Water Reuse Project Selection A retrofit path to water and energy savings

A systematic analysis of the water and energy systems in pulp and paper processes reveals interesting opportunities for improvement through their integration. Therefore, when performing a mill retrofit study these interactions have to be considered in the methodology to achieve better process design options and improve overall energy and water efficiency and profitability. More specifically, the selection of retrofit projects to increase water productivity has to account for the limitations imposed by the existing process configuration and utility infrastructure to ensure that all design changes have positive contributions to the mill savings. A novel methodology has been developed to screen process water reduction projects for optimal retrofit of industrial energy and water networks. This methodology is based on analogies with the transhipment model from the operations research literature (Taha, 1982).