Last week, Thermal Energy attended PaperWeek Canada 2020, at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. As PAPTAC’s flagship conference and tradeshow, serving the pulp, paper, and forest products industry, it is a valuable platform for exchanging industry best practices with pulp and paper mills from across the country, as well as showcase Thermal Energy’s energy-efficiency solutions.

Antoine Hofer, Technical Sales Director, Quebec and Eastern Canada at Thermal Energy, had this to say about the event:
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“PaperWeek was excellent this year, which is what we’ve come to expect from the show. A professional event with expert speakers, discussing current issues that effect mills, suppliers, and customers - both in Canada and globally - as well as innovations that enable the industry to evolve to meet new challenges.”

Cascading savings
On Thursday, during the Energy Technical session on the “Certification process for the ISO 50001 at Cascades", Cascades CS+ Inc. Project Manager, Etienne Fobasso, Ing. presented a business case from the Cascades Candiac Tissue Group on how their energy team, in partnership with Thermal Energy, effectively recovers wasted heat from tissue machine hoods exhaust. The case involved the replacement of the existing direct contact heat recovery water tower with Thermal Energy’s revolutionary FLU-ACE® Condensing Heat Recovery System. 

Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products composed mainly of recycled fibres, and employs 11,000 employees, working in 90 units in North America and Europe. The new system enables the Candiac site to recover waste flue gas energy from the tissue machine exhaust. This is possible using the FLU-ACE®’s unique direct contact (gas/liquid) packed-tower design, enabling optimal recovery of both sensible and latent heat, in widely varying operating conditions. 

The recovered energy can then be used by Cascades to heat water for the clarifier water chest (showers and bleaching) and the glycol loop for two (2) HVAC units (130,000 cfm total).
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Additional environmental benefits of the enhanced system include saving the mill over 62,800 MMBtu of natural gas annually, as well as reducing greenhouse gases, resulting from fuel combustion, by over 3,300 tons per year. Read about other paper mill success stories on our Pulp and Paper page.

Carbon neutral pulp and paper
On Thursday morning, Sara Eskandarifar from CanmetENERGY, delivered an interesting Energy Technical session on the benefits of moving "Towards a carbon neutral pulp and paper industry: overview of available technologies".

In her session, Sara described the use of condensing heat recovery technology like the FLU-ACE®, as well as low-temperature biomass drying as a means of recovering energy from existing processes and waste streams and improving the boiler efficiency. 

​Where biomass is already in use as a fuel source, Thermal Energy’s DRY-REX biomass dryer can completely eliminate the need to use non-renewable fossil fuels. The process involves in the application of waste heat to dry alternative fuel. The efficient rugged constructed solution operates at low temperatures of 10°C to 93°C with an impact of 5-10% efficiency, and a typical return on investment of 2-5 years.

High-fibre packaging
As more and more businesses opt for more environmentally-friendly packaging over single use plastic, the Pulp and Paper sector have an opportunity and a responsibility to provide innovative, sustainable, fibre-based options.

On Tuesday, during the PaperWeek Canada 2020 keynote luncheon panel on ‘Next Generation Fibre-based Packaging – An Effective Way to Reduce Plastic Waste?’ the panelists discussed the latest advancements and projections for the increased use of sustainable fibre-based packaging in consumer markets as an alternative to single-use plastic products.

As an innovative technology company that supplies energy efficient solutions that are engineered to help the pulp and paper, and other industries, save money by operating more sustainably - through increased energy efficiency, reduced fossil fuel usage, GHGs and other emissions - Thermal Energy is an active supporter of reduced global pollution.

On June 23rd, Thermal Energy celebrated International Women in Engineering Day. INWED is an international awareness campaign to raise the profile of women in engineering and focuses attention on the amazing career opportunities available to girls in this exciting industry. ​The theme for 2019 is #TransformTheFuture.
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Thermal Energy hosts a great deal of diversity, including a strong team of female engineers. In order to celebrate this and INWED1919, we put together a video of our team sharing some of their goals for the future as female engineers.​​

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​Thermal Energy proudly supports the gender diversity and equality goals of INWED.
​We celebrate our own women in engineering and their efforts to #TransformTheFuture.

“With carbon regulations being developed on provincial and federal levels of government, Canadian industry is being challenged by new benchmarks, timelines, pricing and rules. If your company or association needs to understand the risks and opportunities presented by the new carbon regulations, then you are encouraged to stop by TEI’s booth and learn about our cleantech technologies for reducing carbon emissions and increasing competitiveness.” says Antoine Hofer, Technical Sales Director at Thermal Energy​

Attendees at the Carbon Pricing for Canadian Industry event happening this week in Toronto, ON will be greeted in the main hall by Thermal Energy’s COO, Robert Triebe, and Technical Sales Director, Antoine Hofer. Our team is onsite today and tomorrow showcasing our energy savings and carbon reduction solutions, and attending updates on federal and provincial carbon regulations and best practices.

Resolute in their carbon reduction goals
Also in attendance at the event are representatives from Resolute Forest Products. Like most companies, Resolute has been largely dependent on natural gas to create the energy needed to keep their productions going particularly in the winter periods. Looking to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas the mill is producing, the global leader in the forest products industry is collaborating with Thermal Energy at the Thunder Bay Resolute pulp and paper mill to reduce its carbon footprint. Using both Thermal Energy’s FLU-ACE® heat recovery technology and GEM steam traps, the project will enable Resolute Forest to increase energy efficiency at its Thunder Bay mill and reduce GHG emissions by an estimated 43,000 mt CO2 eq/yr for a reduction in natural gas consumption of more than 15%.

“At Thermal Energy, we are committed to helping clients like Resolute achieve their energy efficiency and carbon reduction goals at an affordable cost and payback. Programs like Ontario’s TargetGHG Program are important as they help offset project costs and encourage industries to adopt innovative cleantech solutions like those we provide,” says Robert Triebe, COO at Thermal Energy.

Attendees at the Carbon Pricing for Canadian Industry on April 25-26th are invited to TEI’s booth to learn how we can help you meet federal and provincial carbon regulations, while saving you money, and making your site more energy efficient. To set up a meeting please contact Antoine Hofer. 

Today at 12 pm EDT, TEI’s Guy Bonneau, Business Development Manager, Cogeneration Solutions, will be presenting CHES Webinar # 4 on Simple and Permanent Reduction in Steam Line Losses.

Steam is the most commonly used medium to distribute heat in health care facilities, due to its high energy content and the ease with which its temperature can be regulated. Steam gives up its useful energy as it condenses to water.
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Useful energy losses
Typical steam systems make use of 55% of the useful energy produced by fuel input. The rest of the energy is lost due to inefficiencies through stack and blow down losses, steam trap losses, condensate flashing, and other sources of energy loss. 

Mechanical steam traps which open when water is present and shut when steam is present have traditionally been used to discharge this water. Due to their moving parts which are prone to seizure and failure, mechanical traps are a constant source of energy losses and operational problems, making them the Achilles heel of the steam system.
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Simple and permanent solution
​Technology developed by Thermal Energy now offers a permanent solution to steam line losses, which is more efficient than even a fully functional mechanical trap. 

Steam is an integral component of food processing. It is commonly utilized for cleaning equipment, blanching and rehydrating product, sterilizing equipment and Steam-in-Place (SIP) for cleaning pipes. Three types of steam used by food processors include plant (or utility) steam; culinary steam for product or contact surface sterilization; and pure (hygienic steam) that must be free of additives and used to produce organic products. [reference: stellarfoodforthought.net]
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As experts in thermal energy systems and steam handling, TEI, with our comprehensive range of energy efficiency solutions, is a perfect fit for customers in the food processing industry, making the Food Processing Expo an excellent place for our team to exhibit.​

With more than 280 exhibitors and 2600 attendees, Food Processing Expo is the largest trade show in California devoted exclusively to food processing. The Expo brings the industry together by offering a trade show floor with exhibits featuring machinery, equipment, supplies, services and other vendors with innovative industry products. The Expo also features informative, topical educational sessions, dynamic speakers and networking events, offering something for everyone in the food processing industry. The Expo is produced by the California League of Food Producers (CLFP). [reference: Food Processing Expo website]

Exhibiting last week at the expo, Thermal Energy’s David Coletta, Area Sales Manager, Western USA, and Mike Mckissick, Area Sales Manager, Texas, had the pleasure of meeting with Plant and Technical Service Managers, Food Process and Facilities Engineers, and other professionals from hundreds of companies, and demonstrating how TEI’s solutions reduce annual plant energy costs by hundreds of thousands, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions by thousands of tonnes per year. ​

David Coletta had this to say about the expo:
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“The event was amazing and resulted in some solid opportunities. It was an ideal spot for us and the info sessions, such as “Making Energy Efficiency Programs Work for Your Operation” presented by Pacific Gas & Electric, provided insight on new developments in food process technology happening right now. If anything, the expo emphasizes how many professionals in the food industry are already familiar with our company and what our products can do for the sector.”

What TEI products can do for the food sector
TEI’s venturi orifice designed GEM steam traps, with their 100% stainless construction, are ideal for the food processing industry, and our FLU-ACE® heat recovery technology provides ideal solutions for recovering waste heat from dryers and boilers. Typical food processing applications for TEI’s solutions include: autoclaves, CO2 vaporizers, evaporators, dryers, CIP systems, starch converters, heated tanks and line drainage.

​Food for thought
Thermal Energy has already helped 570 manufacturers in the food & beverage industry, in North America and Europe, save more than $72 million in energy costs and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 760,000 tonnes.

Our clients include a leading food ingredient company who we recently commissioned us to install an innovative heat recovery system that is expected to provide the site with a utility savings of over $614,000 per year and annual carbon emissions reductions of 5,200 tonnes.

Read more about our solutions and other success studies on our food & beverage page.

Last week, Antoine Hofer, TEI’s Technical Sales Director, Quebec and Eastern Canada exhibited at the 2019 Paperweek Canada international conference for the Forest Products Industry in Canada. 

Typical paper mills use most of their energy in the drying process.  In fact, up to 80% of a paper mill’s energy can be used for drying the product. Our FLU-ACE® heat recovery technology can recover as much as 90% of the heat normally lost in the form of water. For the pulp and paper industry, TEI’s products are capable of returning natural gas savings of more than 35% while reducing mill greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20%.
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Our proprietary products that are ideal for paper mills include:

• GEM - Steam traps;
• FLU-ACE® - Direct contact condensing heat recovery; and
• DRY-REX® - Low temperature biomass drying systems.

Learn more about TEI’s sustainability solutions for the Pulp and Paper industry.

Over the weekend, Thermal Energy CEO, William Crossland attended the AlphaNorth Capital Conference where he presented to potential investors on TEI's successful multi-pronged growth strategy, including increased customer penetration, expanding our team and market presence, and adding new products, all of which positions our cleantech company to continue its long and strong track record of growth.  

Mr. Crossland had this to say about the event:

“The AlphaNorth Capital Conference is an excellent opportunity to have personal one-on-one conversations with experienced small cap investors." 
 
The conference brings together growth-stage companies with experienced capital markets professionals for 2 days of targeted one-on-one meetings and networking activities.

Click here to view the TEI corporate presentation delivered at the conference.
​Contact us to learn more about TMG stock.

This week, executive team members Robert Triebe, Vince Sands, and Sam Mawby met with BEI representatives and distributors at AHR Expo to promote TEI products through existing BEI channels and to strengthen our approach to bringing BEI products to the European market. 

The AHR Expo is the world’s largest HVACR event, attracting the most comprehensive gathering of industry professionals from around the globe each year. The Show provides a unique forum where manufacturers of all sizes and specialties, whether a major industry brand or innovative start-up, can come together to share ideas and showcase the future of HVACR technology under one roof.

Since 1930, the AHR Expo, co-sponsored by ASHRAE and AHRI, has remained the industry’s best place for OEMs, engineers, contractors, facility operators, architects, educators and other industry professionals to explore the latest trends and applications and to cultivate mutually beneficial business relationships.

​The event was the perfect setting for refining the promotional and distribution strategies for our expanded range of energy efficiency products.