Major Investment to Cut Energy Consumption by 30% at Nordic Sugar Plant

Nordic Sugar is now taking another significant step to optimise the energy use in sugar production in Sweden. This is accomplished through an investment of 215 million Swedish kroner in two new energy-efficient facilities at the Ãrtofta-based factory - a steam dryer and a new boiler facility. 

 

The steam dryer will be used in the factory's feed production where beet pulp is dried to manufacture feed pellets. The steam from the pulp drying process will be re-used directly in sugar production, which will offer substantial energy savings. The boiler facility, a so-called continuous pan, enables the sugar to boil at a lower temperature, which will reduce the energy requirement of the boiling process significantly. 

 

The new facilities are going to reduce the sugar factory's energy consumption by around 150,000 MWh a year. This represents about 30% of the factory's energy requirement throughout the production season and corresponds to the annual heat consumption of about 7,500 households. The investment will reduce CO2 emissions by about 32,000 tonnes annually. 

 

Bengt HÃgberg, Factory director at Nordic Sugar Ãrtofta comments: “These investments are part of our ongoing efforts to maximise energy efficiency in our production. Currently, the major part of our investments are earmarked for energy optimisation projects to the benefit of the environment, the climate as well as our competitiveness. In this field, the company has already come a long way in its endeavours, having cut its energy consumption by 40% and its carbon dioxide emissions by 60% since 1990.” 

 

The installation of the new facilities at the Ãrtofta factory is scheduled to kick off during the summer of 2013 and will be completed for the campaign of 2014.