Consultancy

Food

Consultancy trajectories with the food industry have shown that the largest share of energy (approximately 80%) is used for heat generation, i.e. to heat raw materials and auxiliary materials and to separate water from the substances that are dissolved or suspended in it. The energy saving potential in these processes ranges from 20% to over 50%. These measures can be subdivided in a number of groups:

Adjustment of the process, for example by means of different elementary process steps. Different process route or alternative raw and auxiliary materials.
Improved process integration, often combined with adjustments in the process route and process parameters.
Alternative powering of the process, often built up from a combination of process integrated combined heat and power and heat pumps.

Technology development

A generic technology development from this trajectory involves the so-called ‘Mechanical Vapour Compression’. A development project is started up for this idea. The saving potential of this technology in the Netherlands is estimated to amount to 10 PJ to 20 PJ.

Fine chemistry

A quick scan among five companies in fine chemistry focused on increasing energy efficiency. In these companies heat is a dominant energy user at 80%. The energy saving potential that was established ranges from 10% to 50%. The measures can be divided into a number of groups:

Adjustment of the process, for example by means of different elementary process steps. Different process route or alternative raw and auxiliary materials.
Improved process integration, often combined with adjustments in the process route and process parameters.
Alternative powering of the process, often built up from a combination of process integrated combined heat and power, intermediate or downstream Organic Rankine Cycle and heat pumps.

Technology development

Due to the diversity in products and processes only the process specific technology developments were identified.

Paper industry

The analysis of five paper production lines shows that heat takes up the largest share of total energy use at 70% in the production of paper. The saving potential depends on the type of product and the specific installation and ranges from 10% to 40%. The measures can be divided into a number of groups:

Improved mechanical dehydration by means of adjustments in the press section, the wet-end chemistry and increase of the process temperature.
Improved process integration.
Larger and more efficient use of combined heat and power with a smaller heat/power ratio, improved integration of combined heat and power in the process and use of heat pumps.

Technology development

The results of these analyses gave rise to a project (EOS-ES programme) which is co-funded by the Dutch government, in collaboration with SmurfitKappa. The objective of the project is to develop an alternative system for process ventilation that:

Helps to develop a flexible route for process integration that can close the gap between current heat use (approximately 5.8 GJ/ton) and the current optimum (approximately 2.8 GJ/ton).
Enables heat saving beyond the current optimum by combining the new system of process ventilation with a heat pump.

The saving potential of alternative process ventilation in the Netherlands is estimated at 5 PJ to 10 PJ.