Prioritizing Transformative Energy Efficiency Technologies in the Pulp and Paper Sector Through Levelized Cost of Conserved Energy, TAPPICon26

The U.S. pulp and paper (P&P) industry is among the most energy-intensive manufacturing sectors and faces growing pressure to reduce operating costs and improve competitiveness under changing market conditions. Existing assessments have largely focused on technical energy-saving potential or energy-only economic screening, which can undervalue technologies that provide broader operational benefits. This study develops a prioritization framework for EE technologies in the U.S. P&P sector using the levelized cost of conserved energy (LCCE). The analysis ranks select EE technologies using the LCCE approach based on implementation costs, operating costs, and expected energy savings. The results show that, except for the electric boiler and one recovery boiler case (RB2), all assessed technologies yield negative LCCE values, indicating that they reduce overall lifetime spending while conserving energy. Among the technologies assessed, high-efficiency refiners exhibited the lowest LCCE and the highest return on investment, making them the most economically attractive option. Repulping efficiency improvements also showed favorable economics, with reduced lifetime spending despite lower annualized conserved energy, primarily because of their lower implementation costs. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of LCCE as a practical decision-support tool for prioritizing industrial energy-efficiency investments. By integrating energy and broader operational value, the study provides a more decision-relevant basis for evaluating transformative EE options. Overall, the results are intended to support research, development and deployment (RD&D) prioritization and industrial investment planning by identifying underutilized or emerging EE technologies, while also discussing the RD&D needs to support their widespread adoption.

TAPPI conference proceedings and presentations, technical papers, and publication articles provide technical and management data and solutions on topics covering the Pulp, Paper, Tissue, Corrugated Packaging, Flexible Packaging, Nanotechnology and Converting Industries.

Simply select the quantity, add to your cart and your conference paper, presentation or article will be available for immediate download.