Pulp mill power generation trend to high pressure recovery boilers

In the quest to produce more power, the kraft pulp mill industry in the past two decades has increased recovery boiler (RE) operating pressures. This has been particularly apparent in Japan and the US south-east. Finland has been consistently installing higher pressure units for at least the last 30 years. The prevailing cost of electricity has been a significant driver along with the opportunity to sell excess electricity. It is well proven that an efficiently designed new Kraft pulp mill can be a net exporter of power. However, this review shows that this potential may only be realized in geographical areas where converging technical, regulatory and financial trends facilitate development of the mill's full energy production potential.