Pulp and Paper Processes for
Sustainable Production
Keith Larson
History of Paper Making
 105
A.D. Ts'ai Lun, a Chinese court
official, invented paper
mulberry bark, hemp and rags with water
 Paper
was first produced in Egypt
around 900 A.D.
 England early in the 14th Century
To this point all paper and
books were produced by hand
History of Paper Making
 Gutenberg
Press in 1436
 On September 30, 1452
Guttenberg's Bible was published
The printing press allowed
printed materials to be
produced at a greater rate
thus increasing the demand
for paper
History of Paper Making
 First
North American paper mill in
1690 near Philadelphia
 America's
first writing papers were
produced by collecting, separating,
and cleaning old cloth rags
 The
paper was made in single sheets
History of Paper Making
 1798,
Nicholas-Louis Robert of
France invented a paper making
machine that produced paper on an
endless wire screen
 Further
developed in England by
Brian Donkin
 Not
put into service until 1804
History of Paper Making
The Fourdrinier
1st Fourdrinier machine
in the US, 1827
History of Paper Making
Two major advancements in pulping were
developed in the late 1800s
1866
1879
American Benjamin
Tilghman developed
the sulfite pulping
process
German chemist, C. F.
Dahl, developed the
Kraft pulping
process
Dominant pulping
process until the
1930s
1930s dominant
pulping process
and still is today
Advantages of the Kraft Process
 The
majority of the chemicals used in
the pulping process are recoverable
for use in further pulping operations
 Large
amounts of energy are
produced in the recovery boilers
during the recovery process
 The
Kraft process can pulp pine trees
Ocala National Forest, Dec. 1998
Pine trees are abundant throughout much
of the United States. The Kraft process
allowed the United States to become a
major producer of paper products.
However, the Kraft process has created
environmental problems
The Modern Paper Making Process
The process of making paper begins far from
the paper mill itself
Clearcut in Oregon's Coast Range
The Modern Paper Making Process
Paper Making Process Overview [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Wood Yard [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Five Methods of pulping
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Mechanical Pulping
Chemimechanical
Thermomechanical
Chemimechanical and
Thermomechanical Pulping (CTMP)
Chemical Pulping
The Modern Paper Making Process
The chemical method is the most popular
because it produces a higher quality paper
than mechanical pulping
The most popular method of pulp production
is the Kraft process, producing nearly 85%
of all pulp in the United States
This will be the focus of the pulping
description
The Modern Paper Making Process
Chesterton Pulp Digester [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Chesterton Pulp washers [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Chesterton Bleach Plant [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Paper Machine [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Recovery Evaporators [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Recovery Boiler [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Recovery Causticizing [Chesterton, 2004]
The Modern Paper Making Process
Water Treatment [Chesterton, 2004]
The Problems and Solutions
The pulp and paper industry came into
its own during a period when the
environmental effects of chemical
plants were not well understood, and
discharges were not well regulated
The operation of a pulp and paper mill
creates many environmental
concerns
Brush Creek, Private Land, Oregon
The Problems and Solutions
One of the very first
impacts of the
paper industry was
the deforestation of
large tracts of land
in the early 1900s
 Today the paper
companies practice
a process of
sustainable forestry

The Problems and Solutions
The Sustainable Forest Initiative program
was developed in 1994 by the American
Forest & Paper Association to ensure
forests are protected
“responsible environmental practices and
sound business practices can be
integrated to the benefit of landowners,
shareholders, customers and the people
they serve”
[aboutsfi, 2004]
The Problems and Solutions
 For
every tree
harvested today, the
paper companies are
planting five seedlings
 There is now more
forestland than in
1970
 The Sustainable Forest
Initiative has been a
success
The Problems and Solutions
Many environmental concerns
surround water usage

Release of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
and Sludge

Creation of Dioxins and Furans

BOD, COD, TSS
The Problems and Solutions
Hydrogen Sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas that smells
like rotten eggs
At elevated levels, it can irritate the eyes
and respiratory system
It can be deadly at very high levels (greater
than 500,000 parts per billion)
The Problems and Solutions
 No
current Federal Limits on H2S
 In
January 2000, EPA issued a
Federal Register notice announcing
H2S is one of the chemicals for which
EPA is developing a health
assessment
 Individual
States are setting limits
The Problems and Solutions
Dioxins and Furans
 Most toxic chemicals known to
science
 The most toxic compound is 2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or TCDD
 Any process that uses chlorine can
change or generate chlorinated
dioxins and furans
 White Paper bleaching uses Chlorine
(EPA/600/C-01/012, March, 2001)
The Problems and Solutions
Reduction of Wastewater
 Reduce
the demand for the high
quality bright-white paper
 For “lower quality” papers use a
combination of other chemicals in the
bleach process (oxygen for example)
 Do a better job of pulping the wood
The Problems and Solutions
Ash and smoke,
byproducts of
burning the
black liquor and
fuel in the
recovery boiler
and power
boiler, escapes
thru the smoke
stacks
The Problems and Solutions
 Improved
electrostatic precipitators
are being installed to help prevent
the release of ash and smoke into
the atmosphere
 The
process of concentrating the
black liquor has been improved
 Use
cleaner burning fuels
Hope for the Future
Still have a long way to go to prevent any
environmental impact
 Operating a paper mill is a balancing act

Cost
Quality
Environment
Time
Hope for the Future
Advances Toward Sustainability
 Sustainable
Forest Initiative Program
 Recovery of Process Chemicals
 Recycling of Process Water
 Reduction of Dioxin Production
 Make use of by-product Residue
Tall Oil – used in paints, perfume, cosmetics
Turpentine
Hope for the Future
“responsible environmental practices and sound
business practices can be integrated to the
benefit of landowners, shareholders, customers
and the people they serve”
References

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
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
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
http://www.americanlands.org/forestweb/photos.htm
http://www.aboutsfi.org/about.asp , 2004.
http://www.afandpa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Pulp
_and_Paper/Paper_-_the_history_and_making/Paper__the_history_and_making.htm , 2004.
http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=
20797, (EPA/600/C-01/012, March, 2001)
http://www.chesterton.com/pulp-paper/ , 2004.
http://www.linde.com/en/en.jsp ,2004.
http://www.paperhall.org/info/glossary.html , 2004.
Profile of the Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Sector in
Georgia, 1993,
http://www.ganet.org/dnr/p2ad/pblcations/pulp/page
1.html
World Bank. 1996. “Pollution Prevention and Abatement:
Pulp and Paper Mills.” Draft Technical Background
Document. The Environment Department, Washington,
D.C.
World Bank. 1998. “Pollution Prevention and Abatement:
Pulp and Paper Mills.” Darft Technical Background
Document. The Environment Department, Washington,
D.C.