Process integration of near-neutral hemicellulose extraction in a Scandinavian kraft pulp mill - Consequences for the steam and Na/S balances
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2012

While in a conventional kraft pulp mill, most of the hemicellulose and lignin fraction of the wood is burned in the recovery boiler to produce steam, in a biorefinery it can partially be used to produce added-value products. In this paper, the most important consequences of integrating a bioethanol production plant with a model pulp mill are presented in terms of steam and Na/S balances. The model mill represents an average Scandinavian hardwood kraft pulp mill, and the bioethanol plant is based on the "near-neutral" hemicellulose pre-extraction method. Regarding the steam balance, a comprehensive heat integration study is performed. Implementing hemicellulose extraction increases the net steam demand by 48 MW. However, process integration at the mill and the bioethanol plant individually leads to significant steam savings, and a corresponding net increase of steam by only 3 MW. Additional steam savings can be achieved if the total integration of the two processes (between the pulp mill and the bioethanol plant) is considered (3 MW), resulting in a biorefinery with no increase of steam demand. As regards the Na/S balance, it is shown that green liquor export from the mill to the bioethanol plant results in severe disruptions in the sodium and sulphur balance of the mill. Different attempts to solve this problem are discussed, but are very costly and/or negatively affect the water and steam balance of the mill.

p23

pre-extraction

Hardwood

opportunities

model

energy efficiency

Process integration

Hemicellulose extraction

Near-neutral

recovery

Pulp mill

ethanol

oceedings

biorefinery

heat integration

separation

Pinch analysis

softwood

Författare

Valeria Lundberg

Industriella energisystem och tekniker

Erik Marcus Kristian Axelsson

Industriella energisystem och tekniker

Maryam Mahmoudkhani

Industriella energisystem och tekniker

Thore Berntsson

Industriella energisystem och tekniker

Applied Thermal Engineering

1359-4311 (ISSN)

Vol. 43 42-50

Ämneskategorier

Pappers-, massa- och fiberteknik

DOI

10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2012.03.037

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2021-02-18