#Sarasforschools: Saras and the University
True to its long-standing collaboration with the University of Cagliari, this year too the Saras Group has participated with its companies in the cycle of seminars on ‘Industrial system organisation and management’ organised by the Degree Course in Mechanical Engineering, together with other leading businesses industrial companies in the region.
The seminars are part of the career guidance and orientation programme offered to the university’s students. They aim to introduce students to the organisational structure and production process management methods of present-day industrial systems. The seminars are mainly addressed to Mechanical Engineering Bachelor or Master graduates and, this year, they have also been opened to 50 newly chartered engineers, who attend the talks to prepare for their profession.
During the workshop held by the Saras Group, managers and engineers described the innovations under way in the Group’s companies in the areas of energy saving and environmental sustainability.
- Modern energy management in industrial plants
The Sarlux refinery’s energy efficiency projects (heat recovery, process integration, advanced process controls) and the constant monitoring of energy consumption generate savings of approximately 38,000 TOE/year, equivalent to a reduction of 105,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
On the subject of renewable energy and self-consumption in industrial sites, the Arcola project was presented: it concerns the production of electricity from photovoltaics for self-consumption in the oil products depot at Arcola (La Spezia).
- Towards a sustainable future: vegetable oil co-processing in Hydrotreating plants
Our experts also described the industrial tests for the production of fuels from sustainable raw materials (edible and non-edible oils, algae and waste) with reduced CO2 emissions in compliance with the European directives.
- Development of a new generation “electronic nose”: IOMS (Instrumental Odour Monitoring System)
Sartec presented the development of a new generation ‘electronic nose’: IOMS (Instrumental Odour Monitoring System) for the continuous measurement of odour nuisance.
This is an important aim on which the scientific community is actively working, since we still lack approved standardised procedures for efficient and repeatable odour measurement with multisensor systems.
- Investing in wind energy
Sardeolica presented the Ulassai Wind Farm, consisting of 57 Vestas V80 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 126 MW. Production at full capacity is about 250 GWh/year, covering the annual energy demand of about 85,000 households and saving 162,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
In July 2019, permission was obtained for the reblading project of the Ulassai plant. Fitting the turbines with new blades will produce increased power output, without changing installed capacity. The work will be carried out in three lots and will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020. After the refurbishment, production at full capacity is expected to be about 300 GWh/year.
The Saras Group is one of the main European oil refining operators, and is also active in the electricity generation sector. Directly and through its subsidiaries, the Group sells and distributes petroleum products on national and international markets. In addition, the Group produces and sells electricity through its subsidiaries Sarlux Srl (IGCC plant) and Sardeolica Srl (wind farm). The Group also supplies industrial engineering and research services to the oil, energy and environmental sectors through its subsidiary Sartec Srl.