Benchmarking Energy Use in the Paper Industry- A benchmarking study on process-unit level

There are large differences between paper
mills in, e.g. feedstock use and grades produced, but
typical processes are similar in all mills. The aim of
this study is to benchmark the specific energy consumption
(SEC) of similar processes within different
paper mills in order to identify energy improvement
potentials at process level. We have defined improvement
potentials as measures that can be taken at mill/
process level under assumed fixed inputs and outputs.
We were able to use industrial data on detailed process
level, and we conducted energy benchmarking comparisons
in 23 Dutch paper mills. We calculated average
SECs per process step for different paper grades,
and we were able to identify ranges in SECs between
mills producing the same grade. We found significant
opportunities for energy efficiency improvement in the
wire and press section as well as in the drying section.
The total energy improvement potential based on identified
best practices in these sections was estimated at
5.4 PJ (or 15 % of the total primary energy use in the
selected mills). Energy use in the other processes was
found to be too dependent on quality and product
specifications to be able to quantify improvement
potentials. Our results emphasise that even a benchmark
on detailed process level does not lead to clear
estimations of energy improvement potentials without
accounting for structural effects and without having a
decent understanding of the process.