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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Energy and materials flows in the production of pulp and paper

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5610366

A broad overview is presented of the US pulp and paper industry, emphasizing its manufacturing processes and energy requirements at the unit process level. Also discussed are its patterns of energy use, the means it has for coping with energy supply problems, the potential of its forest holdings to supply fuels and chemical feedstocks, recycling, public policy, and actions that could be taken to reduce future fossil fuel demand. The aggregate purchased energy required to make paper from pulpwood is estimated to be 15 +- 5 x 10/sup 6/ Btu/ton of composite product in 1980, which possibly could be reduced to 7 to 10 x 10/sup 6/ Btu/ton by 1990. The purchased-energy requirement for unbleached kraft pulp is 3 to 3.5 x 10/sup 6/ Btu/ton, which can approach zero in a properly designed mill. The most energy-consuming unit process is paper drying (5 to 9 x 10/sup 6/ Btu/ton). The industry provides 50% of its fuel requirements from its own resources and is the nation's largest cogenerator of steam and electricity. Thus, the industry is better able to reduce its use of fossil fuels than are other energy-intensive industries.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
5610366
Report Number(s):
ANL/CNSV-16; ON: DE82000890
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English