IPPC document on BAT in the Pulp and Paper Industry

Waste minimization in the pulp and paper

industry

EU Directive 96/61/EC, Integrated Pollution Prevention

and Control (IPPC), Reference Document on Best Available
Techniques (BAT) in the Pulp and Paper Industry

December 2001

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Sulphate pulping process

Best available techniques (BAT) for reducing waste is

to minimize the generation of solid waste and recover,
recycle and reuse these materials, wherever
practicable.

Separate collection and intermediate storage of waste

fractions at source can be beneficial to meet this aim.

When the collected waste is not reusable in the

process, external utilization of waste as substitutes or
incineration of organic materials in suitably designed
boilers with energy recovery is considered as BAT.

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IPPC document on BAT in the Pulp and Paper Industry

Solid waste generation

The production of sulphate pulp generates various
fractions of solid waste:
* inorganic sludge (dregs and lime mud) from the
chemical recovery
* bark and wood residues from woodhandling
* sludge from effluent treatment (inorganic material,
fibres and biological sludge)
* dust from boilers and furnaces (e.g. CaO and Na2SO4)
* rejects (mainly sand) from the wood handling
* ashes and miscellaneous material (like building
material).
Many organic substances, which might be considered
waste products, are burnt for energy recovery. This
normally includes bark and wood residues and could
include water treatment sludge.
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Average waste generation in sulphate pulp

mills in kg dry solids/t pulp

Type of waste kg dry solids per tonne of pulp

Wastewater treatment sludge 10

Wood ash 9
Other ashes 14
Fibre and coating waste 5
Wood waste 6
Hazardous waste 0.2
Total 43

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IPPC document on BAT in the Pulp and Paper Industry

Paper making and related processes

BAT concerning solid waste is the minimization the
generation of solid waste and recovery, reuse and recycle of
reusable materials as far as possible.
* Separate collection of waste fractions at source and
intermediate storage of residuals/waste can be beneficial to
allow for a greater proportion to be reused or recycled rather
than landfilled.
* Reduction of fibre and filler losses, the application of ultra-
filtration for coating wastewater recovery (only for coated
grades), efficient dewatering of the residues and sludge to
high dry solids are further available techniques.
* BAT is the reduction of the amount of waste to be landfilled
by identification of possibilities for recovery operations and -
if feasible - utilization of waste for material recycling or
incineration with energy recovery.
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Various types of waste are generated

at paper mills according to the following
different sources

Rejects from stock preparation

Sludge from water treatment
Other waste fractions
- scrap iron and other metals
- plastics
- chemicals including coating residues
- spill oil
- glass
- packaging (e.g. container for chemicals, palettes, etc.)
- building waste as wood, concrete, bricks etc.
- waste from laboratories
- household waste
- paper waste that can not be utilized at the mill
- wires and felts
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IPPC document on BAT in the Pulp and Paper Industry

BAT for paper mills

Important measures for reducing solid waste

1. Reduction of fibre and filler losses.

Earlier and in old paper mills sedimentation tanks were the
dominating technique. The separation efficiency can be
improved considerably by a disk filter or a microflotation unit.

2. Recovery and recycling of coating wastewaters

The application of ultrafiltration for coating wastewater
recovery has proven successful in many mills and minor or no
negative effects have been reported on fine and art paper
quality when using concentrate in precoating. In magazine
paper mills small amounts of UF concentrate can be used
without drawbacks in quality. However, a lot of technical and
logistical aspects have to considered when applying this
techniques which makes it difficult for smaller mills.
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IPPC document on BAT in the Pulp and Paper Industry

3. Pretreatment of sludge (dewatering) before

further utilization or final disposal
Several techniques are available for dewatering of the residues
and sludge (belt presses, screw presses, decanter centrifuges
and chamber filter presses). The resulting dry solid content
depends on the characteristic of the sludge and the dewatering
techniques applied. Higher dry solids usually mean less transport
requirements and higher calorific value of the sludge that is es-
pecially interesting in case where the residues are burnt. In case
of disposal, biological stabilization might precede dewatering.

4. Reduction of the amount of waste to be landfilled

Identification of possibilities for recovery operations and – if
feasible - utilization of waste for material recycling or incineration
with energy recovery. In some cases, supporting fuels or adding
of residues with higher calorific value (e.g. bark, wood waste) are
required when the amount of landfill waste is reduced by
combustion techniques.
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