Process integration and CHP

Pinch technology sets thermodynamic targets for mill process heating requirements and is uniquely able to show the interface between these requirements and the heat and power systems that serve the mill. This provides essential information on how the integration of a cogeneration scheme can be improved. On pulp and paper mills studied to date, existing cogeneration systems have always been designed for heating duties above target and in some cases they have also been inappropriately placed. A process integration study using pinch technology should therefore be applied to any mill before a cogeneration system is specified either for a retrofit or a new design. The author briefly describes this process