Effects of firm characteristics and energy management for improving energy efficiency in the pulp and paper industry

Lawrence, Akvile; Karlsson, Magnus; Thollander, Patrik

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2018.04.092

Cited by 39 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Specifically, this article was inspired by experiences while studying SEC to research industrial energy efficiency and factors tending to affect the energy efficiency as well as by research addressing energy management and Energies 2019, 12, 247 4 of 22 energy efficiency, where SEC is commonly used as an e-KPI. Examples of how many and what type of companies that have been studied in the PPI are 48 pulp and paper mills in Sweden 2006-2015 [6] and 40 pulp and paper mills in Sweden [29]. Examples of other industrial companies that have been studied are 27 foundries in Sweden [30], 65 foundries in Europe ( [31,32]), 23 iron and steel mills in Sweden [33], 21 industrial companies in Sweden [34], 11 sawmills [18], and 8 manufacturing firms in Sweden [35].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examples of other industrial companies that have been studied are 27 foundries in Sweden [30], 65 foundries in Europe ( [31,32]), 23 iron and steel mills in Sweden [33], 21 industrial companies in Sweden [34], 11 sawmills [18], and 8 manufacturing firms in Sweden [35]. A database containing data about the use of individual energy carriers and individual pulp and paper products by individual PPI mills in Sweden since 2002 is used, among others studying SEC, for [6]. The rest of the named studies were conducted by collecting data by questionnaires and/or interviews as well as complementing by data from databases in some studies.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, when needed, primary energy factors (PEFs) and SEC were calculated by dividing the sum of gross electricity produced plus imported/exported electricity, by net electricity used in the country (e.g., [6]). If the SEC in the references was given in units other than the GWh/kt, then the units were converted.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Energy used Product s amount (1) Units are seemingly chosen arbitrarily depending on the intended usage of SEC, e.g., GJ/t for heat (e.g., [10]), and GWh/kt for electricity (e.g., [6]). When calculating the total energy, including electricity and heat, units are also chosen arbitrarily depending on the purpose of the study.…”

Section: Sec =mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Frequently, in both literature and international standards, SEC is used as an energy performance indicator to evaluate or measure the performance of energy efficiency. For example, Peng et al [5] used SEC to evaluate changes in energy efficiency in the Chinese pulp and paper industry (PPI) over the period between 1985 and 2010, and Lawrence et al [6] used SEC to investigate the possible effects of firm characteristics on energy efficiency in the PPI in Sweden. Furthermore, Fleiter et al [7] used SEC to study energy efficiency in the German PPI and to assess the potential for energy savings, while Farla et al [8] used SEC to portray changes in energy efficiency in the PPI.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Specific Energy Consumption/Use (SEC) in Energy Management for Improving Energy Efficiency in Industry: Meaning, Usage and Differences

Lawrence¹,

Thollander²,

Andrei³

et al. 2019

Energies

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although several research studies have adopted specific energy consumption (SEC) as an indicator of the progress of improved energy efficiency, publications are scarce on critical assessments when using SEC. Given the increasing importance of monitoring improved industrial energy efficiency and the rising popularity of SEC as an energy key performance indicator (e-KPI), an in-depth analysis and problematization on the pros and cons of using SEC would appear to be needed. The aim of this article is to analyse SEC critically in relation to industrial energy efficiency. By using SEC in the pulp and paper industry as an example, the results of this exploratory study show that although SEC is often used as an e-KPI in industry, the comparison is not always straightforward. Challenges emanate from a lack of information about how SEC is calculated. It is likely that SEC is an optimal e-KPI within the same study, when all deployed SECs are calculated in the same way, and with the same underlying assumptions. However, before comparing SEC with other studies, it is recommended that the assumptions on which calculations are based should be scrutinized in order to ensure the validity of the comparisons. The paper remains an important contribution in addition to the available handbooks.

show abstract