A Scandinavian chemical wood-pulp mill. Part 2. International and model mills comparison

The energy use at a Swedish chemical wood-pulp mill is compared internationally and for two model mills that aim to use the most efficient available technology. The international comparison is performed between Canadian and Scandinavian pulp-mills on a general level, and on a closer level among eleven Swedish and Finnish non-integrated sulfate pulp-mills, the type of mill considered in the case study. The two model mills that are used for comparison are one Swedish and one Canadian. The Scandinavian pulp-mills are somewhat more energy efficient than the Canadian mills. Still, the variation in energy use is remarkably large among the Scandinavian mills, which indicates that the energy-saving potential is great. If all Swedish freestanding sulfate pulp-mills became as energy efficient as the most efficient Scandinavian mill, electricity savings corresponding to nearly 1% of the national electricity use would be obtained. In the model mills comparison it was found that large amounts of heat could be saved, particularly in the evaporation plant.