Opportunities for process-integrated evaporation in a hardwood pulp mill and comparison with a softwood model mill study

Significant energy savings can be made in the pulp and paper industry by implementing process-integrated evaporation (PIvap). The aim of this paper was to evaluate the concept of PIvap for a existing hardwood mill producing kraft pulp and compare the results with the ones from an earlier study of a softwood model mill. Using pinch tools, we found a solution where 1.3 GJ/ADt of pinch violations are solved and 1.1 GJ/ADt of excess heat is extracted. If the excess heat is used in an efficient PIvap, steam savings of 2.7 GJ/ADt could be made in the evaporation plant. Together with the pinch violations and improved soot blowing, the total steam savings were 4.6 GJ/ADt or 36% for an investment cost of 6.6 M€. Compared with the softwood model mill, the configuration of the hardwood mill offered about the same savings with 2.7 M€ lower investment cost, making PIvap more interesting in the hardwood mill. As an alternative to implementing PIvap, more pinch violations can be solved. The PIvap approach gives more steam savings to approximately the same specific cost