Nouryon Kvarntorp reduces CO2 by 90%

28th November 2023
News Industries Chemical & Pharmaceutical

International chemical company Nouryon is replacing LPG with biofuel and reducing its carbon footprint in Kvarntorp, Sweden, by at least 90 percent. Through a cooperation with energy company Adven, Nouryon is saving energy and simultaneously increasing capacity. Adven’s energy solutions are reducing CO2 emissions by nearly 130,000 tons annually among customers in the Nordics and Baltics, a number that grows with every industrial energy system that Adven is realizing.

Nouryon is one of the world’s largest producers of specialty chemicals. The company is active in some 80 countries and has six locations in Sweden. In Kvarntorp, more than 50 employees produce micronutrients that increase growth in agriculture with a high pH value, as well as so-called complexing agents that reduce the levels of heavy metals in paper pulp.

Adven’s energy system

As part of Adven’s Energy as a Service® concept, the energy company has built a new steam boiler in Kvarntorp. The energy company owns, operates and maintains the energy system while  Nouryon can focus entirely on its own production. The new boiler is fired with residual products from the forest industry, such as chipped branches and tops. The biofuel comes mainly from local suppliers. 

“Adven’s and Nouryon’s joint efforts in Kvarntorp is not only securing employment in Kumla, but also strongly contributes to a better environment for the whole municipality and beyond” says Chairman of the Municipal board Andreas Brorsson.

Less energy – more capacity

With the transition, the Kvarntorp facility is replacing LPG with biofuel, with the exception of LPG for peak heating. At the same time, the solution saves time, energy and costs. A significant saving is the drying process where steam, via heat exchangers, heats up air that dries a wet mush into manageable dry granules. Another saving is a new hot water tank. It acts as a heat exchanger and regulates variations in the steam system and boiler. This results in smoother operation – and it speeds up the heating of water to a couple of hundred degrees, which is a necessity for production.

With the new hot water tank Nouryon Kvarntorp does no longer have to heat up lake water, which has been the previous procedue, from 4 degrees Celcius in wintertimes. This obviously saves energy and time, which instead can be used to increase production capacity.  

The hot water tank is the result of an idea that the two companies came up with together. To Adven, cooperation is a true key factor. Without it, tailor making the customers’ energy systems would be difficult and the reduction of 129 302 tons of CO2 emissions annually among customers in the Nordics and Baltics wouldn’t be a fact. With continous cooperation and long-term focus though, this figure will keep on growing with every industrial energy solution that Adven realizes.

 

 

Together is a key word in the transition. Here it led to energy savings, conversion and increased production capacity”, says Henrik Johansson-Casimiro, SVP, Industrial Energy Solutions, at Adven.

It was a challenge to get the hot water tank connecting with other functions in place in Kvarntorp, a hard work in which many employees in both companies have contributed. The water tank will that way be the icing on the cake, in the transformed and more efficient Nouryon Kvarntorp.

For further information, please contact:

Henrik Johansson-Casimiro, SVP, Industrial Energy Solutions at Adven, henrik.johanssoncasimiro@adven.com, +46 730 49 93 21.

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