Paperboard Mill Runs Cleaner with Natural Gas-saving Technology

For more than 50 years, making coated-recycled paperboard has been the daily routine at Graphic Packaging’s paper mill, located in Santa Clara, California. Using 100% recycled fiber as raw material, the paper mill presently manufactures more than 380 tons of clay-coated paperboard daily for high-end consumer packaging customers of Graphic Packaging International.

Now the mill manufactures the paperboard using several million therms less natural gas thanks to a new waste heat recovery system.

“Today is no different than when operations started in 1957, except that the mill has raised ‘working green’ to a new level,” said Santa Clara resident mill manager Dick Johnston. “Since 1957, we have recycled more than 4.8 million tons of fiber to make our paperboard products. Our recycling helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shows that we are committed to sustainability as a business.”

The paper mill recently completed a heat recovery retrofit project that will save over 2.7 million therms of natural gas this year. According to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Graphic Packaging’s investment in waste heat recovery at the Santa Clara mill has resulted in one of the highest natural gas savings on record and an energy efficiency incentive of more than $1.1 million to offset the project costs. The natural gas energy savings were certified by Lockheed Martin, who manages PG&E’s Heavy Industry Energy Efficiency Program.

By adding state-of-the-art heat exchange and recovery technology to its cogeneration power plant, the paper mill can now capture and recycle valuable waste heat energy from the exhaust gases to reduce significantly the volume of natural gas required by the power plant to heat process water essential to paperboard production. Duct burner consumption of natural gas has been cut by 50 percent, eliminating more than 15,700 tons of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to removing 2,198 cars per year off the road or saving enough natural gas to annually heat over 5,000 homes.

“Every step to use energy more efficiently -- like installing heat recovery technology to reduce natural gas demand at our Santa Clara mill -- improves the environment and sustains important energy resources like natural gas. Starting in our workplace and in our communities, we must carefully examine what we do and find new ways to increase our energy efficiency by at least ten percent. This will make a difference in controlling energy costs, improving the U.S. economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions – those are good outcomes for all of us,” said David W. Scheible, president and CEO of Graphic Packaging International, Inc.

"We are delighted to provide energy management solutions that help our customers be environmental leaders," said Jan Berman, senior director of customer energy efficiency and solar for PG&E. "This project is a great example of the successful teamwork between PG&E and Lockheed Martin, working together to provide Graphic Packaging with the support they needed to implement this project and meet their energy needs. Over the past 30 years, PG&E's energy efficiency programs have avoided the release of over 135 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."

As ENERGY STAR industry partners, Graphic Packaging, PG&E and Lockheed Martin join the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), environmental organizations and other leading U.S. companies to strategically improve energy efficiency across the country and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Source: Graphic Packaging International, Inc.