EISER

The EISER project aims to improve energy and resource efficiency in the pulp and paper industry. For this purpose, strategies are being developed to reduce process water consumption. Within the project it shall be investigated the extent to which wastewater streams can be used for improved heat recovery and energy efficiency, and whether these wastewater streams can be reused as process water after modification/treatment. In addition, it will be investigated whether energy efficiency can be improved by using heat pumps in certain process stages.

Project goals & contents:

EISER will start from an industrial perspective and find long-term solutions that create value for not only the industrial partners and their contexts but also help achieve sustainable development goals and energy transition. The project will recognize parallels in several countries and be based on concrete and highly innovative practical examples within the pulp and paper industry, on how process integration and industry integration measures can be initiated and implemented. EISER has three scopes, all with an industrial symbiosis mindset:

1. Symbiotic/Circular Process Design -to advance from a linear resource setup when designing new plants and processes, towards a context-aware design process enabling integration with nearby industrial processes and local resources.
2. Energy/Water Nexus -to improve strategies for process water consumption to reduce and reuse water and to improve heat recovery and energy efficiency in supply and wastewater treatment.
3. Efficient drying -to improve energy efficiency by use of heat pumps as well as other improvements within the drying process, its energy supply, and by other means of heat recovery (than heat pumps).

EISER started on 1 January 2025 and will run for three years. The project was approved in the EU Call CET Partnership 2023, CM2023-09 Integrated industrial energy systems and is funded by the Climate and Energy Fund and the CETP-EU.