Project · Pellets
FIG 01 Biomass-fired thermal oil boiler in the final stage of erection, February 2026 · Chilepanel, Chile
A new 120,000 t/year pellet plant, about 22% of Chile's installed capacity, built within Chilepanel's OSB plant complex in La Unión. ProHolz integrated the equipment suppliers' designs, detailed the electrical systems and the piping, and provides technical support for construction and start-up.
ProHolz engineers the project; procurement and construction stay with the client.
The energy plant burns biomass in a thermal oil boiler rated at 17 MW thermal. The oil vaporizes the organic fluid of an ORC turbine rated at 2 MW electrical, and the water that cools the condenser leaves hot and feeds the belt dryer, which dries the wood chips before grinding and pelletizing.
Thermal oil from the same boiler reaches the press of the neighboring OSB plant through a pipe rack. When the turbine is down, an oil-to-water heat exchanger keeps the drying running. ProHolz closed the mass and energy balance of the energy plant together with the boiler manufacturer.
Pellet line, boiler, turbine, debarking and chipping, and spark detection, with coordination of the automation between them.
Medium-voltage protection, load distribution across the electrical rooms, and emergency panels.
71 isometric sheets, 59 of them for the deluge system, with the hydraulic calculation of the oil and hot water networks, line lists and bills of materials.
Fabrication engineering for the head and tail sections, reusing the existing casings, in 2026.
Monthly site visits since November 2025, and an electrical engineer for construction inspection and commissioning in 2026.
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Greenfield pellet plant with 5 MW cogeneration that burns biomass and reuses the steam in the process. Conceptual, basic and detailed engineering.
OSB
Expansion of an operating OSB plant, with new areas tied into the existing line. Basic and detailed engineering, more than 500 isometric sheets and inspection of the installation work.
Investment values are approximate, for order of magnitude only.
Contact
A technical conversation defines the scope, the disciplines and the engagement model: EPCM, owner's engineering or value engineering.
