Project Description

The project consists of the installation of a biomass steam generator which will provide the mill with thermal energy for the production of paper.

Currently this energy is produced with natural gas. The new installation will be divided into two main areas:

• A biomass boiler of 43.8 MWth.
• A combustible preparation plant that will treat waste wood (about 70,000 tonnes per year) and paper mill rejects (about 20,000 tonnes per year). Annual net steam production will be approximately 450,000 tonnes.

The new plant will permit the installation of one steam turbine. Recycled wood will represent more than 80% of the heat of the boiler, and wood from local sources will be used as the main boiler fuel, complemented with rejected material from paper production. The only raw material in the site’s paper manufacturing is recycled paper; these rejects are separated at various points of the process.

This project is supported by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and the Regional Council of Hauts-deFrance (FREME).

Project Purpose

There are various reasons for the project, but all of them are related to the environmental, economic and competitiveness benefits that the new installation is going to provide. Some of these benefits are:

• A reduction in the use of fossil fuels, and thus of CO2 emissions
• A substitution of biomass for natural gas
• A reduction of thermal energy costs by introducing residual wood and paper mill rejects as the primary fuel instead of natural gas
• A reduction of landfill costs, as some paper mill rejects will be used as fuel.

Project Evaluation

The goals of the project are related to the environmental, economic and competitiveness benefits as mentioned above. Future similar projects at other Saica Paper sites could be considered after evaluation of our achievements here.