Brunner Mond (UK) Limited

The combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Northwich, Cheshire, is one of the largest such schemes in the UK. The plant is capable of supplying approximately 500 tonnes of steam every hour and generating 130MW of electricity to two Brunner Mond soda ash works, at Winnington and Lostock.

The main CHP plant consists of two gas turbines, two heat recovery boilers and a steam turbine and, for security of supply, also has stand-by boiler capacity. The natural gas fuelling the plant is supplied through an 11km underground pipeline. The large quantity of steam produced is utilised in Brunner Mond's manufacturing processes and a proportion is returned to the CHP plant as water condensate.

The Lostock site is supplied with steam from the plant via two steam mains running for 5km. There it is made use of in site processes with the remainder passing through a steam turbine generating more electricity then returning back for further processes. Again, a proportion of the steam used is returned to the CHP plant as condensate via another pipeline.