Co-ordination of pinch technology and the MIND method—applied to a Swedish board mill

By combining the pinch technology and the MIND method, it is possible to identify beneficial and energy-efficient measures in a complex industrial energy system. By tackling a problem on the two different aggregation levels, the result is thoroughly evaluated and durable measures are achieved. The strength of the combination of methods is elucidated in a case study where a Scandinavian pulp and paper mill is analysed. The studied problem concerns pre-evaporation of effluents in a board mill using excess heat. Different alternatives are evaluated, taking into account economic, technical and practicable constraints. The results show that it is cost-effective to pre-evaporate the effluent using excess heat in the studied mill.