Results of DOE/OIT Plant-Wide Energy Assessments in the Forest Products Industry, 2002 Fall Technical Conference

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) is sponsoring cost-shared, plant-wide energy assessments of industrial facilities through its BestPractices Program. The purpose of these assessments is to examine plant utility and process operations to identify opportunities for improving energy efficiency. The participating industries are part of the DOE Industries of the Future (IOF) Program. Assessments have been completed and documented at four pulp and paper facilities: Caraustar Industries’ Rittman recycled paperboard mill, Boise Cascade’s International Falls paper mill, Inland Paperboard and Packaging’s Rome linerboard mill, and Appleton Papers’ West Carrollton paper mill.

The combined annual savings identified in these studies at the four pulp and paper facilities have been estimated at nearly $15 million. Significant non-energy benefits such as reduced waste production, increased productivity, and decreased maintenance requirements have also resulted from project implementation. This paper summarizes the findings from the completed assessments and identifies areas where energy savings opportunities have been found.