Objective
A. BACKGROUND
A consequence of the manufacturing processes involved in paper and board production is a number of unwanted materials. The nature and quantities of such materials will vary in line with the raw materials used. Parties of the European paper industry which use recovered fibre as raw material produce a large quantity of unwanted components derived from the paper product in its original use, for example adhesives; inks; labels; tapes etc. Such material can add up to 8% of the total weight of recovered paper used. In addition those mills that de-ink recovered paper will also produce sludge, amounting to several millions tonnes per annum. For example, the UK industry produces some 1-1,5 million tonnes dry solids of paper sludge per annum; the German industry over 1,8 million tonnes of various papermill sludges and the total amount for the French paper industry is some 500 000 tonnes dry solids per annum.
The dry solids content of these sludges is normally of the order of 35%.
In other countries where recovered fibre is not a major raw material, for example Finland, sludges arise from other sources including wastewater treatment (62 000 tonnes in Finland) and fibre and coating colour sludges (68 000 tonnes in Finland). The composition of such sludges varies between countries and the mill products.
There are a number of options to dispose of such material depending on the nature of the material and the particular country. Within the UK, for example, there are two main disposal routes for this material. These are landspreading and landfill. Spreading of sludge on agricultural land is controlled by legislation. However the issues surrounding land application of papermill sludge are judged to be sensitive. The increased adoption of this waste management option is currently being sanctioned by the UK environmental agency to ensure that "bona fide" recovery of value from the waste is demonstrated. In addition the EC have drafted proposals to revise Council Directive 86/278/EEC "on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture". This Directive might be extended to include other waste producers.
Landfilling represents the other major method by which solid wastes arising from the paper industry are disposed of. The cost of disposal to landfill is rising and is being made more costly by various landfill taxes, such as in the UK. The potential further impact of proposed EU legislation contained within the Landfill Directive may further restrict this route. The key driver within the latter legislation is the desire to reduce the organic content of material disposed to landfill.
The increasingly restrictive and costly nature of the two established options has prompted changes. In Germany, for example, legislative and economic pressures have seen waste volumes going to landfill to be reduced by over 75%. The landfill option has been replaced by incineration and recycling. These pressures and the likelihood of further legislation and regulations related to papermill sludge disposal has prompted the need for research and development into the establishment of alternatives.
These have included:
- reduction of sludge at source by reviewing papermaking practices
- paper sludge reuse within the papermaking process
- paper sludge recovery and reuse e.g.: energy recovery; construction materials; land reclamation and soil enhancement; composting; mineral production and other uses e.g. cat litter.
Whilst there have been some notable developments in some areas, a number of key problems still remain to be solved. One of the major issues is the shear volume of material being generated. Many of the reuse alternatives proposed so far will only remove small tonnages from the waste stream.
This issue is at the heart of a European wide waste management policy. The paper industry should be rightly judged as fulfilling EU policy in facilitating a waste management option for recycling recovered paper, which is towards the top of the waste hierarchy. However in achieving high levels of recycling, paper mills are prone to produce higher quantities of waste arisings and deink sludges. The COST mechanism is a perfect vehicle to address this new issue from the research perspective. This Action would seek to bring together the researchers working in this field with the objective of establishing those options that would provide the paper industry with an effective solution to its waste arisings disposal problem.
B. OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS
The main objective of the Action is to define and develop the options for the reduction and disposal of waste arisings resulting from the paper and board making process.
The activity aims to provide the paper and board industry with an objective view of the options open to it in respect of disposal of waste arisings from the use of recovered fibre.
This will be achieved by:
- Determining the best approaches to reducing the generation of waste arisings at source i.e. in original use or in the mill
- Assessing the options for reuse of papermill sludge within the papermaking process
- Assessing the options for recovery and reuse of papermill sludge.
Research results will be exchanged by participants of European research organisations, universities and others who are actively working in the specific field of papermill sludge and other waste arisings and combining this European knowledge with those working in the wider field of waste disposal/sludge. It is expected that such a programme will be multidisciplinary in nature as well as providing a platform for developing cross-sectorial opportunities.
The action will provide benefits to the key industrial sector of pulp and paper manufacture and to the wider European community by providing further knowledge to assist the development of an effective European wide waste management policy. Dissemination of the output from the Action to the pulp and paper industry and other interested parties will be achieved through annual workshops and scientific publications.
C. SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
In establishing the options for waste arisings from the papermaking process, the following stages are required:
- Audit selected sites to collect and analyse data about the process and mass balance waste arisings
- Explore options to prevent or reduce waste generation
- Explore options to reuse or recycle on or off site
- Establish appropriate treatments to enable disposal e.g. volume reduction.
The first option will be site specific and will not form part of the overall envisaged research programme. However data will be sought from various operations within each country participating to illustrate the extent of the problem and variations between different operations by grade and by country. The main focus of the scientific programme will be on the remaining three stages.
Stage 1: Waste arisings reduction
The ultimate aim of a papermill waste reduction strategy should be to arrive at non-impact discharges to all environmental media i.e. air, water and land. Having regard for waste hierarchy, many papermills are challenged with the task of using high levels of secondary fibre, recovering and "upcycling" the fibre to papermaking specifications and at the same time reducing waste arisings generation. Without recourse to the selection of low contaminated secondary fibre sources or virgin fibre, the remaining options for such mills include:
- Maximising fibre yield from secondary fibre sources, thereby reducing raw material losses with the effluent
- Reducing raw material losses with the effluent by "closing up" mill systems
- Engineering paper which can be recycled without creating waste arisings production
- Upgrade paper finishing techniques to enable increased sludge incorporation.
Work will therefore be undertaken to develop and assess the options available to the papermaker to reduce papermill sludge at source.
Reference to the work being undertaken in COST Action E14 "Towards zero emissions in papermaking" will be made as appropriate.
Stage 2: Papermill sludge reuse within the papermaking process
Having reduced sludge generation through maximising fibre yields and reducing fibre losses to effluent, waste hierarchy principles advocate reuse of papermill sludge within the papermaking process.
Clearly retention and sale of as much input material as possible is desirable. Reuse of papermill sludge within paper and board making will be process and product specific, e.g. it is likely to be less problematic within board grades but difficult in fine papers and specialities.
The opportunities for sludge reuse can be increased if:
- Valuable fibre and clay based components are separated from grit-laden cleaner rejects
- A central collection of sludges for use by one major consumer could be set up within an area servicing a number of mills
- Production personnel are able to overcome potential obstacles encountered by using sludge.
Research will assess the options for reuse and identify potential technical and economic obstacles to their implementation.
Stage 3: Papermill sludge recovery and reuse
There are a number of options, which can be classified as "recovery". These include:
- incineration with energy recovery
- composting
- recycling
- land reclamation and soil enhancement
- mineral production
- other uses e.g. pet litter.
This area has seen the greatest research activity to date with a number of projects addressing use of sludge into a number of different end products. These have included bricks, insulation materials and a range of other constructional materials.
Research will assess the options currently available from technical and economic standpoints and seek to develop other alternatives.
D. ORGANISATION AND TIMETABLE
D 1. Organisation
The following Working Groups are proposed:
WG 1. Waste arising reduction
WG 2. Papermill sludge reuse within the papermaking process
WG 3. Papermill sludge recovery and reuse.
All working groups will elect a Leader who will assist the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson in ensuring that the work is of high standard. The meeting frequency of the working groups will be 1-2 times per year, as decided in the WG's.
During the Action, exchange of scientists between the participating research organisations is encouraged through short-term missions.
The interaction of the action with national and international research programmes, networks and other COST Actions will be ensured by meetings and joint seminars. The links to other existing and starting COST Actions (such as E 14) will be planned.
D 2. Timetable
The duration of the Action is planned for four years. A tentative timetable is presented in Table 1 (Appendix 1), and a detailed schedule will be planned at the beginning of the activity.
E. ECONOMIC DIMENSION
The following COST countries have indicated their interest in this Action:
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
UK.
On the basis of national estimates provided by the representatives of these countries, the overall cost of the activities to be carried out under the Action has been estimated, in 2000 prices, at approximately EUR 8 million.
This estimate is valid under the assumption that all countries mentioned above but no other countries will participate in the Action. Any departure from this will change the total cost accordingly.
F. DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS
The management committee will organise annual seminars (general or thematic). These will form part of the planning process at the start of the Action for each of the working groups. Such meetings will promote interdisciplinary research in the fields of waste management, sludge disposal, recovery and use and pulp and paper sciences and technologies. Dissemination of research findings at other international conferences will also be encouraged. The Management Committee (or a nominated Dissemination Group) will at the early phase of the action plan activities for publication and exploitation. Results of research carried out by the working groups will, where appropriate, be submitted to international scientific journals and reviews.
In addition to conventional scientific articles in professional journals, results of the Action will also be disseminated through the internet. A Website of the Action will be established after the start of the activity. Each participant is expected to provide relevant information to construct a network of www-pages relating to the project. Summaries of the working group meetings and annual seminars will be presented on the web pages.
The management group will also maintain an active contact with the COST Forestry and Forest Products Technical Committee by:
attendance of the chairman or his representative at the meetings of the Sector Group on Pulp and Paper
an annual report through the Sector Group on Pulp and Paper
contribution to the COST Forestry and Forest Products Technical Committee Activity report.
Cooperation between this COST Action and other Actions (e.g. E 14) will be ensured. Exchange of scientists and joint experimentation will be facilitated within the Action by Short Term Scientific Missions and at least five missions are planned for each year.
Companies expected to be interested are waste management companies, potential end users of sludge e.g. the construction industry as well as pulp and paper manufacturers. At the start of the Action, the MC will ensure the distribution of information by collecting an updated mailing list of companies potentially interested in the Action.
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