A Scandinavian chemical wood-pulp mill. Part 1. Energy audit aiming at efficiency measures

A Swedish wood-pulp mill is surveyed in terms of energy supply and use in order to determine the energy-saving potential. Conservation measures are of increasing interest to Swedish industry, as energy prices have continued to rise in recent years. The electricity price particularly increased after the deregulation of the Scandinavian electricity market in 1996. The deregulation expanded to all of the EU in July 2004, which may increase the Swedish electricity price further until it reaches the generally higher European price level. Furthermore, oil prices have increased and the emissions trading scheme for CO2 adds to the incentive to reduce oil consumption. The energy system at the surveyed pulp mill is described in terms of electricity and process heat production and use. The total energy-saving potential is estimated and some saving points are identified. The heat that today is wasted at the mill has been surveyed in order to find potential for heat integration or heat export. The result shows that the mill probably could become self-sufficient in electricity. Particularly important in that endeavour is updating old pumps. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.