Process Steam from Waste Heat: Piller Presents Solutions for the Paper Industry
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The paper and pulp industry is struggling with high energy costs. Added to this is the reliance on fossil fuels and the associated CO2 emissions. However, manufacturers can achieve significant savings in primary energy consumption by recovering waste heat and reusing it as heating steam.
Piller Blowers & Compressors will be presenting efficient solutions based on Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) and industrial heat pump technology at the Zellcheming-Expo (RheinMain CongressCenter Wiesbaden, June 16–18, 2026, Booth 103).
In pulp and paper production, black liquor evaporation and paper drying, among other processes, require large amounts of thermal energy in the form of steam. The waste heat from these and other process steps can be harnessed using mechanical vapor recompression. By recovering and utilizing process waste heat as heating steam, primary energy demand can be reduced by 75 percent. Users save up to 90 percent on energy costs for process steam and reduce CO2 emissions by 60 percent—with efficiencies of up to 87 percent. Thanks to its simple and seamless integration capabilities, mechanical steam compression can be used in virtually any paper industry process.
Direct and Indirect Waste Heat Recovery
Direct waste heat recovery is made possible by the mechanical vapor compression (MVC) process. In this process, the vapors from the process (process vapors) are compressed to a higher pressure and temperature, allowing the same steam to be reused as a heating medium. If the waste heat consists of contaminated process steam or a liquid, the energy from the process medium is indirectly transferred to the supplied water or condensate via a heat exchanger to generate fresh steam at low pressure and low temperature. This fresh steam is then brought to the required pressure and temperature level through compression and fed into the process.
Compressor Technology for the Paper and Pulp Industry
Visitors to the Zellcheming Expo will receive an overview of solutions for steam compression, industrial heat pumps, and the optimization of steam systems at the Piller booth. The focus is on the VapoLine compressors, which can meet a wide range of requirements from small to large mass flows. In addition, Piller will present cross-industry case studies and specific application examples. Companies will learn which technologies and machines are particularly suitable for their respective processes, mass flows, temperature and pressure increases, and intended applications.
