DS Smith Corrugated Box Plant in South Carolina Reduces Energy Use by 20 Percent
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DS Smith recently completed the installation of new steam recycling technology that will reduce energy consumption by 20% in its Columbia, South Carolina, corrugated packaging facility.
The new multi-million-dollar Baviera Steam Systems technology installed at the specialty coated box manufacturing plant efficiently recovers condensate typically lost in the corrugation process.
"Our South Carolina facility makes water-resistant, fully recyclable Greencoat® boxes for fresh poultry and produce providers," said Steven Rose, Managing Director, Packaging, for DS Smith North America Packaging and Paper (NAPP). "With this investment, we are decreasing the amount of natural gas consumed at the facility by 20%, substantially reducing CO2 emissions while also enabling faster throughput."
Reducing natural gas usage at the DS Smith NAPP Columbia box plant will yield an estimated 740-ton decrease in annual CO2 emissions. Decarbonization at this scale is one of several initiatives in North America and Europe driven by DS Smith's Now and Next sustainability strategy, which aims to reduce emissions by 46% in absolute terms by 2030, compared with 2019 levels, and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The new installation at the Columbia box plant includes Baviera Steam Systems' Condensate Recovery Unit along with Digital Steam Pumps from Baviera capable of managing the pressure required for corrugation using lightweight and heavyweight papers. Continuous heat transfer control solutions installed with the steam system help to ensure greater consistency, improving control room management and eliminating the need for operator tweaks that can impact long-term performance.
The new technologies also reduce downtime needed to adjust steam pressure when changing paper weights or fluting settings, boosting overall volume capacity at the plant by up to 5%. Faster, simplified changes between board grades with the upgrade will also reduce manufacturing waste.
