Energy Efficiency in the Industry

The pulp and paper industry is a very energy-intensive industrial sector.  As a result, it is crucial to continually improve energy efficiency to the greatest extent.

Energy efficiency saves jobs across all sectors.  Companies can boost their profits and secure their workforce by cutting their energy costs.

Pulp and paperboard mills use 15-20% of all energy used in U.S. manufacturing.  Steam generation is a significantly large part.  The pulp and paper industry uses 43% of all steam generated nationwide.  By incorporating inline direct steam injection systems, mills are experiencing up to 66% reductions in heating costs.

Increased energy efficiency at the mills makes sense not only for a company’s bottom line but for the environment.

Specifics of a Direct Injection Steam Heater

They use a direct injection steam heater to directly inject saturated steam in order to heat and maintain water like products to a certain temperature, dependent on the process requirement.  It is designed to handle a wide range of flow rates and deliver hot fluids at precise temperatures with 20-30% less energy than an indirect heat exchanger.

Benefits of a Direct Injection Steam Heater

A direct injection steam heater causes a low-pressure drop in existing flow.  This means no extra input is needed to progress the system except steam.  These benefits help pulp and paper mills achieve energy efficiency and pursue lean manufacturing goals, says one maker of direct injection steam heaters.  The compact heaters incorporate a smoothly flowing stream path that encourages the use of momentum in steam injection.

The design significantly helps the steam input retain momentum, and this conservation of energy passes into the product flow.

Innovative Technology

Komax developed and patented a revolutionary Equalizer Mixing Module.  It contains six parallel mixing chambers with Komax’s helical mixing elements that allow the contact of the steam and product to be heated.  These elements will then divide and recombine the process flow to form multiple impingent blending zones that produce high turbulence and small steam bubble sizes.  This is where pulp stock and steam contact and mix.  They developed the creation when a Canadian bleach mill approached Komax to create a solution for their chlorine-free (TCF) sequence in response to market demands.  They install these units in mills all around the world, performing without vibration and noise at high mixing efficiency.  The Komax direct injection steam heater is notably vibration-free, thus prolonging the life of a production line.  While the technology creation is from a few years ago, it is still running strong in facilities today.

As the pulp and paper industry continues to change, so will Komax’s technologies to support them in maintaining efficiency and energy savings.

Leading the Industry

Komax Systems, Inc., is leading the industry in direct injection steam heaters and static mixing technology.  Their technology is in over 100,000 installations throughout the world.  The Komax engineers can customize a solution to fit your specific needs.  Contact them today!