Efficient utilization of waste heat in the pulp and paper industries without own investments
The forest-based industries, especially pulp and paper industry, still holds significant untapped potential for improving energy efficiency, particularly through the utilization of waste heat. One of the biggest challenges in energy efficiency projects is often the long payback periods. However, a solution already exists. That is Energy as a Service®.
The forest-based industry is one of the most energy-intensive industrial sectors globally. For example, in Finland and Sweden, the production of pulp, paper, and sawn timber accounts for approximately one-fifth of all energy consumption. As a result, improving energy efficiency in the forest-based industry has far-reaching impacts on society as a whole.
The EU’s revised Energy Efficiency Directive tightens energy-saving targets in all EU member states, putting pressure also on forest-based industry companies operating in Europe to enhance their energy efficiency in the coming years. The directive must be implemented at the national level by October 2025.
At the European level, the estimated potential for waste heat recovery in industrial plants amounts to 370 terawatt-hours annually. While this represents a significant opportunity to enhance energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact, realizing this potential requires substantial investments in infrastructure.
“With Adven’s service model, pulp and paper industry investments that typically involve long payback periods can be implemented without requiring the customer’s own capital. This approach not only improves mill energy efficiency but also enhances the mill’s competitiveness,” says Joni Kalapudas, Business and Investment Manager responsible for Adven’s new partnerships for pulp and paper industries.
Waste heat is possible to utilize in production or in the district heating network
Industrial production processes, flue gases, exhaust air and wastewater all contain heat that can be recovered and reused. Utilizing waste heat with the right technology is one of the most effective ways to reduce a factory’s energy consumption. The recovered heat is often most cost-effective when utilized directly in the production process or for district heating production.
The pulp and paper industry generates a significant amount of warm process water that requires cooling. Additionally, the drying processes produce large volumes of hot and humid exhaust air, making its recovery a logical and efficient choice. While high-temperature waste heat can sometimes be directly reused inside mill processes, various technologies are often needed to raise temperatures to a level where the heat becomes truly valuable. These heat flows can also be repurposed to heat mill buildings or integrated into district heating networks.
Modern next-generation industrial heat pumps play a crucial role in enhancing energy efficiency, particularly in the paper and pulp industry. Waste heat from processes can be cost-effectively utilized to produce low-pressure steam using MVR (Mechanical Vapor Recompression) heat pumps.
Adven has successfully delivered several large-scale industrial solutions involving MVR (Mechanical Vapor Recompression) evaporation and heat pump technologies. For example, in a pulp mill environment, Adven implemented MVR technology for black liquor evaporation, which reduced the customer’s steam consumption by over 50% and significantly improved energy efficiency. This solution also led to a substantial reduction in CO₂ emissions.
In Sweden, Adven and forest industry company SCA has been partners for 40 years regarding heat recovery, converting high-temperature waste heat along with bio-based steam heat from the Östrand pulp mill into district heating. District heating is utilized both in heating the Östrand pulp mill’s own properties and in the local district heating network.
Additionally, Adven addressed the waste heat recovery challenge at Ovako’s hydrogen electrolysis plant in Hofors, Sweden. Instead of allowing waste heat from cooling water and hot flue gases generated during steel production to be released into the air or water, Adven’s solution now captures and repurposes this heat to warm nearby business premises and homes.
Improving energy efficiency as a service enhances competitiveness
The primary goal of Adven’s partnership model is to improve the customer’s competitiveness and reduce costs. Adven develops, builds, operates and maintains new or existing plant infrastructure as a service for its customers. One of the key principles of Adven’s Energy as a Service® model is investing in capital-intensive solutions on behalf of the customer. This allows industrial operators to focus their resources and capital on core business activities.
Purchasing energy production and plant infrastructure as a service follows the same principles as, for example, outsourcing factory maintenance or storage solutions.
” Energy efficiency projects may require significant financial investments with long payback periods. These investments can be carried out competitively through energy partnership,” Kalapudas concludes.
Interested in exploring how to improve energy efficiency through partnership? Let’s discuss!
Joni Kalapudas
Business and Investment Manager, Pulp & Paper
+358 40 840 6580, joni.kalapudas@adven.com
Sources:
LUT: https://lutpub.lut.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/164714/Satu%20Lipiainen_A4.pdf?sequence=1
&isAllowed=y)
EU: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-targets-directive-and-
rules/energy-efficiency-directive_en
Metsäteollisuus ry: https://www.metsateollisuus.fi/uutishuone/viisi-faktaa-metsateollisuuden-energiatehokkuudesta
TEM: https://tem.fi/hukkalampo
sEEnergies: https://www.seenergies.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2020/04/sEEnergies-WP5_D5.1-Excess_heat_potentials_of_industrial_sites_in_Europe.pdf
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