PULP AND PAPER INDUS TRY ENERGY BANDWIDTH STUDY
Robert Kinstrey* and David E. White**
*Jacobs, Greenville, South Carolina
**Institute of Paper Science and Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
ABSTRACT
A pulp and paper industry energy bandwidth study was conducted with support from the AIChE and DOE-OIT. The
objective was to use results of this study to identify the R&D areas that have the greatest potential for energy
savings. To accomplish this result, the following estimates were made:
• An estimate of the current average energy consumption by mill areas / technologies based on the 2002
Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS)
•
An estimate of what the energy consumption would be by mill areas / technologies if “Best Available”
practices were applied utilizing current state-of-the-art (SOA) or Best Available Technologies (BAT).
•
An estimate in selected mill areas / technologies of what the energy consumption would be if new
technologies could be developed to drive energy consumption down to “practical minimum” using
advanced technology not currently practiced. The difference between today’s average and the “practical
minimal technologies” represents an area of opportunity that could be used to direct research grant money
to encourage the development of technologies that would result in reduced energy consumption
•
An estimate of what the energy consumption would be of selected mill areas / technologies if “ theoretical
minimum” energy (based on theoretical calculations) could be achieved.
INTRODUCTION
In 2000 the U.S. Paper Industry produced 105.6 million tons of pulp and paper products while consuming 2,361
trillion Btus of thermal and electrical energy. The 2002 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) data
was used for an estimate of current average energy consumption since these are the latest government published
numbers and these consumption figures match published production data for the same time period. Since 2000, the
Pulp and Paper Industry has reduced it’s energy consumption, primarily through the use of waste energy streams -
capturing the energy in waste heat streams, both air and liquid, and using energy saving devices such as variable
speed motors and more efficient lighting. The relative difference between actual and projected energy savings was
determined for each of two cases: use of Best Available Technology (BAT) and use of advanced technologies
(Practical Minimums).
This study is production weighted. The energy consumed is based on the tons of pulp and paper produced by type
(kraft, thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP), printing & writing, linerboard, etc.) multiplied by the energy consumed per
ton for the various large process areas within a mill. Examples of large process areas are: pulping, bleaching, liquor
evaporation, stock preparation, and paper drying. Though TMP consumes a large quantity of electric power per unit
of pulp produced, total energy consumed is small compared to the energy consumed by the U.S. pulp and paper
industry since only a small quantity of TMP is produced in the U.S. This study focuses on the large blocks of
energy consumed by the U.S. pulp and paper industry rather than the large process units with relative little impact on
the industry’s total energy consumption.
PAPER INDUSTRY ENERGY CONSUMPTION
MECS tables served as the basis for the paper industry energy consumption in this bandwidth study. The United
States paper industry (NAICS Code 322) used approximately 2,361 trillion Btus (TBtu) while producing
approximately 105.6 million tons of pulp and paper products in 2000 (Table I) [1-3]. The largest category of fuel
used by the industry is black liquor and hog fuel (bark / wood waste), which represent about 54.3% of the industry’s
energy input. These fuel categories are included in the MECS classification as “Coke and Other”, which are largely
byproduct fuels used as fuel and for on-site electrical generation (Table II). (Black liquor represents 71% of the