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Total site heat integration of multi-effect evaporators with vapour recompression for older kraft mills

Abstract
This paper aims to apply Total Site Heat Integration (TSHI) to appropriately integrate Mechanical and Thermal Vapour Recompression with multi-effect evaporators at older Kraft Mills, to cause a step reduction in fossil fuel use and its associated emissions. Heat and power demands for older Kraft Mills are chiefly satisfied from Recovery Boilers (RB), heavily supplemented by biomass/fossil fuel boilers, and integrated with steam turbines. Prior to firing, black liquor - the RB fuel - is concentrated from about 18 % to 67 % in a multi-effect evaporator, which demands 20 % of site-wide thermal energy. With access to renewable electricity, this study finds that vapour recompression can be economically integrated into a multi-effect evaporator at older Kraft Mills. The vapour recompression configuration with the greatest economic potential used 2-stages of mechanical vapour recompression and 1-stage of thermal vapour recompression. This system achieved a levelised profit of NZD 8.56 M/y, a payback period of 1.0 y and an internal rate of return of 103 %. An optimum integrated set-up needs to account for site-specific heat demand and utility supply profiles through TSHI.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Walmsley, T. G., Atkins, M. J., Ong, B. H. Y., Klemeš, J. J., Walmsley, M. R. W., & Varbanov, P. S. (2017). Total site heat integration of multi-effect evaporators with vapour recompression for older kraft mills. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 61, 265–270. https://doi.org/10.3303/CET1761042
Date
2017
Publisher
AIDIC (Italian Association of Chemical Engineering)
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
Copyright © 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.