PAPER making! g! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL ® Volume 11, Number 3, 2025
“Integration of artificial intelligence and sustainable energy management in the pulp and paper industry: A path to decarbonization”, Raine Viitala, Mikael Miettinen, Ronald Marquez, Aleksanteri Hämäläinen, Aku Karhinen, Nelson Barrios, Ronalds Gonzalez, Lokendra Pal, Hasan Jameel & Kenneth Holmberg, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 218, August 2025, 115809. The pulp and paper industry (P&PI) faces significant energy challenges in advancing decarbonization efforts, particularly within its most energy-intensive processes, such as mechanical refining, dewatering and drying, and friction during papermaking. The objective of this review is to critically assess recent advances in energy management and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to enhance efficiency in papermaking processes. Following a systematic literature review based on PRISMA guidelines, the study examines the role of AI in optimizing mechanical refining, dewatering and drying, friction reduction, and condition monitoring. Results show that AI can fine-tune operational parameters in mechanical refining, leading to energy savings of up to 15%. In dewatering and drying, AI-driven strategies improve heat recovery efficiency, potentially reducing energy consumption by 10–20%. In friction management, AI- based optimization and the application of advanced technologies such as aerostatic bearings can reduce energy losses by up to 24% in the long term. AI-driven condition monitoring strategies further reduce downtime and improve machine efficiency. The review concludes that AI offers considerable potential to improve energy efficiency and decarbonize the P&PI, but broader implementation is hindered by technological, financial, and organizational barriers. “Decarbonization pathways for the pulp and paper industry: A comprehensive review”, Farhan Haider Joyo, Benedetto Nastasi & Davide Astiaso Garcia, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews , 223, November 2025, 116070. The world is experiencing the effects of climate change at an increasing rate, including rising average global temperature, caused primarily by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Energy- intensive industries (EIIs) are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. The pulp and paper industry (PPI) is among the top five most energy-intensive industries, and it accounts for approximately 6% of global industrial energy use and 2% of direct industrial CO2 emissions. Therefore, it is important to decarbonize this industrial sector to achieve the climate policy goal of achieving net-zero emissions as per the Paris Agreement. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the decarbonization options, also known as decarbonization pathways, for the pulp and paper industrial sector. These pathways are selected from available literature, and they mainly include energy efficiency measures (EEMs), paper recycling, switching to carbon-neutral fuels such as biomass and hydrogen, electrification of heat supply, and carbon capture & storage (CCS), among other emerging technologies. After identifying, each decarbonization pathway is discussed in detail with its drivers and barriers to implementation. The Analytical Hierarchy Process AHP, a multi- criteria decision-making MCDM technique, is carried out to rank the decarbonization pathways on five distinct criteria: cost, emission reduction potential, technological readiness level (TRL), implementation time, and scalability. The ranking is carried out in four distinct criteria weight regimes to present clear choices on different criterion weights. This review paper aims to add to the existing literature to provide clear indications in choosing the pathways toward the decarbonization effort in the pulp & paper industry under various strategic priorities. “Multiscale Life-Cycle Carbon Emission Analysis for Papermaking Industry of China: Evolution Triggered by the Waste Import Ban”, Huaqing Qi, Zifei Wang, Song Hu, Zhenglei He, Yulin Han & Yi Man, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering , 13(28), 11128–11142. The solid waste import ban has triggered a profound adjustment in the raw
Technical Abstracts
Page 4 of 11
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker