Paper manufacturing pollution source

The major sources of pollutant releases in pulp and paper manufacture occur at the pulping and bleaching stages, respectively. As such, nonintegrated mills (i.e., those mills without pulping facilities on site) are not significant environmental concerns when compared to integrated mills or pulp mills. 

The paper and allied products industry comprises three types of facilities pulp mills that process raw wood fiber or processed fiber to make pulp paper and board mills that manufacture paper or board and converting facilities that use these primary materials to manufacture more specialized products such as writing paper, napkins, and other tissue products. The process of converting paper is not a source of water or air pollution, as is the case for the first two facilities. This chapter focuses primarily on the greatest areas of environmental concern within the pulp and paper industry those from pulping processes. 

Slimicide and biocide toxic pollutants containing pentachlorophenol are used at mills in the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry. Initially, pentachlorophenol was used as a replacement for heavy metal salts, particularly mercuric types. Trichlorophenols are also used because of their availability as a byproduct from the manufacture of certain herbicides. Formulations containing organo-bromides and organo-sulfur compounds are also being used. Substitution of alternative slimicide and biocide formulations can lead to the virtual elimination of pentachlorophenol and trichlorophenol from these sources. 

The most important industrial alkalis are the weak alkali ammonia (Section 9.3), caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), and lime (calcium oxide).1-6 For many industrial and agricultural purposes, the most economical source of alkali is lime, which is used in steelmaking and other metallurgical operations ( 45% of U.S. production of lime), in control of air pollution from smokestack gases (Chapter 8), in water and sewage treatment (Sections 9.6 and 14.5), in pulp and paper production (Section 10.4), in reduction of soil acidity, in cement and concrete manufacture (indirectly, as discussed later), and in many chemical processes such as paper making (Section 10.4). In short, lime is one of the most important of all chemical commodities. 

A large fraction of the chemical industry worldwide is devoted to polymer manufacture, which is very important in the area of hazardous wastes, as a source of environmental pollutants, in toxicology, and in the manufacture of materials used to alleviate environmental and waste problems. Synthetic polymers are produced when small molecules called monomers bond together to form a much smaller number of very large molecules. Many natural products are polymers for example, cellulose in wood, paper, and many other materials is a polymer of the sugar glucose. Synthetic polymers form the basis of many industries, such as rubber, plastics, and textiles manufacture. 

Phenols and substituted phenols such as chlorinated phenols and related aromatic compounds are known to be usual components of industrial wastes. Some of the larger and more common sources of wastewater containing phenolic compounds are pulp and paper mills, petrochemical refineries, plastics and glue manufacturers, coke plants, food industries and leachate from municipal waste dumps (Rao et al. 2002). Many phenolic compounds are thought to be highly toxic and carcinogenic so they are considered to be priority pollutants. 

The appearance of simple phenolic compounds in water points to pollution stemming from industrial sources, such as manufacturers of dyes, drugs, antioxidants, pulp and paper, or may be the result of pesticide application. The presence of certain phenols in... 

FIG. F-23 At AssiDoman Sepap, one of Europe s biggest manufacturers of sack paper and sacks, pollution abatement measures have been approved for a total of MSEK 200. (Source AssiDoman.)... 

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