14 ABB


Pulp Paper & Logistics


Figure 3: Mayr-Melnhof Karton’s mill at Frohnleiten in Germany 3


with information from energy providers – to help paper mills optimise energy use and supply. It enables the user to gather the required energy and process measurements from power plants and the mill, to apply advanced analytics, and to combine these with other data to create energy plans, forecasts and optimisation scenarios. The user can also continuously monitor energy consumption, costs, efficiency and other energy-related data. As a result, paper makers secure the best price for the energy they require. Energy Manager is based on ABB Ability, a unified, digital platform that extends from device to edge to cloud.


Looking specifically at the


energy demand side of the pulp and paper industry, the system adjusts the pulp production plan to reduce output when the energy price is high and to drive for full production when the energy price is low. The system also alters the production plan in a way that optimises energy use, while still producing orders in full and on time. The platform incorporates three


September/October 2019


modules. The first calculates energy efficiencies and provides visual tools for monitoring and identifying in real time the areas where improvement is required. The second – energy load forecasting and planning – predicts energy consumption schedules that are sent to suppliers or used as a basis for energy supply planning. In the third module, the optimum use of energy is calculated to meet the consumption schedules at either minimum total cost or maximum total operation profit over a given time range. The system can handle many


different supply scenarios, which gives mills an excellent understanding of how and where they use their energy. Also, if a mill has an ISO 50001 certificate, the energy reporting part of the regulation is performed by the monitoring and targeting module of the ABB system. Figure 2 shows the energy dashboard which provides management and operators with an overview on how they should run the mill in an optimised way based on calculations applied to the aggregated data.


Case study: Mayr- Melnhof Karton Mayr-Melnhof Karton is the world’s largest producer of coated recycled cartonboard. By using ABB Energy Manager to help shift energy-intensive process steps to times when electricity costs are low, the MMK Frohnleiten mill is making significant cost savings. At MMK, prices on the energy spot market are calculated 24 hours ahead, every 15 minutes, permitting an optimum price to be achieved. Consume more and it will cost a premium; consume less and the energy has to be sold at a cheaper price than would be received from the spot market. That is where load forecasting helps.


Although MMK, like most mills, has limits to flexibility in production, this approach enabled the company to achieve 15 per cent gains for the periods during 2017 when Energy Manager could be used. This is likely to be a typical saving in situations where production is based in an open, liberalised energy market. The energy manager software is not applied unless it is possible to deliver all the orders on time


and in full. Instead, any available surplus and storage capacity is used to achieve savings in other ways.


The benefits of iDSM also


extend beyond specific pulp and paper mills to enterprise-wide systems that can have a positive impact on corporate performance management.


A change of mindset There are opportunities in the pulp and paper sector to take full advantage of the proven cost and efficiency benefits offered by iDSM, but it may require mill management to employ flexibility when planning the production process and to reconsider legacy working practices that may result in inefficient use of energy. It is a question of mindset, not only a software challenge. Success requires a change in culture and operations, which is never easy but certainly worthwhile, given the efficiency advantage and savings that have been achieved by the most progressive manufacturers already embracing the opportunity. *Jukka Kostiainen is global product manager at ABB


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