Swedish Pulp Research Articles

The dynamics of path dependence on the individual, organizational and the field levels: MoDo, the Kempe family and the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1873–1990

Path dependence is a promising and increasingly popular perspective for analysing long-term historical developments in firms, industries or referring to other units of analysis. A central assumption is that paths can narrow down as a result of self-reinforcing processes that eventually result in a lock-in that is difficult, if at all possible, to reverse. Typically, path dependence is investigated relating to one path on a specific unit of analysis, e.g. an organization. The present article explores how different paths on different levels of analysis can influence each other. Empirically, we use the long-term development of the Swedish pulp and paper company MoDo as the focal level of analysis. The organizational level paths are then related to paths on the field level of the Swedish pulp and paper industry and to paths represented by individual owner-managers’ ways of thinking. We conceptualize the dynamic interplay between paths by elaborating on processes of path-spreading, path-breaking, path-convergence and path-divergence.

Comparison of Multiple Measures of Noise Exposure in Paper Mills.

Noise exposures are associated with a host of adverse health effects, yet these exposures remain inadequately characterized in many industrial operations, including paper mills. We assessed noise at four paper mills using three measures: (i) personal noise dosimetry, (ii) area noise measurements, and (iii) questionnaire items addressing several different aspects of perceived noise exposure. We assessed exposures to noise characterized using the three measures and compared the relationships between them. We also estimated the validity of each of the three measures using a novel application of the Method of Triads, which does not appear to have been used previously in the occupational health literature. We collected 209 valid dosimetry measurements and collected perceived noise exposure survey items from 170 workers, along with 100 area measurements. We identified exposures in excess of 85 dBA at all mills. The dosimetry and area noise measurements assigned to individual subjects generally showed good agreement, but for some operations within mill, large differences between the two measures were observed, and a substantial fraction of paired measures differed by >5 dB. Perceived noise exposures varied greatly between the mills, particularly for an item related to difficulty speaking in noise. One perceived noise exposure item related to difficulty hearing due to noise showed strong and significant correlations with both dosimetry and area measurements. The Method of Triads analysis showed that dosimetry measures had the highest estimated validity coefficient (0.70), and that the best performing perceived exposure measure had validity that exceeded that of area measurements (0.48 versus 0.40, respectively). Workers in Swedish pulp mills have the potential for exposures to high levels of noise. Our results suggest that, while dosimetry remains the preferred approach to exposure assessment, perceived noise exposures can be used to evaluate potential exposures to noise in epidemiological studies.

Inflammatory markers and exposure to airborne particles among workers in a Swedish pulp and paper mill.

PurposeTo study the relationship between exposure to airborne particles in a pulp and paper mill and markers of inflammation and coagulation in blood. MethodsPersonal sampling of inhalable dust was performed for 72 subjects working in a Swedish pulp and paper mill. Stationary measurements were used to study concentrations of total dust, respirable dust, PM10 and PM2.5, the particle surface area and the particle number concentrations. Markers of inflammation, interleukins (IL-1b, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), and fibrinogen and markers of coagulation factor VIII, von Willebrand, plasminogen activator inhibitor, and D-dimer were measured in plasma or serum. Sampling was performed on the last day of the work free period of 5 days, before and after the shift the first day of work and after the shifts the second and third day. In a mixed model analysis, the relationship between particulate exposures and inflammatory markers was determined. Sex, age, smoking, and BMI were included as covariates.ResultsThe average 8-h time-weighted average (TWA) air concentration levels of inhalable dust were 0.30 mg/m3, range 0.005–3.3 mg/m3. The proxies for average 8-h TWAs of respirable dust were 0.045 mg/m3. Significant and consistent positive relations were found between several exposure metrics (PM 10, total and inhalable dust) and CRP, SAA and fibrinogen taken post-shift, suggesting a dose–effect relationship.ConclusionThis study supports a relationship between occupational particle exposure and established inflammatory markers, which may indicate an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Co-gasification of black liquor and pyrolysis oil: Evaluation of blend ratios and methanol production capacities

The main aim of this study is to investigate integrated methanol production via co-gasification of black liquor (BL) and pyrolysis oil (PO), at Swedish pulp mills. The objectives are to evaluate techno-economically different blends ratios for different pulp mill capacities. Furthermore, the future methanol production potential in Sweden and overall system consequences of large-scale implementation of PO/BL co-gasification are also assessed.It is concluded that gasification of pure BL and PO/BL blends up to 50% results in significantly lower production costs than what can be achieved by gasification of unblended PO. Co-gasification with 20–50% oil addition would be the most advantageous solution based on IRR for integrated biofuel plants in small pulp mills (200kADt/y), whilst pure black liquor gasification (BLG) will be the most advantageous alternative for larger pulp mills. For pulp mill sizes between 300 and 600kADt/y, it is also concluded that a feasible methanol production can be achieved at a methanol market price below 100€/MWh, for production capacities ranging between 0.9 and 1.6TWh/y for pure BLG, and between 1.2 and 6.5TWh/y for PO/BL co-gasification. This study also shows that by introducing PO/BL co-gasification, fewer pulp mills would need to be converted to biofuel plants than with pure BLG, to meet a certain biofuel demand for a region. Due to the technical as well as organizational complexity of the integration this may prove beneficial, and could also potentially lower the total investment requirement to meet the total biofuel demand in the system. The main conclusion is that PO/BL co-gasification is a technically and economically attractive production route for production biomethanol.

Sustainable energy transition: the case of the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1973–1990

By employing historical case study methodology, this paper examines the transition towards renewable energy and increased energy efficiency in the Swedish pulp and paper industry (PPI) during the 1 ...

Transition Towards Renewable Energy: Co-Ordination and Technological Strategies in the Swedish Pulp and Paper Industry 1973-1990

This paper examines the transition towards renewable energy in the Swedish pulp and paper industry (PPI) during the 1970s and -80s. In the wake of the first Oil Crisis until the late 1980s, the use ...

Transition to greener pulp: regulation, industry responses and path dependency

Although the dioxin alarm broke at the same time in Sweden and the US in the mid-1980s, Swedish pulp and paper (P&P) firms led the way towards the new market for low-chlorine and chlorine-free P&P products. This study explores the transition in the Swedish P&P industry and contrasts the Swedish case to the US experience. We highlight the importance of already established technological paths to deal with pollution, paths which were strongly formed by the different national environmental policies since the 1970s. Thus while US P&P firms were technologically locked-in when the dioxin alarm broke, the strategy of Swedish P&P firms to proactively collaborate in environmental research and development (R&D) together with a national policy that favoured process integrated abatement technology, helped Swedish firms take technological leadership. This article particularly stresses the implications of technological path-dependency and different national regulatory styles in understanding the evolution of different modes of corporate environmental strategies.

Carbon prices and incentives for technological development

There is concern that the carbon prices generated through climate policies are too low to create the incentives necessary to stimulate technological development. This paper empirically analyzes how the Swedish carbon dioxide (CO2) tax and the European Union emission trading system (EU ETS) have affected productivity development in the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1998−2008. A Luenberger total factor productivity (TFP) indicator is computed using data envelopment analysis. The results show that climate policy had a modest impact on technological development in the pulp and paper industry, and if significant it was negative. The price of fossil fuels, on the contrary, seems to have created important incentives for technological development. Hence, the results suggest that the carbon prices faced by the industry through EU ETS and the CO2 tax have been too low. Even though the data for this study is specific for Sweden, the models and results are applicable internationally. When designing policy to mitigate CO2 emissions, it is vital that the policy creates a carbon price that is high enough – otherwise the pressure on technological development will not be sufficiently strong.

Trends in energy performance of the Swedish pulp and paper industry: 1984–2011

The Swedish pulp and paper industry accounts for half of industrial final energy use in Sweden and 2.3 % in EU-27. On the basis of a disaggregated set of physical production data, a Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition method is applied to disentangle the influence from activity, structure and energy efficiency improvement (EEI) on its fuel, electricity and primary energy use. An extended analysis tracks the fossil energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to discern past and present developments of industrial decarbonisation. In 1984–2011, the total production output increased by 49 %, whereas growth in primary energy use was limited to 26 %. Compared with an activity-based scenario, 50 PJ of primary energy use has been avoided through EEI and 6 PJ through structural change. The production has become oriented towards more electricity-intensive but less fuel-intensive segments. The electricity use EEI was negligible until year 2000 but sizeable thereafter as it started to outpace the counteracting impact from structural change. Results are consistent with previous bottom-up evaluations, and the policy context is further elaborated in a discussion about the role of relevant energy and climate policies in facilitating the enhanced EEI observed over the last decade.

0091 Inflammatory markers and exposure to air pollutants among workers in a Swedish pulp and paper mill

ObjectivesStudy the relationship between inhalation of airborne particles in a pulp and paper mill and markers of inflammation and coagulation in blood.MethodPersonal sampling of inhalable dust was performed for 72...

Incidence of chronic bronchitis in a cohort of pulp mill workers with repeated gassings to sulphur dioxide and other irritant gases

BackgroundOccupational exposure to irritants is associated with chronic bronchitis. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether repeated peak exposures with respiratory symptoms, gassings, to sulphur dioxide (SO2) and other irritant gases could increase the risk of chronic bronchitis.MethodsThe study population comprised 3,060 Swedish pulp mill workers (84% males) from a cohort study, who completed a comprehensive questionnaire with items on chronic bronchitis symptoms, smoking habit, occupational history, and specific exposures, including gassings. 2,037 have worked in sulphite mills. Incidence rates and hazard ratios (HRs) for the observation period, 1970–2000, in relation to exposure and the frequency of repeated gassings to SO2 and other irritant gases were calculated.ResultsThe incidence rate for chronic bronchitis among workers with repeated gassings was 3.5/1,000 person-years compared with 1.5/1,000 person-years among unexposed workers (HR 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-3.1). The risk was even higher in the subgroup with frequent gassings (HR 3.2, 95% CI 2.0-5.2), particularly among never-smokers (HR 8.7, 95% CI 3.5-22).ConclusionsRepeated gassings to irritant gases increased the incidence of chronic bronchitis in our study population during and after work in pulp mills, supporting the hypothesis that occupational exposures to irritants negatively affect the airways. These results underscore the importance of preventive actions in this work environment.

Growing Green and Competitive—A Case Study of a Swedish Pulp Mill

The experiences of past efforts of industrial pollution control while maintaining competitiveness should be of great value to research and policy practice addressing sustainability issues today. In this article, we analyze the environmental adaptation of the Swedish pulp industry during the period 1970–1990 as illustrated by the sulfite pulp producer Domsjö mill. We investigate how this company managed to adapt to heavy transformation pressure from increasing international competition in combination with strict national environmental regulations during the 1960s to the early 1990s. In line with the so-called Porter hypothesis, the company was able to coordinate the problems that were environmental in nature with activities aiming at production efficiency goals and the development of new products. Swedish environmental agencies and legislation facilitated this “win-win” situation by a flexible but still challenging regulatory approach towards the company. From the early 1990s and onwards, the greening of the pulp industry was also a result of increased market pressure for green paper products.

Methane potentials of the Swedish pulp and paper industry – A screening of wastewater effluents

With the final aim of reducing the energy consumption and increase the methane production at Swedish pulp and paper mills, the methane potential of 62 wastewater effluents from 10 processes at seven pulp and/or paper mills (A–G) was determined in anaerobic batch digestion assays. This mapping is a first step towards an energy efficient and more sustainable utilization of the effluents by anaerobic digestion, and will be followed up by tests in lab-scale and pilot-scale reactors. Five of the mills produce kraft pulp (KP), one thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP), two chemical thermo-mechanical pulp (CTMP) and two neutral sulfite semi-chemical (NSSC) pulp. Both elementary and total chlorine free (ECF and TCF, respectively) bleaching processes were included. The effluents included material from wood rooms, cooking and oxygen delignification, bleaching (often both acid- and alkali effluents), drying and paper/board machinery as well as total effluents before and after sedimentation.The results from the screening showed a large variation in methane yields (percent of theoretical methane potential assuming 940NmL CH4 per g TOC) among the effluents. For the KP-mills, methane yields above 50% were obtained for the cooking effluents from mills D and F, paper machine wastewater from mill D, condensate streams from mills B, E and F and the composite pre-sedimentation effluent from mill D. The acidic ECF-effluents were shown to be the most toxic to the AD-flora and also seemed to have a negative effect on the yields of composite effluents downstream while three of the alkaline ECF-bleaching effluents gave positive methane yields. ECF bleaching streams gave higher methane yields when hardwood was processed. All TCF-bleaching effluents at the KP mills gave similar degradation patterns with final yields of 10–15% of the theoretical methane potential for four of the five effluents. The composite effluents from the two NSSC-processes gave methane yields of 60% of the theoretical potential.The TMP mill (A) gave the best average yield with all six effluents ranging 40–65% of the theoretical potential. The three samples from the CTMP process at mill B showed potentials around 40% while three of the six effluents at mill G (CTMP) yielded 45–50%.

Socio-technical regimes and heterogeneous capabilities: the Swedish pulp and paper industry's response to energy policies

Based on a study of policy-induced changes in the Swedish pulp and paper industry, this paper follows a process of socio-technical regime destabilisation. Results from the study show that in industries where established firms have significant power, processes of endogenous renewal are more likely to destabilise established regimes than processes based on niche solutions. Further, the study shows how policy measures aimed to destabilise the current regime may result in different responses, owing to the different capabilities of individual firms. The analysis suggests that heterogeneous capabilities within established industries provide possibilities for policy makers to initiate change.

Carbon Prices and Incentives for Technological Development

How to significantly decrease carbon dioxide emissions has become one of the largest challenges faced by modern society. The standard recipe prescribed by most economists is to put a price on carbon, either through a tax or through emissions trading. Such measures can reduce emissions cost-effectively and create incentives for technological development. There is, however, a growing concern that the carbon prices generated through the European Union emission trading system (EU ETS) have been too low to create the incentives necessary to stimulate technological development. This paper empirically analyzes how the Swedish carbon dioxide tax and the EU ETS have affected productivity development in the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1998-2008. A Luenberger total factor productivity (TFP) indicator is computed using data envelopment analysis. How the policy measures affect TFP is assessed using a system generalized method of moments estimator. The results show that climate policy had a modest impact on technological development in the pulp and paper industry, and if significant it has been negative. The price on fossil fuels, on the contrary, seems to have created important incentives for technological development. Hence, results suggest that the carbon prices faced by the industry through EU ETS and the carbon dioxide tax have been too low.

Cancer incidence among Swedish pulp and paper mill workers: a cohort study of sulphate and sulphite mills

Associations between various malignancies and work in the pulp and paper industry have been reported but mostly in analyses of mortality rather than incidence. We aimed to study cancer incidence by main mill pulping process, department and gender in a Swedish cohort of pulp and paper mill workers. The cohort (18,113 males and 2,292 females, enrolled from 1939 to 1999 with >1year of employment) was followed up for cancer incidence from 1958 to 2001. Information on the workers' department and employment was obtained from the mills' personnel files, and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated using the Swedish population as reference. Overall cancer incidence, in total 2,488 cases, was not increased by work in any department. However, risks of pleural mesothelioma were increased among males employed in sulphate pulping (SIR, 8.38; 95% CI, 3.37-17) and maintenance (SIR, 6.35; 95% CI, 3.47-11), with no corresponding increase of lung cancer. Testicular cancer risks were increased among males employed in sulphate pulping (SIR, 4.14; 95% CI, 1.99-7.61) and sulphite pulping (SIR, 2.59; 95% CI, 0.95-5.64). Female paper production workers showed increased risk of skin tumours other than malignant melanoma (SIR, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.18-6.02). Incidence of pleural mesothelioma was increased in the cohort, showing that asbestos exposure still has severe health consequences, and highlighting the exigency of strict asbestos regulations and elimination. Testicular cancer was increased among pulping department workers. Shift work and endocrine disruptors could be of interest in this context.

Industrial electricity demand and energy efficiency policy: The role of price changes and private R&D in the Swedish pulp and paper industry

The objective of this paper is to analyze electricity demand behaviour in the Swedish pulp and paper industry in the context of the increased interest in so-called voluntary energy efficiency programs. In these programs tax exemptions are granted if the participating firms carry out energy efficiency measures following an energy audit. We employ a panel data set of 19 pulp and paper firms, and estimate both the own- and cross-price elasticities of electricity demand as well as the impact of knowledge accumulation following private R&D on electricity use. The empirical results show that electricity use in the Swedish pulp and paper industry is relatively own-price insensitive, and the self-reported electricity savings following the voluntary so-called PFE program support the notion of important information asymmetries at the company level. However, the results display that already in a baseline setting pulp and paper firms tend to invest in private R&D that have electricity saving impacts, and our model simulations suggest that up to about one-third of the industry sector's self-reported electricity savings in PFE could be attributable to pure baseline effects. Future evaluations of voluntary energy efficiency programs must increasingly recognize the already existing incentives to reduce energy use in energy-intensive industries.

Implementation and evaluation of a low temperature waste heat recovery power cycle using NH3 in an Organic Rankine Cycle

With increasing cost for power generation opportunities for small scale power generation from waste heat have increased. The awareness of untapped resources such as local waste heat streams as well as the available range of technology and products to harvest such streams is increasing steadily though field data is scarce for applications below 100 °C entry temperature. ORC applications have a large number of open parameters and therefore require field data for correlation of models.This paper presents field data and analysis of an ORC power generation plant operating with NH3. The unit operates on waste heat from a Swedish pulp mill at an available temperature of 75 to 85 °C. Performance at varying heat source conditions and capacity is reported as well as an analysis of the particular investment case.The data was generated during a 15 day period and show a thermal efficiency of 8–9% at capacities from 50 to 100%. The results indicate a flat thermal efficiency from 20 to 100% capacity.Investment case analysis is based on a purchase model while the chosen economic model is a supplier own-and-operate arrangement supplying the mill with power at a predefined cost during an extended period of time.

Energy efficiency and policy in Swedish pulp and paper mills: A data envelopment analysis approach

The paper provides an empirical assessment of the electricity efficiency improvement potential in the Swedish pulp and paper industry by employing data envelopment analysis (DEA) and mill-specific input and output data for the years 1995, 2000 and 2005. The empirical results are discussed in relation to the reported outcomes of the Swedish voluntary energy efficiency programme PFE. The estimated electricity efficiency gap is relatively stable over the time period; it equals roughly 1TWh per year for the sample mills and this is three times higher than the corresponding self-reported electricity savings in PFE. This result is largely a reflection of the fact that in the pulp and paper industry electricity efficiency improvements are typically embodied in the diffusion of new capital equipment, and there is a risk that some of the reported measures in PFE simply constitute an inefficient speed-up of capital turnover. The above does not preclude, though, that many other measures in PFE may have addressed some relevant market failures and barriers in the energy efficiency market. Overall the analysis suggests that future energy efficiency programs could plausibly be better targeted at explicitly promoting technological progress as well as at addressing the most important information and behaviour-related failures.

Firm collaboration and environmental adaptation. The case of the Swedish pulp and paper industry 1900–1990

This article addresses the importance of research and development (R&D) collaboration for environmental adaptation in the Swedish pulp and paper industry. It reviews the collaborative efforts initiated during the first half of the twentieth century, and investigates in particular how these efforts were influenced by the advent of modern environmental legislation in the late 1960s. We find that during the early period the underlying motives for environmental R&D collaboration were related to the presence of local resistance to pollution, over time turning into increased requirements from tightening environmental regulation. When the Swedish Environmental Protection Act was implemented in 1969, the long-lasting tradition of collaborative R&D activities facilitated the development and the adaptation of cleaner technologies in the sector. The article concludes that in the case of the Swedish pulp and paper industry, the significant environmental improvements witnessed during the 1960s and onwards can only be fully comprehended by acknowledging the role of the industry-wide collaborative activities in R&D. The positive outcomes of this collaboration were in turn reinforced by an environmental regulation system, which facilitated long-term investments in environmental R&D and, in contrast to their Finnish and American counterparts, encouraged internal process changes in the industry.