The Ingolstadt power plant ranks among the medium to peak load power plants and is in use whenever the power demand is particularly high. In Ingolstadt heavy fuel oil is used for energy generation. So that the fuel oil can burn with the highest possible level of efficiency, it is first placed in a heavy fuel preheater where it is preheated to 220°C. Vaporized with steam it is then sprayed into the boiler, the steam generator, by special low-pollution oil burners and combusted at a temperature of 1,400°C. The hot flue gases which result from this process bring the water to a boil, while water is running in pipes through the steam generator. This boiler feedwater evaporates because of the heat of the flue gases and the temperature of the steam is increased further before it is transferred, under high pressure, at temperatures of up to 535°C to the blades of a steam turbine with a high-pressure, an intermediate-pressure and two low-pressure elements. The turbine is connected to a generator which, similar to a bicycle dynamo, transforms the mechanical energy into electric energy, i.e. electricity. Then the electric power feeds into the high voltage (220,000 volt) grid. The steam has expanded and cooled down while passing through the turbine and is eventually fed back to the condenser where it becomes water once more with the aid of the cooling water before it is pumped back into the boiler. The result is a closed loop. Following the process of power generation the hot flue gases are transferred to the flue gas purification plant to be denitrogenized, de-dusted, and desulfurized in a sophisticated process. The gypsum which is a by-product of the desulfurization process is then used as a building material in the construction industry.