Pulp and Paper

The pulp and paper sector is a significant energy user and currently ranks fourth in the
industrial sector for its energy use. In 2006, the sector consumed 6.7 EJ of energy, which
represents 6% of global industrial energy use. Despite high energy use, the sector has a
low CO2 intensity due to extensive use of biomass as fuel (in 2006, the emissions of the sector
reached 184 Mt, representing only 3% of global emissions in 2006).1 The total energy saving
potential in the sector through improved process efficiency and systems/life cycle
improvements has been estimated to be in the range of 2.1-2.4 EJ/year.2
The processes used to produce pulp and to dry paper are the major energy consumers in the
industry. The main production facilities are either pulp mills or integrated paper and pulp
mills. Integrated mills have better energy efficiency.
Kraft pulping is the most extensively used chemical pulping process. It produces highquality fibers for higher paper grades. However, it requires large amounts of heat energy and
has a low fiber yield. Kraft mills are able to meet most or all of their energy needs from byproducts (i.e. black liquor) and they can even be a net exporter of energy. Similarly, sulfite
pulping, which is used for speciality papers, has a high energy consumption but can selfgenerate a large part of a mill's energy needs from by-products.
Mechanical pulping produces weaker fibers but it has a high yield, giving it a lower specific
final energy demand. Higher efficiencies are enabled by applications such as thermomechanical pulping, where heat is recovered at diffent grades. However, as electricity is the
main energy used, this technology may have high primary energy demand and CO2 emissions.
Pulp production from recovered fibers requires substantially less energy compared to virgin
pulp (the BAT values for recovered fiber is 0.7-3 GJ/t compared to around 14.3 GJ/t for Kraft
pulping).1 It is a promising option for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions, with
estimates projected to be as high as 35%. However, the availability of recovered paper is
sometimes limited and resolving this issue will require changes to other parts of the paper
production lifecycle.
The amount of energy used by paper machines is generally dependent on the pulp quality
and paper grade, and it can show big variations. Integrated mills can achieve higher energy
efficiency by eliminating intermediate pulp drying and using better processes.
Application of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) can significantly enhance the energy
efficiency of pulp and paper industry. The CHP potential in the paper and pulp industry is
estimated to be in the range of 0.3-0.6 EJ/year. Typically, the introduction of CHP can result in
fuel savings of about 10-20% and energy savings of 30% compared to traditional
technologies.2,5
The IEA believes black-liquor gasification and bio-refinery concepts, advanced paper-drying
techniques, increased paper recycling, and carbon capture and storage will play a key role in
reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions in industry.4

benchmarks
A typical mill usually produces several types of pulp or paper, and uses various wood species
and different mixes of fiber raw material. Although the specific energy consumption of
different product types can be known, the total annual consumption usually fluctuates
depending on the distribution of production. There are also differences in the types of
production and the subprocesses involved. Collectively, these factors makes benchmarking
between different plants a challenge. Further, the impact of different energy efficiency
measures on product quality (e.g. tensile strength, freeness, opacity) creates an additional
challenge.
Meaningful benchmarking is often possible for mills working with certain types of pulp and
paper, using the same type of production, and involving comparable subprocesses.5 The tables
below provide best practice values for both stand-alone and integrated pulp and paper mills.

World Best Practice Final and Primary Energy Intensity Values for Stand-Alone Pulp Mills 1

Raw
Material

Product

Fuel Use
Steam
for Steam Exported
(GJ/ADt)
(GJ/ADt)

Process

Electricity
Use
(kWh/ADt)

Electricity
Produced
(kWh/ADt)

T
(GJ

Fin Primar Fina Primary Fin

al
y*
l
al
*

Nonwood

Market
Pulp

Pulping

10.5

Wood

Market
Pulp

Kraft

11.2

640 1939

Sulfite

16

700 2121

18.
5

219
6636
0

6.6

330 1000

1.5

-4.2

Thermomechanical
Paper

Recovered
Pulp

400 1212

-1.3
0.3

7.7
-655 -1985

11.
1

ADt = Air dried metric ton.

*
: Primary energy assumes electricity generation, transmission and distribution losses of
67%.

World Best Practice Final and Primary Energy Intensity Values for Stand-Alone Paper Mills

Raw
Material

Product

Process

Fuel Use for Steam

(GJ/ADt)

Electricity
Use
(kWh/ADt)

To
(GJ/

Fina Primar Fin P

l
y
al
*

Pulp

Uncoated fine (wood

free)

Paper
machine

6.7

640 1939

9.0

Coated fine (wood free)

Paper
machine

7.5

810 2455

10.4 1

Newsprint

Paper
machine

5.1

570 1727

7.2

Board

Paper
machine

6.7

800 2424

9.6

Kraftliner

Paper
machine

5.9

535 1621

7.8

World Best Practice Final and Primary Energy Intensity Values for Stand-Alone Paper Mills

Raw
Material

Product

Fuel Use for Steam

(GJ/ADt)

Process

Electricity
Use
(kWh/ADt)

To
(GJ/

Fina Primar Fin P

l
y
al
*

Paper
machine

Tissue

100
3030
0

6.9

10.5 1

ADt = Air dried metric ton.

*
: Primary energy assumes electricity generation, transmission and distribution losses of
67%.

World Best Practice Final and Primary Energy Intensity Values for Integrated Pulp and Paper M

Raw
Material

Product

Proces
s

Fuel Use for Steam

(GJ/ADt)
Primary*

Final
Wood

Electricity
Use
(kWh/ADt)

To
(GJ/

Fin Primar Fin P

al
y*
al

Bleached uncoated fine

Kraft

14

14

120
3636
0

18.3 2

Kraftliner (unbleached) and bag

paper

Kraft

14

14

100
3030
0

17.6 2

Bleached coated fine

Sulfite

17

14

150
3030
0

22.4 2

Bleached uncoated fine

Sulfite

18

17

120
4545
0

22.3 3

Newsprint

TMP

-1.3

18

220
3636
0

6.6 3

Magazine paper

TMP

-0.3

-1.3

210
6667
0

7.3

Board

50%
TMP

3.5

-0.3

230
6364
0

11.8 2

Board (no de-inking)

3.5

900 6970

11.2 2

Newsprint (de-inked)

100 2727

7.6 1

World Best Practice Final and Primary Energy Intensity Values for Integrated Pulp and Paper M

Raw
Material

Product

Proces
s

Fuel Use for Steam

(GJ/ADt)
Primary*

Final

Electricity
Use
(kWh/ADt)

To
(GJ/

Fin Primar Fin P

al
y*
al
0

Tissue (de-inked)

120
3030
0

ADt = Air dried metric ton.

*
: Primary energy assumes electricity generation, transmission and distribution losses of
67%.

Benchmark Footnotes:
[1]

Worrell, E., Price, L., Neelis, M., Galitsky, C., Nan, Z. (2008). "World Best Practice Energy
Intensity Values for Selected Industrial Sectors", Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

11.3 1