical replacement components for its geothermal power plants using 3D printing.

As part of the company’s flagship project Geyser, Enel’s metallurgical laboratory in Santa Barbara in Cavriglia, Italy, has embarked on optimizing the management of its geothermal power plants by using a 3D printer to repair a critical component for one of its factories.

“It all started with our curiosity and our desire to use the 3D printer we had in-house,” said Nicoletta Mazzuca, Enel Green Power’s project manager for Geyser. “We wanted to repair parts that were going to end up in landfills because they could not be repaired with conventional forging techniques. But, thanks to the passion, skill and cooperation of our colleagues, we found a solution.

The Geyser project and 3D printing

Enel’s Geyser project aims to improve the sustainability, functionality and operational efficiency of its geothermal power plants, while taking into account the impact of power plants on the environment.

The idea of ​​using 3D printing for the repair of essential components of Enel geothermal power plants arose from a round table of technicians and experts from the geothermal, thermal and hydroelectric sectors, brought together within the framework of the Geyser project. .

Enel’s Metallurgy Lab in Santa Barbara houses a Direct Energy Deposition (DED) 3D printer, which the team sought to exploit for the reproduction and repair of various metal parts.

“The fact that the printer is located in an area which also has a metallurgy laboratory provides immense added value,” said Giulio Andrucci, technical manager and coordinator of the Santa Barbara metallurgy laboratory. “In this way, the additive manufacturing process can be monitored almost in real time, checking the mechanical, chemical and metallurgical properties of the manufactured items so that we can also rely on constant feedback. “

Repair critical parts with 3D printing

For the pilot phase of the project, the DED 3D printer was used to repair an impeller, which is an essential component of the centrifugal compressor in a geothermal power plant. The turbine extracts non-condensable gases from the steam at the end of the expansion process in the turbine, which helps protect the turbine blades from wear.

Enel’s team purchased a powdered form of the material used to make the wheels, a specialized stainless steel called 17-4 PH, and started repairing the wheel layer by layer using the 3D printer. According to Enel, the project’s success marks the “first historic repair of a worn part” for a geothermal power plant.

“The Geyser project allowed us to present and share the skills available in several poles of excellence of the different supply chains of Enel in Italy”, said Matteo Niccolai, responsible for maintenance of workshops and technical services, O&M Geo Italy from Enel Green Power.

“The idea of ​​using additive manufacturing to solve one of Geo’s supply chain problems is a real-life example of the effectiveness of cross-sharing of problems and best practices within the company, by solving critical problems using new perspectives. “

According to the Enel team, the pilot’s success paved the way for a more circular reuse of materials within its geothermal power plants. Previously, worn wheels were simply replaced with new ones and ended up in landfills, but repairing them using 3D printing could save the company some € 70,000 a year, she estimates. .

“After a year of work, we were able to use additive manufacturing processes to repair our wheels for the first time,” said Mazzuca. “Not only does this give our wheels a second life, but it also saves us money while respecting the environment thanks to 100% circularity.

Integration of 3D printing for increased circularity

Circularity refers to an economic system with the goal of eliminating waste and continued use of resources, and the role 3D printing can play in achieving this is a notion that is receiving increasing attention.

Companies that adopt 3D printing technologies and processes to improve the circularity of their manufacturing operations include Renault group, which creates a factory entirely dedicated to sustainable automotive production through recycling and retrofitting of vehicles using 3D printing.

They are also looking to improve their sustainability benchmarks Ford and OEM 3D printer HP, who have teamed up to recycle 3D printing waste into end-use auto parts. In what is considered an industry first, companies are converting recycled 3D printing material into injection-molded fuel line clips for use on Ford’s Super Duty F-250 tips.

Elsewhere, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure, Rijkswaterstaat, has selected 10 participants for an SBIR program which aims to accelerate the marketing of circular viaducts using technologies such as automated 3D printing. The ministry is looking for alternative viaduct innovations that will have a lower environmental impact over the life of the viaduct.

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Featured Image Shows a geothermal power station in Italy. Photo via Enel Green Power.