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Holmen’s Workington paperboard mill reports cutting steam used by its biomass boiler’s sootblowing system from 11.4 to 6.3 tonnes per cycle—a 45% reduction—after Heat Management installed HISS Advanced in November 2025. The 37-blower system also shortened each cleaning cycle from two hours to one hour. The supplier’s case study says average generator output increased by approximately 1.0 MWe at similar fuel consumption, while boiler electrical efficiency rose 0.62 percentage points.
What changed at the Workington mill
HISS Advanced was installed on an existing 150 MWth Andritz bubbling-fluidized-bed (BFB) biomass boiler at Holmen Workington. The boiler supplies the mill’s electricity and process steam; Holmen’s earlier project description estimated annual production potential of 325 GWh of electricity and 420 GWh of thermal energy for the biofuel installation.
The retrofit covered all 37 steam sootblowers. Sootblowers remove ash and deposits from heat-transfer surfaces, but each cleaning operation consumes steam that could otherwise support useful heat or power production. According to Heat Management’s 2026 Workington case study, the measured change was:
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| Measure | Before HISS Advanced | After installation | Reported change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sootblowing steam per cycle | 11.4 tonnes | 6.3 tonnes | 45% less |
| Cycle duration | Two hours | One hour | 50% shorter |
| Average generator output | Baseline not stated | Approximately 1.0 MWe higher | At similar fuel consumption |
| Boiler electrical efficiency | Baseline not stated | 0.62 percentage points higher | Reported by Heat Management |
These are reported case-study results rather than measurements from a published independent audit. The figures describe Workington’s installation and operating conditions; they should not be treated as a guaranteed result for every boiler.
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How HISS Advanced sootblowing works
One-way cleaning paths
Heat Management describes HISS as using one-way sootblowing sequences. Instead of running every lance through a conventional out-and-back pattern, the control strategy coordinates the available cleaning direction and timing to avoid unnecessary travel and steam use.
Overlapping sootblower operation
The system can overlap sootblower operation, allowing another blower to begin while the preceding sequence is still being completed. That coordination is intended to maintain heat-transfer-surface cleanliness while reducing the idle time between individual blowers. Heat Management’s technical brochure gives a typical product-level expectation of about 45–50% less time and steam per cycle; the 45% Workington figure is the site-specific result reported in the 2026 case study.
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Automation and fallback control
HISS Advanced is an industrial automation package integrated with the boiler’s existing controls, not a consumer appliance. Workington says operators can revert to the previous sootblowing logic if HISS is unavailable. That fallback lets the CHP plant continue operating while an automation or actuator issue is investigated.
Did the shorter cycle increase boiler output?
Workington’s reported operating data indicate an average generator-output increase of approximately 1.0 MWe at similar fuel consumption, alongside the 0.62-percentage-point improvement in boiler electrical efficiency. A plausible operational benefit is that less steam is diverted to cleaning and that coordinated cleaning keeps heat-transfer surfaces effective, but the case study does not publish a separately controlled causal analysis. The output and efficiency figures should therefore be read as observed plant results associated with the retrofit, not as a universal performance guarantee.
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Reliability and tube-leak observations
Heat Management reports no known tube leaks or unplanned boiler downtime since the November 2025 installation. James Long, Workington’s Boiler and Turbine Manager, said key operating values remained in the expected range and that the site had experienced no known tube leaks. Oliver Dyer, Project Engineer, described the automation and actuators as reliable so far.
The observation period and method are not specified as an independent reliability study. Tube-leak absence and uptime are consequently useful field observations, but they do not establish long-term failure rates or prove that HISS alone caused the outcome.
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What this means for other biomass boilers
Plants assessing sootblowing optimization should compare more than a headline steam-saving percentage. The relevant engineering questions include:
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- Steam saved per cycle: establish a metered baseline and account for boiler load and fuel moisture.
- Cleaning duration: verify whether a shorter sequence changes furnace or convection-pass temperatures.
- Cleanliness and tube protection: trend gas-side differential pressure, heat-transfer performance and tube inspection results to avoid trading steam savings for deposits or erosion.
- Power and efficiency: separate changes caused by sootblowing from fuel mix, load, ambient conditions and turbine operation.
- DCS integration: confirm alarms, permissives, interlocks, historian tags and operator controls before commissioning.
- Fallback operation: require a documented way to return to the former logic without taking the boiler offline.
- Commissioning scope: plan actuator checks, sequence testing, operator training and a period of baseline-versus-post-installation monitoring.
- Evidence quality: distinguish supplier/customer case studies from independently verified performance tests.
Is HISS Advanced an Amazon product?
No. HISS Advanced is an industrial sootblowing-control system from Heat Management, designed for utility and process boilers. It is installed and commissioned as part of a plant automation project; consumer boiler-cleaning products or marketplace listings are not equivalent substitutes for a 150 MWth biomass-boiler application.
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Why the Workington result matters
The Workington retrofit demonstrates the potential value of optimizing an existing sootblowing fleet rather than replacing the boiler. On this installation, the reported 45% reduction in steam per cycle and one-hour time saving were accompanied by higher average generator output and a modest efficiency gain, while the plant retained its original control logic as a fallback. Whether another site can reproduce those results depends on boiler geometry, deposit characteristics, sootblower condition, control-system integration and operating discipline.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much sootblowing steam did Holmen Workington save?
Heat Management’s 2026 case study reports a reduction from 11.4 to 6.3 tonnes per cycle, equal to 45% less steam.
How long is the HISS Advanced cleaning cycle?
At Workington, the reported cycle fell from two hours to one hour after installation.
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The case study reports approximately 1.0 MWe higher average generator output at similar fuel consumption, with boiler electrical efficiency 0.62 percentage points higher.
Is the reliability result independently audited?
No independent audit is identified. The no-leak and no-unplanned-downtime observations come from Heat Management’s supplier/customer reporting.
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