Boilers upgrades at Fesenius Kabi
This summer, Babcock Wanson teams completed the industrial fire tube boilers upgrades at one of Fresenius Kabi’s production site in France.

Fresenius Kabi, a leading global company in healthcare technologies and medicines, entrusted Babcock Wanson with upgrading their boiler house. This project was commissioned due to the increase in production of the Intravenous Fluid bags produced on site.

As part of this project, two boilers dating from the 1980s were replaced in two phases. The first phase took place in 2018. Our teams installed a BWR 150A Fire Tube boiler fitted with a Babcock Wanson Modulo+ burner and economiser producing 15 t/h steam . This summer, the second phase was completed; the second boiler being  a BWR 120A Fire Tube boiler, again with a Modulo+ burner and economiser, producing 12 t/h steam. “In detail, the fire tube boiler has been mounted with an economiser with second condensing section. It offers a three-element regulation system with steam, water and gas flow meters, which facilitates automatic calculation of the boiler’s efficiency. The direct intake of the condensates allows maximum energy savings.” adds Mickaël Crochemore, who is in charge of installation and commissioning.

“These two boilers had already undergone numerous repairs and we decided to replace them to keep pace with our increasing steam requirements.” says Steve Metrot, Fresenius Kabi’s Fluid and Energy Manager.

The particular configuration of the site (at the edge of a river) and the short project deadline (two weeks including validation by the technical design department) were the main challenges for our teams. “It was also necessary to manage the coactivity: six companies working together in a very limited space. We also installed two complete walkways to facilitate access to the different elements of the boiler.” continues Mr. Crochemore.

The overall operation was facilitated by the long term relationship between Babcock Wanson and Fresenius Kabi. As part of this long collaboration, Fresenius Kabi also benefits from a simplified maintenance and technical assistance contract, with BW 7-Day Unattended Operation controls for each of the two BWR boilers. “Despite significant constraints (COVID-19) Babcock Wanson was able to meet the deadline, which allowed the boiler to start on time. Babcock Wanson has been a good partner for many years. We are very satisfied with the boilers and the installation carried out by the Babcock Wanson teams.” concludes Mr. Metrot.