Norampac and Rolland

Cascades is a North American leader in the production, processing and marketing of packaging products, fine paper and toilet paper. As part of its efforts aimed at expanding the use of process integration in Canada, CanmetENERGY conducted 2 site-wide process integration studies at Cascades’ Norampac Division in Red Rock, Ontario (a large integrated pulp and paperboard plant), and at the Rolland Division in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec (a fine paper plant). These projects also led to a transfer and a sharing of knowledge about process integration to the Cascades engineering team.

Process integration is a comprehensive and systematic analysis method particularly well suited to improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in large plants with complex energy systems.

Substantial Savings

At the Red Rock plant, projects identified by the process integration study led to:

• Energy savings of $3 million per year, with a payback period of approximately 8 months
• A CO₂ emissions reduction of 24,000 tonnes per year
• Additional annual savings of $700,000 in fibre recovery, thanks to implemented water management projects

At the Rolland Division, identified projects in turn led to:

• $1.5 million in annual fuel savings, with a payback period of 8 months
• A CO₂ emissions reduction of 10,000 tonnes per year

In both cases, a global analysis was carried out, covering the entire process, water systems and services. By providing a comprehensive overview, the process integration studies highlighted new opportunities for improvement where none had been expected.

For undertaking these studies, Cascades was able to receive a process integration study incentive from Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE).

To learn more about this project or for additional information about process integration and Pinch analysis, see the:

• Process Integration Brochure
  (PDF, 351 KB)
• Pinch Analysis Guide
  (PDF, 1.2 MB)

CanmetENERGY experts also conducted process integration studies in other Canadian pulp and paper plants. For more information, see the list of success stories for that industrial sector.