Paper Pulp Mill Research Articles

Xanthan gum templated hydrothermal synthesis of Bi2O3 nano-photocatalyst for the mineralization of chlorophenols prevalent in paper pulp mill

Xanthan gum templated hydrothermal synthesis of Bi2O3 nano-photocatalyst for the mineralization of chlorophenols prevalent in paper pulp mill

Removing the Bottleneck on Wind Power Potential to Create Liquid Fuels from Locally Available Biomass

In order to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy technologies such as wind power and solar photovoltaic power systems have recently become more widespread. However, Japan as a nation faces high reliance on imported fossil fuels for electricity generation despite having great potential for further renewable energy development. The focus of this study examines untapped geographical locations in Japan’s northern most prefecture, Hokkaido, that possess large wind power potential. The possibility of exploiting this potential for the purpose of producing green hydrogen is explored. In particular, its integration with a year-round conversion of Kraft lignin into bio-oil from nearby paper pulp mills through a near critical water depolymerization process is examined. The proposed bio-oil and aromatic chemical production, as well as the process’ economics are calculated based upon the total available Kraft lignin in Hokkaido, including the magnitude of wind power capacity that would be required for producing the necessary hydrogen for such a large-scale process. Green hydrogen integration with other processes in Japan and in other regions is also discussed. Finally, the potential benefits and challenges are outlined from an energy policy point-of-view.

Wood-based textile fibre market as part of the global forest-based bioeconomy

Wood-based cellulose fibres for textiles, hygiene and health products have been in the market for long time, but competition with other materials has kept their market share modest. The shortage of land for the expansion of cotton production, environmental concerns related to cotton and the oil-based textile materials, changes in fashion, and new technologies for extracting fibres from wood are changing the market setting in the favour of wood-based fibres. The increase in global population and welfare drives the growth of demand for textiles. If the demand for wood-based textile pulps would grow in the same pace as earlier in this century, their annual production would be 15 Mt higher in 2035 than in 2018. Growing at the pace of the global GDP in selected illustrative Shared Socioeconomic Pathway projections, the respective increase would range from 6 to 11 Mt/yr. The demand scenarios were assessed with a global forest sector model integrating the textile fibre market to the rest of the forest sector. The demand for wood-based textile fibres can largely be covered by converting paper pulp mills to textile pulps but also investments into new mills are projected. This will reduce the supply of other forest products made of pulpwood and chips and possibly give a small increase in the supply volumes of industries producing chips as by-products (sawnwood, plywood). Due to increasing roundwood harvests and wood prices, the investors should factor in an increase in input prices when making their decisions.

Exploring Planococcus sp. TRC1, a bacterial isolate, for carotenoid pigment production and detoxification of paper mill effluent in immobilized fluidized bed reactor

Pulp and paper industry is one of the high priority sectors that generates large amount of solid (sludge) and liquid (paper mill effluent) wastes. Making use of this huge quantity of paper mill sludge (PMS) in an environment friendly manner is challenging and cost involving. Similarly the present wastewater treatment strategies based on physical and chemical methods encounter certain serious setbacks including secondary pollution generation with expensive mode of abatement processes. The present study aims at a “waste treats waste” strategy for the bioremediation of paper mill effluent in fluidized bed reactor (FBR) using another waste of the same industry, PMS as immobilizing matrix for Planococcus sp. TRC1, a wastewater bacterial isolate. This study simultaneously explores this isolate for the yellowish orange pigment it produces (2.3 ± 0.2 mg/gm of dry bacterial biomass) and characterizes it as a member of the pharmacologically important carotenoid pigment family via UV-Vis spectrophotometry, TLC, FT-IR and 13C NMR. The antioxidant potential of this pigment was studied by DPPH assay (IC50 = 33 ± 0.4 μg/ml) and H2O2 assay (IC50 = 147.4 ± 2.2 μg/ml). In FBR, the PMS immobilized bacteria showed removal of phenol, lignin, colour and COD from the effluent by 96%, 74%, 81% and 85% respectively after 60hr of treatment. The experimental data on immobilization fitted well with pseudo second-order (R2 = 0.955) and Freundlich adsorption isotherm (R2 = 0.996) models. The alterations in PMS before and after bacterial immobilization, as revealed by SEM and FT-IR, depicted the success of PMS as immobilization matrix. Phytotoxicity (90% seed germination) and mutagenicity studies confirmed that the treated effluent was substantially less toxic than its raw state. This study highlights a novel utilization possibility of PMS in an eco-friendly and economic way as immobilization matrix for Planococcus sp.TRC1 for paper pulp mill effluent treatment along with production of carotenoid pigment from this potential bacterial isolate as value added product.

An assessment of side-stream generation from Finnish forest industry

This study examined side-stream generation from Finnish forest industry comprising data from 19 sawmills, 1 plywood mill, 1 particleboard mill, 10 paper and board mills, 1 semi-mechanical mill, and 15 chemical pulp mills. A structured questionnaire survey was carried out for this study. The results revealed that the generation of side stream in sawmills, plywood mills, paper and board mills, mechanical pulp mills, and chemical pulp mills accounted for 42.2%, 56.1%, 23.8%, 30.7%, and 56% of round wood log input, respectively, and 91.2%, 135.5%, 42.2%, 44.7%, and 238.5% of the finished product, respectively. Woodchips, sawdust, and bark were recognized as the significant side streams in sawmills and plywood mills, whereas fiber sludge was found the main side stream in paper, board and mechanical pulp mills. In chemical pulp mills, black liquor was found the greatest side stream, which comprises 43% of the wood input and 183.3% of the finished product. The study estimated that in 2016, Finnish forest industry generated a total 27.7 million tons of side streams, consisting of 49.2% black liquor, 28.5% solid wood-based waste, 14.1% sludge, 4.4% ashes, and 3.8% others. A current use of these side streams and their future utilization potential is also discussed.

Mathematical and Numerical Simulation for the Production of Biogas from Liquid Effluent of Paper Pulp Mill

In this work, authors have been interested in the biogas production from effluent of paper pulp mill. The Kénitra wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) treats 4500m3 of effluents per day. The anaerobic digestion of effluents, loaded with organic matter, is done by using a continuous digester with a capacity of 1200m3 in the presence of mesophilic bacteria in a neutral environment at about 30°C. Under these conditions, the amount of biogas produced is between 600 and 2000m3/day. In order to improve and stabilize the production at a high rate, we made a biological characterization of the digester by using a mathematical model that describes the real behavior of the digesters. The modelling involved to use a step-by-step method, the Rang-Kutta method, to solve the biological equations of the model. The results obtained satisfactorily represent the production of WWTP in biogas and allows to explain the difference in the amount of biogas produced, that differs from day to day, while linking it to the initial organic carbon contained in effluents

Analysis of paper sludge pellets for energy utilization

The pulp and paper industry in Europe produces over 11 million tons of waste per year. Given high landfill operational costs, thermal co-processing with biomass may be a viable management and valorisation option for such wastes. In this work, the analysis of biomass (wood sawdust), mixture of primary and secondary pulp mill sludge and their respective blends (50 wt.%, 60 wt.%, 70 wt.% of sludge) was assessed by thermogravimetric analysis. One of the possibilities to ensure valorisation of paper pulp mill sludge is its combustion in the form of pellets containing a different amount of sludge. Production of pellets samples was realised on laboratory experimental device. The measurements showed that increasing the content of paper sludge in the produced pellets reduced the calorific value and increased the ash content. This research deals also with the effect of paper sludge on the ash melting temperatures. The results indicated that a higher content of paper sludge in the pellets increased the ash melting temperatures. This advantage of paper sludge can be utilized in co-combustion of biomass with a low ash melting temperature.

Exploring the diverse potentials of Planococcus sp. TRC1 for the deconstruction of recalcitrant kraft lignin

Kraft lignin (KL) is the chief contaminant which is responsible for dark coloration, toxicity and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) of paper pulp mill effluent. The present study investigated the diverse potentials of Planococcus sp. TRC1 in the biodegradation of KL. Preliminary evaluation indicated that the strain was able to grow on broad spectrum of lignin-derived compounds, decolorize lignin-mimicking dyes and catabolize substrates of ligninolytic enzymes. Response surface methodology (RSM) was executed to perform the optimization of different process parameters. The results displayed that Planococcus sp. TRC1 could completely utilize 100 mg L−1 of KL and 78% of 200 mg L−1 of KL as sole source of carbon with concurrent reduction in COD and color. The biokinetic details of KL biodegradation showed that the values of $$\mu^{*}$$ , µ max, $$q^{*}$$ and q max were 0.018 h−1, 0.01 h−1, 0.023 g g−1 h−1 and 0.05 g g−1 h−1, respectively. UV–visible spectrophotometry, SEM and FTIR indicated the significant alterations in the surface morphology, functional groups and chromophores during the course of biodegradation. XRD revealed the emergence of peak signifying the formation of low molecular weight intermediates after bacterial treatment. Considering the environmental impact, bacterial-treated KL illustrated less phytotoxicity using Vigna radiata seed bioassay. These results suggested that Planococcus sp. TRC1 could be a promising strain for the degradation of KL in an ecofriendly way.

Prolor: a Modelling Approach for Environmental Odor Forecast

Odor episodes control due to low threshold perception odorants, as H2S, is extremely difficult, as they are detected in very low concentrations. Even low odorants emissions without any health effects can derive in odor episodes, highly dependent on the changeable meteorology.PrOlor system is an environmental odor forecast system based in WRF/CALMET/CALPUFF models. WRF model settings includes four one-way nested grids, with 1x1 km2 horizontal resolution for the innermost grid, and initial and boundary conditions from GFS model forecast. CALMET horizontal resolution is 250x250 m2 to provide meteorological input to CALPUFF dispersion model.CALPUFF odorants dispersion modelling includes not only mixing, but also first order chemical decay. In addition, in order to estimate short odor events (minutes) from hourly CALPUFF concentrations peak-to-mean approach was adopted. Finally, chemical odorant peak concentrations were converted to odor intensity and odor concentration applying the Steven’s law.Traditionally, pulp paper mills using Kraft process produce TRS (Total Reduced Sulphur) odorants emissions, so their environment can be affected by odors. ENCE-Pontevedra pulp paper mill, located at the NW of the Iberian Peninsula, developed significant improvements to avoid any odor impact. Particularly, PrOlor system was developed and applied in order to prevent any odor event. Around the paper mill environment, both wind and temperature WRF and CALMET models results were compared and validated against four surface meteorological sites, using Openair software. About CALPUFF results, after several months under operation, PrOlor forecasted most of the sporadic short odor events registered as qualitative observations around the paper pulp mill.

Bacterial Lignin Peroxidase Mediated Biobleaching and Biodegradation of Paper and Pulp Mill Effluent

Large amount of lingo-cellulosic waste generated by forestry, agricultural practices, paper-pulp industries and textile dye-stuff industries poses a severe environmental pollution problem. Paper factory effluent is one of the major pollutants on the earth because it is highly coloured. The persistent dark brown colour is due to dissolved lignin based synthetic, aromatic and chlorinated compounds derived from the blow heat condensate, pulp decker washing, chlorine and alkali bleach waste, black liquor spillage and foul evaporator condensate. Selection of correct and ecofriendly treatment method for paper-pulp mill waste-water prior to discharge into the environment is still a matter of concern. In the present study, the application of the lignin peroxidase enzyme as crude extracts of the bacterial isolate cultures was reported as an effective tool in biobleaching and biodegradation of paper pulp mill effluent which was measured spectrophotometrically. The isolates Sphingomonas paucimobilis and Corynebactrium jeikeium were found to be an efficient biobleaching agent as compared to the other isolates studied. They showed 91.32%, 86.57%, 84.21% and 83.82%, 82.43% and 78.94% biobleaching respectively when applied as axenic cultures while the mixed consortia being the most effective showed the biobleaching in the range of 91.61%, 89.47% and 86.84% of the effluent 50%, 75% and 100% respectively.

Hydrolytic enzyme protease in sludge: Recovery and its application

Excess of sludge generated by industries and municipal waste treatment is becomes a serious issue, mainly due to the growth of population and urbanization or development of new cities and the increases in the industrial activity. Protease refers to a group of important enzymes that hydrolyze or breakdown the protein molecules and involved in variety of biochemical pathways in living cells. They are required for many cellular functions because they are very useful in the digestion as they breakdown the peptide bonds in the protein of food stuff and liberate the amino acids needed for the body. Proteases have been used for a long time in various forms of therapy and industrial application. Industries like paper mills, pulp mills, textile industries and leather industries generate significant amounts of biodegradable sludge. This sludge is an industrial waste and contaminates the environment. Microorganisms degrade this sludge and produce protease and other hydrolytic enzymes. Biodegradation of the industrial sludge would be a great effort in terms of waste management as well as recovery of valuable protease for multifarious application. Emerging evidence from the literature proves the competence and vast application of protease for mankind. It has been used in many applications in the fields of food, medicine, fabric, leather in past decades. Present manuscript describes the key issues related to protease recovery from different industrial and municipal sludge using different approaches and its potential application in life.

Structural characterization of Kraft lignins from different spent cooking liquors by 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy

Three Kraft lignins isolated from black liquors of several paper pulp mills of the North of Spain and Portugal were structurally characterized by using monodimensional (1H and 13C) and bidimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometry. From the latter, 13C–1H heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC) were employed. Lignins from black liquors are usually burned for power generation. Nevertheless, they could become high value added products within a biorefinery context. In that case, a good understanding of their structure is a prior step to transform them. From all the NMR techniques studied, HSQC has risen as the most powerful tool in lignin characterization. Kraft cooking conditions and the type of wood seem to be the main factors that determine the differences observed in the lignins. All the samples have shown an important decrease in the number of β–O–4′ linkages, due to the Kraft process, and resinol has become the most resistant linkage to the process. Moreover, all samples seem to be mainly linked to a one polysaccharide: xylan. Several parameters like S/G ratio, portion of phenolic and aliphatic hydroxyls, amount of aromatic protons and other structural aspects were also estimated.

Transmitting Environmentalism? The Unintended Global Consequences of European Union Environmental Policies

Will European companies investing abroad be transmitters of EU environmental policies or environmental dumpers? This article utilizes a most-differentcases approach to analyze transnational corporation (TNC) behavior in countries with less stringent environmental standards. Drawing on rational institutionalism, the article examines two significant European business investments in Mercosur countries: paper pulp mills in Uruguay and fishing off the coast of Argentina. These cases demonstrate that EU environmental standards will be diffused beyond Europe's borders if significant fixed assets are involved, high levels of public awareness and action in response to environmental degradation are possible, and if the environmental policy of an industry is successfully implemented in Europe. Paper pulp milling in Uruguay fulfilled these conditions and TNCs, in this case applied EU standards. This was not so with TNC fishing practices in Argentina. Also, with high citizen attention, local companies will adopt similar environmental practices to those of their European counterparts, improving environmental practices even without domestic government regulations.

Supercapacitors based on carbons with tuned porosity derived from paper pulp mill sludge biowaste

Hydrothermal carbonization followed by chemical activation is utilized to convert paper pulp mill sludge biowaste into high surface area (up to 2980m2g−1) carbons. This synthesis process employs an otherwise unusable byproduct of paper manufacturing that is generated in thousands of tons per year. The textural properties of the carbons are tunable by the activation process, yielding controlled levels of micro and mesoporosity. The electrochemical results for the optimized carbon are very promising. An organic electrolyte yields a maximum capacitance of 166Fg−1, and a Ragone curve with 30Whkg−1 at 57Wkg−1 and 20Whkg−1 at 5450Wkg−1. Two ionic liquid electrolytes result in maximum capacitances of 180–190Fg−1 with up to 62% retention between 2 and 200mVs−1. The ionic liquids yielded energy density–power density combinations of 51Whkg−1 at 375Wkg−1 and 26–31Whkg−1 at 6760–7000Wkg−1. After 5000 plus charge–discharge cycles the capacitance retention is as high at 91%. The scan rate dependence of the surface area normalized capacitance highlights the rich interplay of the electrolyte ions with pores of various sizes.

Combination of TOPSIS and AHP in load shedding scheme for large pulp mill electrical system

In the era of technology, a variety of powerful equipments are design to satisfy the demand of industry sector. However, these equipments need a stable and reliable electrical supply in order for the whole system to flow smoothly. The overview of this paper is mainly about the load shedding application toward a large pulp mill electrical system using the multi-decision making methods which are the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods. Whenever there are shortages of electrical supply, the load shedding method shall be applied in order to recover and stabilize the system. Load shedding is a module that shed the higher possible load in the system to overcome the voltage shortage in the system. The objective of this paper is to extract the possible unnecessary load and determine the ranking of the load according to their importance level. The proposed methods are to test on the plant load shedding table from a paper pulp mill industry with 25 load points for practical applications.

The Value of Periodic Spirometry for Early Recognition of Long-Term Excessive Lung Function Decline in Individuals

To establish the value of workplace spirometry monitoring methods for early recognition of long-term excessive lung function decline in individuals. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive likelihood ratio were calculated to determine the predictive value of the linear regression slope and limits of longitudinal decline for early prediction of long-term excessive forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) decline (> 90 mL/yr established over 9 to 11 years) in ongoing spirometry monitoring programs (firefighters and construction workers) and a historical program (paper-pulp mill workers). The longitudinal limits account for the expected FEV1 within-person variability. The longitudinal limits achieved clinical "usefulness" (positive likelihood ratio 10 or higher) from the fourth to fifth year of follow-up, whereas the linear regression slope was less useful. The usefulness depended on data precision and measurement frequency. The limits of longitudinal decline are more useful for early recognition of long-term excessive FEV1 decline than the linear regression slope.

A finite difference model for low frequency sound measurement in kraft recovery boilers.

Kraft recovery boilers greatly enhance the efficiency of paper pulp mills by burning the organic wastes recovered from the pulp making process and generating electricity, but significant smelt-water explosion hazards exist when steam is used as the working fluid due to sodium compounds in the sludge from the waste incineration process. Current practice is to use acoustic emission sensors to monitor for leaks in the bottom wall and to initiate an automatic shutdown sequence for the boiler once a leak is detected. A high-frequency model previously developed by the authors and verified by measurements performed in Skoghall, Sweden indicated strong attenuation in the sludge between the point of leakage and the detectors, but experimental results demonstrated a pass band at low frequencies (under 20 kHz). In this paper the authors develop a two-degree-of-freedom finite difference model for the prediction of acoustic attenuation at low frequencies. The bottom wall is modeled as a periodic tube and fin arrangement, and a time-domain finite difference method is used whereby the fin and tube are simple lumped elements. The model is then compared to previous experimental results, with which excellent agreement is obtained.

Environmental impact assessment of non-wood based pulp production by soda-anthraquinone pulping process

Paper pulp manufacturing is the main non-food industrial utilization of plant biomass. Non-wood and agricultural residues are potential raw materials in the production of specialty papers. This chapter aims to quantify the environmental impacts associated with non-wood high quality paper pulp manufacture via soda-anthraquinone (AQ) cooking process by means of the application of LCA methodology in a cradle-to-gate analysis. Hemp ( Cannabis sativa) and Flax ( Linum usitatissimum) were evaluated as raw materials for the production of high quality non-porous pulp. A specialty paper pulp mill was analysed in detail and process chain was divided in six subsystems: agricultural activities, chemicals production, electricity production, transport, pulp production and waste treatment. Inventory data came from interviews and surveys (on-site measurements). When necessary, the data were completed with bibliographic resources. Abiotic resources depletion (AD), global warming (GW), ozone layer depletion (OLD), human toxicity (HT), ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidant formation (POF), acidification (A) and eutrophication (E) were the impact categories analysed in this study. According to the results, the environmental impact is mainly caused by the production of chemicals, electricity and fibres (agricultural activities) due to greenhouse gases emissions, phosphorous and nitrogen compounds emissions. The activities inside the pulp mill present minor contribution to almost all impact categories, excluding GW (15%) and E (6%) as well as OLD (25%). This study provides useful information for non-wood based industries related not only to pulp manufacture but also to panels or biorefineries with the aim of increasing their sustainability.

The Asian clam Corbicula fluminea as a biomonitor of trace element contamination: Accounting for different sources of variation using an hierarchical linear model

In the present study, specimens of the invasive clam, Corbicula fluminea, were collected above and below possible sources of potentially toxic trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn) in the Altamaha River system (Georgia, U.S.A.). Bioaccumulation of these elements was quantified, along with environmental (water and sediment) concentrations. Hierarchical linear models were used to account for variability in tissue concentrations related to environmental (site water chemistry and sediment characteristics) and individual (growth metrics) variables while identifying the strongest relations between these variables and trace element accumulation. The present study found significantly elevated concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Hg downstream of the outfall of kaolin-processing facilities, Zn downstream of a tire cording facility, and Cr downstream of both a nuclear power plant and a paper pulp mill. Models of the present study indicated that variation in trace element accumulation was linked to distance upstream from the estuary, dissolved oxygen, percentage of silt and clay in the sediment, elemental concentrations in sediment, shell length, and bivalve condition index. By explicitly modeling environmental variability, the Hierarchical linear modeling procedure allowed the identification of sites showing increased accumulation of trace elements that may have been caused by human activity. Hierarchical linear modeling is a useful tool for accounting for environmental and individual sources of variation in bioaccumulation studies.

A Constructed Alkaline Consortium and Its Dynamics in Treating Alkaline Black Liquor with Very High Pollution Load

BackgroundPaper pulp wastewater resulting from alkaline extraction of wheat straw, known as black liquor, is very difficult to be treated and causes serious environmental problems due to its high pH value and chemical oxygen demand (COD) pollution load. Lignin, semicellulose and cellulose are the main contributors to the high COD values in black liquor. Very few microorganisms can survive in such harsh environments of the alkaline wheat straw black liquor. A naturally developed microbial community was found accidentally in a black liquor storing pool in a paper pulp mill of China. The community was effective in pH decreasing, color and COD removing from the high alkaline and high COD black liquor.FindingsThirty-eight strains of bacteria were isolated from the black liquor storing pool, and were grouped as eleven operational taxonomy units (OTUs) using random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR profiles (RAPD). Eleven representative strains of each OTU, which were identified as genera of Halomonas and Bacillus, were used to construct a consortium to treat black liquor with a high pH value of 11.0 and very high COD pollution load of 142,600 mg l−1. After treatment by the constructed consortium, about 35.4% of color and 39,000 mg l−1 (27.3%) CODcr were removed and the pH decreased to 7.8. 16S rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis suggested a two-stage treatment mechanism to elucidate the interspecies collaboration: Halomonas isolates were important in the first stage to produce organic acids that contributed to the pH decline, while Bacillus isolates were involved in the degradation of lignin derivatives in the second stage under lower pH conditions.Conclusions/SignificanceTolerance to the high alkaline environment and good controllability of the simple consortium suggested that the constructed consortium has good potential for black liquor treatment. Facilitating the treatment process by the constructed consortium would provide a promising opportunity to reduce the pollution, as well as to save forest resources and add value to a waste product.