Process and plant simulation as an operative decision-making and planning tool

In the presentation one theoretical study and a practical application will be shown. In the theoretical study SCA Ortviken, SCA Östrand and SEAB are connected via the district heating system. In the practical application we show how this is used as a daily planning tool by SmurfitKappa (Piteå).

The company FrontWay has a product named PaperFront where it is possible to build dynamic simulations over pulp and paper processes (and general processes). A method of working with this has been published in the article Energy Optimization in a Paper Mill Enabled by a Three-Site Energy Cooperation (Energies Journal 2022) where a district heating system connects 3 different actors and by sharing resources between each other via the district heating could increase their profit and reduce climate impact. The model uses different demands of energy throughout the year, shifting prices (fuel, electricity, etc) and different productions at the sites to predict how much a cooperation can save in comparison to if all worked as independent actors.

Customers of PaperFront are also able to perform the same type of work and in SmurfitKappa (Piteå) they are using PaperFront to plan their weekly production on two paper machines, as well as a five-day electricity purchase horizon to the power supplier. Basically, the same method is used as in the presentation where the planned production is used as an input for the paper machines, as well as levels of the chests, consistencies, etc. The model is then run in PaperFront where the production changes over time, just like it will in reality over the next couple of days and in the end it is possible to see if the plan is feasible or not and make sure that the production is optimal.