Pulp and Paper Industry

Energy Conservation

Pratima Bajpai

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780128034118
• eBook ISBN: 9780128034286
• Topic: Technik & Maschinenbau
• Subtopic: Maschinen- und Anlagebau

Pulp and Paper Industry: Energy Conservation presents a number of energy-efficient technologies and practices that are cost-effective and available for implementation today. Emerging energy-efficient technologies and future prospects in this field are also dealt with. Qualitative and quantitative results/data on energy savings for various steps of pulp and paper making process are presented. There is no specific book on this topic. This will be a comprehensive reference in the field. - Thorough and in-depth coverage of energy-efficient technologies and practices in paper and pulp industry - Presents cost-effective and available for implementation today technologies - Discusses Biotechnological processes, especially enzymatic processes in the pulp and paper industry to reduce the energy consumption and improve the product quality - Presents qualitative and quantitative results/data on energy savings for various steps of pulp and paper making process

Chapter 1

General Background

Abstract

The pulp and paper industry in general is highly energy intensive, consuming energy in the form of power as well as fuels. Due to shortages in energy availability and increase in energy cost, energy conservation has become a necessity in the paper industry. There is a need to develop short- and long-term strategies for energy conservation. There is a strong business case for investing in energy efficiency in the pulp and paper sector. Investing in energy efficiency can yield several benefits. Completely new process designs and processing techniques could bring long-term energy efficiency improvements in paper production. The general background on energy efficiency improvement and cost-saving opportunities are presented in this chapter.

Keywords

pulp and paper industry

energy

energy intensive

energy efficiency

energy conservation

energy cost

The pulp and paper industry plays an important role in the economic growth of the country. It is, in general, highly energy intensive (Kong et al., 2012, 2013; Martin et al., 2000; Bajpai and Bajpai, 1998; Bajpai, 2011; Kramer et al., 2009; European Commission, 2001, 2013; Peng et al., 2015; Blomberg et al., 2012; Xu et al., 2014). It consumes energy in the form of power as well as fuels and is the fifth largest industrial energy user in the United States, consuming about 11% of the total industrial energy per year. In India, it is the sixth largest consumer of energy in the industrial sector. Papermaking energy intensities in the United States are found to be greater than those in many other countries (Farla et al., 1997). The pulp and paper industry spent approximately $7.5 billion on purchased fuels and electricity in 2006 in the United States, making energy use a significant cost driver for the industry. Energy efficiency improvement is an important way to reduce these costs and to increase predictable earnings in the face of ongoing energy price volatility. Several pulp and paper companies have already accepted the challenge to improve their energy efficiency and have started reaping the rewards of energy efficiency investments. Energy efficiency is doing more work with the same amount of energy or doing the same amount of work using less energy. There appears to be a strong business case for investing in energy efficiency in the pulp and paper sector. Energy efficiency reductions can make a significant difference to the bottom line as energy constitutes as much as 15% of total operating costs. Investing in energy efficiency can also yield benefits from (Metz et al., 2007; Worrell et al., 2009):

• Reduced water and associated chemical use

• Improving energy and water security for the plant

• Building goodwill in the regional communities in which companies operate

de Beer (1998) has reported that completely new processing techniques and process designs could bring long-term energy efficiency improvements of 75–90% in paper production.

The global paper industry is the fourth largest consumer of primary energy in the industrial sector. Annual primary energy consumption has been estimated at 8 exajoules (EJ), of which 2.3 EJ are from black liquor and wood waste (nonconventional energy) (de Beer, 2000). The average specific energy consumption (SEC) of papermaking only, excluding pulping, is about 3.1 EJ. SEC in pulp and paper production is highly affected by several factors listed as follows (Vakkilainen and Kivistö, 2010; Farla et al., 1997; IEA, 2007; Worrell et al., 2007):

• Product mix (i.e., structure)

• Processes used

• Plant size

• Plant location

• Technology used

• Technical age of the mill

• Feedstock quality

• Fuel prices

• Utilization rate of plant capacity

• Integration level

• Climate conditions

• Level of management attention to energy efficiency

In the United States, the pulp and paper industry has reduced energy use by about 42% during the period 1975–2005 (as per Intermediate Energy Infobook, 2007) (Bajpai, 2011). The SEC in the Indian pulp and paper industry is 33.7–47.7 GJ/t. The...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Preface
• List of Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: General Background
• Chapter 2: Global Pulp and Paper Production and Consumption
• Chapter 3: Pulp and Paper Production Processes and Energy Overview
• Chapter 4: Energy Conservation Measures for Raw Material Preparation
• Chapter 5: Energy Conservation Measures for Chemical Pulping
• Chapter 6: Energy Conservation Measures for Bleaching
• Chapter 7: Energy Conservation Measures for Chemical Recovery
• Chapter 8: Energy Conservation Measures for Mechanical Pulping
• Chapter 9: Energy Conservation Measures for Recovered Fiber Processing
• Chapter 10: Energy Conservation Measures for Stock Preparation and Papermaking
• Chapter 11: Emerging Technologies
• Chapter 12: Future Perspectives
• Index