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‘A lot of pulp and paper mills right now are looking at ways to reduce energy costs because that’s such a huge part of their costs and competitiveness. Eventually, they’ll get into the actual production of ethanol.’ official publication of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry and the Paper Industry Management Association. He explains that the industry sentiment is torn between a desire to diversify into a burgeoning market and reluctance because the costs are so high. There are also questions about policy and technology that tend to make diversification a big gamble, he says. Nevertheless, many mills are moving forward with biomass projects. For exam-
PHOTO: Glenn Ostle/Paper360
ulp and paper mills, could utilize technologies such as gasifimany of which were cation, biomass boilers, biodiesel and built in the 1800s, ethanol production. Such technologies haven’t changed much would reduce or eliminate fossil fuel conin their many decades sumption, provide value-added products of operation. Of and streamline pulp production. Course, product improvements and “I have always taken the approach of process efficiencies have been developed an integrated biorefinery,” says Arthur and implemented, but the basic infra- Ragauskas, a chemistry and biochemistry structure and purpose of the mills remain professor at the Institute of Paper the same. All this is about to change as Science and Technology at Georgia Tech. pulp and paper mills are positioned to Since 1989, Ragauskas has studied become the next biorefinerprocess efficiencies and ies. waste-stream utilization in A biorefinery is generalthe forest products industry. ly defined as a renewable He maintains that the future mirror of a petroleum refinof the industry is broader ery, where a variety of fuels, than paper. Mills will continchemicals and power are ue to make paper but proproduced from one source, ducers have begun to explore and the mix of these prodhow they can take the waste ucts can be adjusted based streams to make fuels or on market value. The forest chemicals, he says. Ragauskas products industry is now This is a hot topic in the evaluating its potential as biorefineries. pulp and paper industry, says Glenn As biorefineries, pulp and paper mills Ostle, editorial director of Paper360, the
In the future, paper may be one of many products produced at pulp and paper mills.
40 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 10|2007