Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

Pulp& Paper Canada

PaperWeek Highlights low-consistency refining Board mill burns biomass

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March/April 2013 Vol. 114, No. 2 A Business Information Group Publication Print edition ISSN 0316-4004 On-line edition ISSN 1923-3515

Canada

Over 100 years of serving the industry

Cover Story

9 Safest Mill in Canada: Cultural Shift

Top safety performers share their strategies for a safer workplace. Plus, full results of the Safest Mill in Canada Contest.

FEATURES

9

12 N ew faces, new ideas at PaperWeek Canada The PaperWeek Canada conference and trade show included a job fair, biorefinery symposium, technical sessions and a business stream.

17

17 Biomass power benefits both mill and town One folding boxboard mill has cut the carbon footprint of its products in half by switching to a new biomass power.

19 R ethinking refining

The quest to reduce energy consumption is driving research and process changes that will help mechanical pulp mills employ more low-consistency refining.

21 Reduce, reuse, recycle…and now reinforce

Starch and filler management is becoming a more important issue when using recycled fibre. A customized, comprehensive approach can optimize both strength and productivity.

J-FOR Featured Technical Paper

23 Energy efficiency in biorefineries – A case study of Fischer-Tropsch diesel production in connection with a pulp and paper mill

This study indicates that the introduction of an FT plant into an integrated pulp and paper mill is beneficial from the perspective of primary energy and biomass use.

By T. Haikonen, M. Tuomaala, H. Holmberg, P. Ahtila

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IN EVERY ISSUE 4 Editorial 6 News 8 Opinion: FPAC 8 Opinion: FPInnovations 28 Technology News 29 Classified Ads 30 Bio-Economy Update

25 28

MISSION STATEMENT: To promote the pulp and paper industry in Canada by publishing news of its people and their innovations in research, technology, management and financing, as well as forecasts of future trends.

Serving the industry since 1903.

For breaking news, visit www.pulpandpapercanada.com Cover image: Domtar Windsor mill, photo by Carroll McCormick.

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

3

Editorial

Canadian industry has a better plan than our neighbors

W

hile I was at PaperWeek Canada in Montreal in February, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) revealed its policy initiatives for 2013. The contrast between that organization’s direction and the unified front our Canadian associations and organizations have shown is striking.

Presentations and speeches at PaperWeek reinforced what has been clear for a while: FPAC, FPInnovations and PAPTAC are reading from the same page, promoting the idea that the way forward for the Canadian forest products industry is through innovation and growth, by adding new biomassbased products to our traditional product line-up.

The three organizations are remarkably consistent in driving home this message.

They have successfully garnered industry and government support for initiatives that build on Cindy Macdonald this theme. The Biopathways Network, the IFIT Editor program, even the agenda for the PaperWeek conference, are all geared to this same goal.

Across the border however, there seems to be more of an effort to cling to the past, with attempts to curtail the steep decline of printing and writing paper grades. AF&PA’s “key policy initiatives” for 2013 include supporting industry goals for sustainability and promoting the industry’s interests regarding air regulations, carbon neutrality of biomass, “BioPreferred” procurement and tax changes. All fairly standard fare for an industry association.

It’s AF&PA’s other initiatives that are more geared to reviving paper consumption. The group will focus on “promoting access to paper-based communication options for government programs such as Social Security, the Internal Revenue Service, savings bonds, and educational resources to ensure that the 30% of Americans without Internet access can still access these vital public programs.” (Really? To help those without Internet access?

That’s not even a credible spin.)

Two other moves the AF&PA plans to promote the use of paper are: “urging Congress to return fiscal viability to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) through comprehensive postal reform” and “supporting policies that promote voluntary and market-based paper recycling programs.”

The American industry is even backing a proposal by the USDA for a promotional program that will highlight “the renewability, reusability and recyclability of paper and paper-based packaging.” The program (Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research and Information Order) would be funded by a levy of 35 cents per ton on producers and importers.

I much prefer the Canadian path that accepts the reality of changing paper markets and urges the industry to adapt and carve a niche in the emerging bio-economy.

Editor CINDY MACDONALD 416-510-6755 cindy@pulpandpapercanada.com Publisher Jim Bussiere 416-442-5600 ext. 3606 jim@pulpandpapercanada.com President, Business Information Group BRUCE CREIGHTON Vice President, Publishing ALEX PAPANOU Executive Publisher, Manufacturing Tim Dimopoulos

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Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

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Industry News

Tembec delays completion of Temiscaming boiler project Tembec announced in late January that it is delaying the completion of its $190-million upgrade at the specialty cellulose mill in Temiscaming, Que. President and CEO James Lopez says high demand for construction resources in Quebec were putting cost pressure on the project. The project has been re-opened for bidding, and Lopez expects to have a new schedule in place by the end of the first quarter of 2013.

Phase one of investment in the Temiscaming specialty pulp mill, announced in March 2012, is related to green energy. Lopez explains that the opportunity to sell green energy to Hydro-Québec now makes it feasible to replace the three aging recovery boilers at the mill. The new boilers will make high pressure steam, and allow an incremental 10,000-tonne increase in pulp output due to operating efficiency improvements.

Phase two, an investment of $120 million originally planned for 2014-2015, will replace the mill’s nine batch digesters. This will increase capacity for specialty Lopez at PaperWeek 2013 pulp production by 30,000 t/yr.

The expansion projects were on schedule until late November, says Lopez. The original announcement predicted the new boiler would be installed by Dec. 2013, and the turbine for electricity generation by May 2014.

Tembec puts Skookumchuck NBSK mill up for sale As part of a strategy to focus its business, Tembec is seeking a buyer for its Skookumchuck northern bleached softwood kraft mill in Cranbrook, B.C. Tembec president and CEO James Lopez says Skookumchuck is “a good NBSK mill, with a good cost structure,” that will be sold as a going concern.

The company is in discussion with several buyers, and expects to sell the facility within a year.

Catalyst Paper sells interest in energy company Catalyst Paper has agreed to sell its approximately 50% interest in Powell River Energy Inc. and Powell River Energy Limited Partnership to the other joint owner of the companies. All electricity generated by Powell River Energy will be sold to Catalyst under a power purchase agreement which expires in 2016.

Fortress co-gen project at Thurso delayed The biomass cogeneration project at Fortress Specialty Cellulose in Thurso, Que., is nearing completion, but will be delayed, the company has announced. Fortress now expects to begin delivering power to Hydro-Québec late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2013, and anticipates additional costs in the 10-20% range for the overall cogeneration project.

Construction is more than 90% com6

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

plete, but commissioning and start-up activities have incurred delays as a result of various factors, including unforeseen piping related delays, reduced manpower availability and minor scope of work adjustments, the company reports.

In November 2012, when Fortress Paper released its third quarter results, management expected the co-gen project to be operational in January 2013, and to cost approximately $100 million.

Irving Paper mill has a record year Irving Paper started the new year with an announcement that it had broken a production record, manufacturing 408,214 tonnes of specialty grade paper in 2012. The mill in Saint John, N.B., has also reduced its impact on the environment while increasing production.

Over the past five years, Irving Paper has achieved a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Cascades Tissue juggles executives to support expansion plans Jean Jobin is being promoted to the position of chief operating officer of the Cascades Inc. Tissue Group.

“The Tissue Group is embarking on a new stage of development with a clear objective to conquer new market shares.

The appointment of Jean Jobin will allow me to concentrate on our overall corporate vision and an energetic strategy for development and expansion,” explained Suzanne Blanchet, president and CEO of Tissue Group.

Cascades’ Tissue Group has become the fourth largest manufacturer of tissue products in North America, doubling its sales in the past ten years.

Blanchet also announced the appointment of Stéphane Rousseau to the position of executive vice-president, away-fromhome products in North America, and Eric Ellyson as executive vice-president, consumer products Canada.

North American wood pellet exports continue rapid growth Rapid expansion of wood pellet production in both the southern U.S. and British Columbia dramatically increased pellet exports from North America to Europe last year, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. In the third quarter of 2012, total shipments were up 70% yearover-year to a record high of 860,000 tons.

The growth is expected to continue with numerous plans for adding capacity, particularly in the U.S. South.

Pellet exports from the U.S. South have skyrocketed the past two years, quadrupling to 485,000 tons in 3Q/12. Canadian exports have also gone up in the past few years, but at a slower pace, notes the Review.

Pelletier leaves Tembec to lead Fortress dissolving pulp business Yvon Pelletier has joined Fortress Paper Ltd. as president of its dissolving pulp business. Pelletier has more than 30 years of experience in the pulp and paper industry.

Prior to joining the Fortress group, Pelletier was executive vice-president of the specialty cellulose group at Tembec Inc. Pelletier replaces Peter Vinall, who has www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Industry News

been with the corporation since 2010.

Fortress Paper’s dissolving pulp business currently operates the Fortress Specialty Cellulose Mill in Thurso, Que., and is refitting the Fortress Global Cellulose Mill in Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que.

Western Forest Products sells long-vacant Squamish pulp mill site Western Forest Products Inc. has entered into a conditional agreement for the sale of its former Woodfibre Pulp Mill site for the purchase price of $25.5 million. The site, consisting of 212 acres of industrial waterfront land, is located at the head of Howe Sound, southwest of Squamish, B.C. The Squamish NBSK pulp mill was shut down in 2006.

Tembec appoints Ribeyrolle to direct specialty cellulose division Tembec has appointed Christian Ribeyrolle as executive vice-president, specialty cellulose. Ribeyrolle joined Tembec in 2003 as manager of the pulp mill in Tartas, France.

In 2009, he became senior vice-president, specialty cellulose, and president, Tembec SAS (France).

“Christian has been a tremendous asset in the development of the specialty cellulose component of Tembec’s business portfolio,” said James Lopez, president and CEO of Tembec.

Tembec is the world’s second leading producer of specialty cellulose, and manufactures lumber, pulp and paper.

Norampac’s Greenpac mill outsources maintenance to Metso Metso and Norampac have reached an agreement in principle for Metso to supply the mill maintenance services for the Greenpac mill in Niagara Falls, NY. Metso will establish and manage all maintenance systems and procedures at the mill.

The new linerboard machine at the Greenpac mill will be supplied by Metso; it is scheduled to start up in the third quarter of 2013. The agreement includes recruitment of all maintenance personnel.

“The outsourcing of maintenance is a first of its kind for Norampac and its partners in North America. After visiting a similar world-class site in Europe we were convinced of the benefits, perwww.pulpandpapercanada.com

formance and customer satisfaction of Metso maintenance operations, which will further contribute to the project’s success,” commented Marc-André Dépin, president and CEO of Norampac.

Decision opens door for recycled board in liquor packaging The paper packaging industry’s environmental council (PPEC) has scored a major breakthrough by persuading the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) to change its shipping rules for wine and liquor boxes.

Effective immediately, the LCBO will allow its suppliers the option of using the edge crush test (ECT) as an alternative to the burst strength (or Mullen) test that it has used for more than 20 years to assess the delivery performance of corrugated packaging.

“This move is long overdue,” said PPEC executive director, John Mullinder, “and opens the door to producers of recycled board, which is the major Canadian (and global) grade, and becoming more so. The Mullen test unfairly discourages the use of recycled board.”

People…

• As part of West Fraser’s succession plan, Hank Ketcham is handing over CEO duties to Ted Seraphim, Seraphim is now president and CEO of the forest products company; Ketcham is executive chairman.

• Steven Voorhees has been elected president and chief operating officer of RockTenn. He will have responsibility for the company’s operating businesses, including corrugated packaging, consumer packaging and recycling. RockTenn has one Canadian containerboard mill in La Tuque, Que. •H ugo D’Amours has joined packaging and tissue producer Cascades as vice-president, communications and public affairs. He was previously director of media relations for the former premier of Quebec , Jean Charest.

FPAC launches industry information and recruitment site TheGreenestWorkforce.ca, a resource tool that provides information on the dynamic direction of the forest products industry and career opportunities on offer across the country, was launched during PaperWeek Canada in Montreal. The campaign is an initiative of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), with support from the government of Canada.

“The forest products sector is now a future-oriented business that is brimming with opportunity. It is now hiring and offering solid careers for those who care about their future, the environment and their quality of life,” said David Lindsay, president and CEO of FPAC. Check it out at: www.thegreenestworkforce.ca.

March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

7

Opinion

FPInnovations’ tissue research program helps Canada’s competitiveness in global stage

By Jennifer Ellson, senior communications specialist, fpinnovations

F

PInnovations now has the capability to test tissue softness – a very important feat as consumer preferences for improved quality and performance play a major role in the global success of tissue businesses.

Dubbed the holy grail of the tissue industry, softness is one of the key performance attributes of tissue. The search to perfect softness while keeping in balance other important attributes such as strength has been a high priority for tissue product optimization and new product development.

After successfully converting its pilot paper machine to tissue production in 2007, FPInnovations built a research program around tissue and offered pilot tissue trials to many companies. The tissue offering is now further strengthened by a handfeel softness panel, since a true softness measurement must be done by real people. By teaming up with experts who worked in quality control in the tissue industry for more than 30 years, research-

ers at FPInnovations received training in handfeel softness evaluation.

Implemented as a measurement tool, the handfeel softness panel has already tested its strict methodology to evaluate softness of tissue made on FPInnovations’ pilot paper machine. This represents a great opportunity for FPInnovations to take the lead in improving and standardizing the handfeel panel method and to support its members and customers to develop more competitive products.

World tissue demand is forecast to grow by an average of 4.1% annually between 2010 and 2021. For Canadian tissue companies, the competitive U.S. market is an important outlet. Exports now account for roughly half of Canadian production, with the trend swinging toward ultra-quality products in household towels and toilet tissue as well. This has prompted Canadian suppliers to increasingly launch new premium category products.

Globally, nowhere is the tissue industry growing more rapidly than in Asia, particularly in China. There is a spate of

capital investment in tissue making as all the leading Chinese suppliers have recently announced massive expansion programs.

According to RISI, China’s huge population of 1.3 billion people consumed some 4.8 million tonnes of tissue in 2010, making it the second largest tissue market in the world (after the U.S.) and accounting for slightly more than 16% of global consumption. Preliminary figures for 2011 show consumption of more than 5.2 million tonnes, up by almost 10% from the previous year.

With the printing and writing paper grade falling steadily in North America, FPInnovations’ tissue research program, strengthened by its new capabilities, can support Canadian pulp and paper companies, particularly market pulp producers, looking to take advantage of the growing global tissue demand.

For more information about tissue softness evaluation, contact Xuejun Zou, research manager, Paper, Packaging & Consumer Products (514-630-4132, xuejun.zou@fpinnovations.ca).

A proud past and a promising future

By David Lindsay, president and ceo, forest products association of canada

A

n editorial dated February 1, 1913, in this very magazine spoke to the “need for a Canadian Pulp and Paper Association.” By March 8, 1913, a meeting was convened at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto by the magazine editor, A.G. Macintyre (someone described in the media as “a merry and uninhibited graduate of McGill with enormous drive and infectious enthusiasm”). On that date, fourteen mills voted to set up an organization aimed at “the consideration of matters of general interest to the pulp and paper industry, the promotion of its welfare and the social intercourse among the member of the Association.”

And so 100 years ago, the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association was born, a group that lives on under its new name, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). Back then membership for companies was just $25 a year and the salaries for three staff totalled $440. CPPA actually had a challenging first year. But soon the association found its footing and grew into one of the most respected industry associations in Canada, as it remains today.

All this year, FPAC will be celebrating its 100th anniversary 8

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

by reflecting back on the proud past of an industry that helped shape the Canada we know today, as a true hewer of history. First the timber trade and then the pulp and paper industry brought investment and immigration to Canada; it fostered economic development and transformed the landscape by encouraging the building of towns and villages and the opening of roads and railways; it had a broader reach into every region of Canada than any other industry, past or present. It’s a time to recall how the pulp and paper industry was for about 75 years of the 20th century the largest employer, the largest exporter and overall the largest contributor to the Canadian economy.

But it is also time to reinforce our belief in the positive future of the Canadian forest sector. That’s why FPAC believes in Vision2020 – where the industry is aiming to produce another $20 billion in economic activity from new products and markets, to replenish the workforce with at least 60,000 new recruits and to further burnish our green credentials with another 35% reduction in our environmental footprint.

So remember our glorious past but let’s also redouble our efforts to build a growing future. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Safety

Cultural Shift Top safety performers share their strategies for making the vision of a safer workplace a reality.

Photo: Domtar Windsor mill, photo by Carroll McCormick

N

o silver bullet exists that can put a poor safety record out of its misery. Canada’s safest mills use a multitude of strategies, including leading indicators, audits, noname, no-fault reporting and even recruitment testing in their never-ending effort to reduce the number of incidents and injuries.

“It is a combination of factors that gets you good safety performance. It takes years and a good culture,” says Eric Ashby, mill manager at the Domtar Windsor mill in Quebec. “People that tell themselves that it is one thing will miss the boat.”

Domtar’s Windsor mill is the winner of Pulp & Paper Canada’s 2012 Safest Mill in Canada contest, and received PAPTAC’s Safety Leadership Award this year. The integrated pulp and paper mill had five recordable incidents, for a frequency rate of 0.67, in the course of 1,483,056 hours worked last year. (The Safest Mill in Canada contest calculates frequency as total recordable incidents x 200,000 hours/total hours worked.)

“There are a multitude of items we are working on in a daily basis to move from a reactive culture to a proactive culture,” Ashby explains. These include what he calls key components. In risk assessment, for example, employees proactively look at tasks before beginning them. In a related component, called safety sphere, they dynamically identify the risks in an area with a diameter of three metres. “Look at your environment and evaluate the impact,” Ashby says.

Looking is good, but doing something about an identified risk is made more likely with the use of another key component, called the courage to intervene. “In a unionized environment it is easy to close your eyes. You must have the courage to intervene,” Ashby notes.

Another way to head off injuries before they occur is to use leading indicators, which, in effect, identify incidents waiting to happen. After all, by the time lagging indicators such as lost time and first aid treatment are noted, the ambulance is long gone.

“A good culture needs leading indicators,” Ashby insists. “For

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

By Carroll McCormick

example, near misses by chunks of rocks. Reporting near misses is a good thing. You know your culture is going in the right direction.”

Resolute Forest Products introduced new safety leading indicators in January 2012 that it compares with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) injury rate. “There is a near miss report ratio per employee and a follow-up completion rate for all the OSHA incidents and major safety alerts. These incidents are monitored through electronic follow-up reports by all general managers to confirm that all actions needed to control the risk have been introduced,” explains Dominique Leroux, safety and health manager, Canada, with Resolute Forest Products.

Leading indicators help management and employees recognize, report and then communicate potential hazards to all employees.

“We push the ‘no name, no blame’ process with regard to these proactive safety activities. As an employer we have to be ready to listen and learn, as [employees] need to be committed to support world-class safety performance,” Leroux says.

Learn from others’ mistakes When recordable injuries do happen, senior management triggers conference calls, within 48 hours, to review the preliminary investigation report to make sure root causes and proper corrective actions have been identified so that the incident will not be repeated. To heighten even more the sense of urgency that Resolute wants its employees to feel, the company launched a program to not only share injury reports among its mills but demand proof that they are taking them to heart.

“We saw the same injuries elsewhere and said, “They are not learning”. Now, when we have a recordable incident, we send follow-up questions to all the mills. They answer the questions and put into place immediate corrective actions so the incidents shouldn’t happen there. This is a knowledge exchange. Since we established this in January 2012 we have seen fewer similar inci-

March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

9

Safety

Safety leaders: (from left) Millar Western, Whitecourt Pulp; Resolute Forest Products, Thorold, Ont.; Alberta Pacific.

dents in the company,” Leroux explains. According to data from Pulp & Paper Canada’s Safest Mill contest covering eight Resolute mills, the number of recordable incidents at those mills dropped from a total of 56 in 2011 to 30 in 2012.

One rather straightforward rule change, that workers wear safety gloves everywhere in the mills, has resulted in a 45% reduction of hand injuries. Review of its personal protection equipment (PPE) policy in 2011 and 2012 has led to other changes as well in Resolute mills. For example, safety boots, not safety shoes, are now required everywhere in the mills. Safety goggles and face shields must be worn when performing tasks creating dust. When doing tasks with hot material and steam, specific PPE is required.

The value of the new PPE policies is evident. One of the new PPE requirements applies when working within 12 feet of a hazardous chemical pressurized process. “After having introduced this

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policy, six chemical splashes were reported. Only one resulted in medical treatment, however, because employees were wearing the new PPE when it happened,” Leroux reports.

Similar strategies are used at Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., Whitecourt Pulp Division; that is, inspections to identify and control hazards, full safety training applicable to employees’ work and areas, and a strong safety ethic.

“We are always looking for areas where we can improve,” says Anita Michie, Whitecourt Pulp’s safety and loss control coordinator. “For example, we identified the need to do a better job of ensuring that all ideas and recommendations are followed up properly – that corrective actions are implemented on a timely basis, that all employees are made aware of changes, and that we communicate back to the people who have provided input. We are incorporating some new software that will help us make sure

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Safety we close all these loops, every time.”

Whitecourt Pulp also places great value on tapping the expertise of outside associations.

“We work very closely with the Alberta Forest Products Association. Being a member of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering has also been invaluable. We work closely with government through initiatives like the Partners in Injury Reduction program. By collaborating with our colleagues throughout the industry in sharing best practices, we all win as everyone elevates their safety performance,” Michie says.

Years of effort at Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., has paid off in the form of six recordable incidents in 2012, down from 39, with a frequency rate of 7.51, in 2000. “In 2000 we implemented a behavior-based safety program named SMART. The following year we introduced a hazard evaluation and risk optimization program that we used to develop safe work procedures. We noticed that the recordable incidents began to decrease,” says Barry Greenfield, health and safety business unit leader, Al-Pac. “This was followed up in subsequent years with a safe work permit system and then a root cause analysis. We believe that these strategically planned and executed programs and processes have resulted in a favorable decline in recordable incidents.”

The physical and mental health of its employees is also a key plank in Al-Pac’s safety platform. “The company provides team members with an exercise facility, golf driving range, ball diamonds, walking/running tracks, fishing pond and picnic area,” Greenfield says. “Our Health and Wellness committee provides support and programs that facilitate the wellbeing of team members and the Family Assistance Program assists with team members’ psychological health.”

Domtar has a similar focus, which Ashby expresses as employees’ state of mind: “Rushing, frustration, fatigue and complacency are related to safety performance. The likelihood of incidents is higher if employees are not on task.

We have people acknowledge that these four states of mind can affect performance.”

Other tools mills use to reduce incidents include trust and openness, good health and safety plans, positive recognition and the involvement of everyone, including chief executive officers.

Safety is a process, not a project. Whitecourt Pulp’s Michie puts it like this: “We cannot consider ourselves successful unless each one of us has gone home safely at the end of every single shift.”

PPC www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Safest Mill in Canada, Total 2012 Results

Recordable incidents

Total hours worked Frequency

CATEGORY A – More than 80,000 manhours per month Domtar Inc., Windsor, QC Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Boyle, AB Catalyst Paper, Crofton, BC

5 6 33

1,483,056 1,071,207 1,183,474

0.67 1.12 5.58

3 4 5 5 6 7 12 10 9 13 10 15 16 17 16 25

795,533 890,909 804,815 713,154 790,558 633,721 928,401 689,148 605,546.5 795,819 606,338 789,906 827,853 863,838 619,080 705,062

0.75 0.90 1.24 1.40 1.52 2.21 2.59 2.87 2.97 3.27 3.30 3.80 3.87 3.94 5.17 7.09

0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 5 1 5 6 6 5 3 8 4 9 4 12 5 20

368,776 289,571 277,729 130,617 513,578 472,902 324,782 280,798 273,729 220,807 254,887 545,964 108,265 492,616 578,335 577,346 471,177 260,793 550,825 269,620 574,312 225,839 583,822 168,547 548,487

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.39 0.42 0.62 0.71 0.73 0.91 1.57 1.83 1.85 2.03 2.07 2.08 2.12 2.30 2.90 2.97 3.13 3.54 4.11 5.93 7.29

CATEGORY B – 50,000 to 80,000 manhours per month Resolute Forest Products, Alma, QC Resolute Forest Products, Thunder Bay, ON Resolute Forest Products, Fort Frances, ON Resolute Forest Products, Laurentide, QC Resolute Forest Products, Baie-Comeau, QC Kruger Inc., Bromptonville, QC Howe Sound Pulp & Paper, Port Mellon, BC Canfor, Prince George Pulp & Paper, Prince George, BC Hinton Pulp (Div. Of West Fraser Mills), Hinton, AB Catalyst Paper, Powell River, BC Tembec – Kapuskasing Operations, Kapuskasing ON. Irving Pulp & Paper Ltd., Saint John, NB Zellstoff Celgar Limited, Castlegar, BC Canfor, Northwood Pulp Mill, Prince George, BC Kruger Wayagamack Inc., Trois-Rivières, QC Twin Rivers Paper Co., Edmundston, NB

CATEGORY C – Less than 50,000 manhours per month Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp Inc., Meadow Lake, Resolute Forest Products, Thorold, ON Resolute Forest Products, Kenogami, QC Sonoco Canada Corporation, Brantford, ON Resolute Forest Products, Iroquois Falls, ON Alberta Newsprint Company, Whitecourt, AB Resolute Forest Products, Amos, QC Kruger Inc., Montreal, QC Strathcona Paper LP, Napanee, ON JD Irving Ltd., Irving Tissue, Saint John, NB Millar Western Forest Products, Whitecourt Pulp, Whitecourt, AB Weyerhaeuser Canada, Grande Prairie, AB Norampac Inc., Kingsey Falls, Que. Canfor, Intercontinental Pulp, Prince George, BC Northern Pulp Nova Scotia, New Glasgow, NS Cariboo Pulp and Paper Co., Quesnel, BC Resolute Forest Products, Clermont, QC Tembec Inc., Matane, QC Daishowa Marubeni International, Peace River, AB Quesnel River Pulp, Quesnel, BC Kruger Inc., Trois-Rivieres, QC Slave Lake Pulp, Slave Lake, AB Catalyst Paper, Port Alberni, BC Cascades Groupe Carton Plat East Angus, East Angus, QC Tolko Manitoba Kraft Papers, The Pas, MB

March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

11

Conference Report

New faces, new ideas A strong roster of speakers informed at PaperWeek attendees of key trends and challenges at the industry’s national conference and trade show.

T

he series of conferences and events that make up PaperWeek Canada really do provide a one-stop opportunity to hear about all that is happening across the Canadian pulp and paper industry, from R&D to operational solutions, to financing innovative technology, to global market trends.

This year, PaperWeek Canada was held in Montreal from Feb. 4 to 7. More than 850 people attended the four-day event organized by PAPTAC. Broadening its coverage to more than the traditional pulp and paper industry, PaperWeek once again played host to the International Forest Biorefinery Symposium. As well, cutting-edge research was highlighted, as leaders of the eight research networks that make up FIBRE presented an update on their activities.

Monday, Feb. 4, was also a day of peer-to-peer interaction for mill operations personnel, with meetings specifically to mill managers, paper machine superintendants and maintenance personnel.

On Tuesday, Feb. 5, the trade show opened, with more exhibitors than last year, and with the notable addition of a half-dozen paper companies recruiting through the job fair organized by PAPTAC and FPAC. Top executives from three Canadian pulp and paper companies anchored the business sessions, complemented by global industry analysis from specialized research firms.

Overall growth tempered by regional differences The next two to three years should be quite positive economically, compared to where we’ve been, said Kurt Schaefer, vice-president world fibre of RISI. He anticipates overall global growth rates for paper production of 3.2% and 3.8% for 2013 and 2014, respectively (this include graphic grades, packaging and specialty papers, and tissue). A slight slowing is expected in 2015, to 2.8%, and then a steep decline in 2016 to only 0.2% growth.

Schaefer cautioned that there is a broad divergence in growth rates across grades and regions, which mutes the overall growth numbers.

“For newsprint, the downward trend is pretty much in evidence around the world,” he informed PaperWeek attendees.

12

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

By Shaun L. Turriff

Containerboard is facing a “recovered paper crunch.” Less paper is available as the production of graphics grades declines. Boxboard is sensitive to price, so as recovered paper pricing goes up, boxboard growth will slow, he predicted.

There will be some benefit to North America because some of our producers use virgin fibre, but around the world, 85% of containerboard production is based on recovered paper.

Tissue markets “continue to grow, buoyed by the rising tide of living standards around the world,” said Schaefer. This growth is fairly consistent, and from a pulp producer’s point of view, the demand growth results in gains of 1.5 million tonnes of pulp each year.

Schaefer predicts that gradually there will be a shift in the furnish mix for tissue, moving back to more softwood and hardwood virgin fibre, again because of the recovered paper crunch.

He notes that, globally, demand for recovered paper is going up faster than supply.

Partnerships key to new directions Frédéric Bouchard, managing director, PwC, suggested that the upcoming years in the Canadian pulp and paper industry would see further consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, as well as increased business transformation, but that much of this will take place on a small scale, with fewer big deals taking place.

Pierre Lapointe of FPInnovations talked about the research organization’s partnership with Genome Canada, Genome BC and Genome Quebec. The groups will investigate the economic potential of selecting superior trees and using genomics to boost production volume across the industry. Lapointe says there is a potential volume gain of 20 m3/hectare.

FPInnovations is also working toward an air-based inventory of the forest, using drone aircraft to provide precise information and possibly even species identification.

Two panels sponsored by Natural Resources Canada to highlight their IFIT (Investments in Forest Industry Transformation) program focused on both the business and technical sides of implementing innovative concepts. Representing Resolute Forwww.pulpandpapercanada.com

Conference Report est Products, Alain Bourdages and Martin Fairbank addressed the early stages of implementation, and how to “sell” innovation within your own company. A key message was the importance of knowing your company, ensuring that the suggested innovation fit the current company goals and corporate culture. Fairbank added that awareness of process feasibility and raw material supply are key considerations.

A more concrete presentation from Ron Reis, senior vice-president, pulp, with Millar Western Forest Products, detailed his company’s experience implementing a bioenergy effluent project.

Still under construction, the $42-million project will add anaerobic hybrid digesters to the Whitecourt pulp mill’s existing effluent treatment system. In addition to cleaner discharge, this project aims to produce methane, which will generate 5.2 MW of green electricity for use in the mill, as well as replacing natural gas in the package boiler, and producing steam via a heat exchanger.

The project will to reduce water intake, greenhouse gas emissions, and improve long term viability of the mill by reducing power purchases, natural gas requirements, and sludge handling costs.

The project is financed by $17 million from an Alberta ecoTrust grant, $6.75 million from NRCan’s IFIT program, and $17.75 million from Millar Western itself. As challenges, Reis noted the often long wait for government funding approval, an increase in required reporting, and the competition for construction and other personnel.

Presenting for Albert-Pacific Forest Products, Daryl Nichol, vice-president pulp, and Trevor Ip, project manager biomethanol project, discussed their company’s biomethanol project. Funded in part by NRCan’s IFIT ($5 million), the $10-million upgrade is currently producing methanol for internal use and for sale in the provincial methanol market.

Bio-economy forges ahead At the third annual International Forest Biorefinery Symposium (a specialized conference within PaperWeek Canada), École Polytechnique’s Michel Perrier delivered the keynote address, covering the role of the green integrated forest biorefinery (GIFBR).

His presentation examined a new efficiency analysis process that moves beyond pinch and energy path analysis towards a more comprehensive methodology that includes water usage. Perrier’s talk also covered three potential types of GIFBRs, highlighting their quick payback period (less than three years), but noting

Presenting on innovative technology were (left to right) Sammy di Re of Voith Paper, Ted Poulin of Andritz Pulp & Paper, and Mike Gray, Metso. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

their high capital investments, some in excess of $60 million. He acknowledged that such capital investments might be hard to secure in today’s economic climate.

Zishan Shah of the University of Northern British Columbia presented a few criteria for selecting a partnership, noting that 50-60% of partnerships fail, and 80% of those failures result from bad partner selection. Shah stressed that partners help spread risk (capital, technological and commercial) and can help create markets. Sari Hämäläinen (University of Jyväskylä) presented her doctoral research on partnerships of small and medium enterprises in biorefinery networks, in the Finnish context. Hämäläinen concludes SMEs need to be active in seeking partnerships, and should collaborate with other SMEs to increase resources and expertise before approaching key players.

Opportunities for the forest products industry in the automotive sector were discussed by Craig Crawford, president and CEO of the Ontario BioAuto Council. Crawford outlined several prospects, such as recycled honeycomb cardboard (already used in the automotive industry as a layer in composite materials), microfibers (as a glass-fiber replacement, or an additive to commodity plastics; commercialization by next year), lignin based carbon fibers (commercialization by next year) and nano-materials such as nanocrystalline cellulose. Crawford noted the necessity of meeting consumer demands for cost control, product predictability, product availability, product performance, as well as social and environmental responsibility.

Describing the research of the Bioconversion Network, Jack Saddler of UBC noted that this group is investigating pre-treatment methods, enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and economics of biorefining.

Saddler feels that this field is facing some scientific and technological barriers, as well as the economic pressure of an upcoming decade of cheap fossil fuels, which makes the competitive arena tougher for bio-based fuels and chemicals.

Lignoforce™, a proprietary method of extracting lignin in a kraft mill in order to offset caloric load at the recovery boiler and produce a co-product with market value, was discussed by Lamfedaal Kouisni of FPInnovations. The Lignoforce process solves many of the problems associated with other methods of extracting lignin, offering higher filtration rates, better purity, lower drying costs and lower chemical costs, according to Kouisni. Lignoforce is currently at the demo plant stage (operating at the Resolute Forest

Sophie D’Amours, Marie Dumontier and Bob Pelton at the FIBRE presentations.

RISI’s Kurt Schaefer (left) with PaperWeek program chair Martin Lorion.

March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

13

Conference Report

Business

Products mill in Thunder Bay, Ont.), but Kouproven technologies, saves energy, reduces isni suggested commercial scale operations consumption, is low risk and often has a will be forthcoming within the year. Kouisni payback period of less than two years. could not comment on potential capital cost “For me, sustainable development means related to a commercial application of the Labour pains being fully aware of the negative impact Lignoforce system.

A panel on the demographic challengwe are having. If each of us took note and On the subject of nanomaterials, Ron es related to the forest industry’s workthought about it, the world would be a Crotogino of ArboraNano says Canada is force addressed some of the concerns better place today.” advancing rapidly with regard to manufacturexpressed by other conference parAlain Lemaire, president and ing nanocellulose. BioVision Technology, for ticipants. These concerns included an CEO, Cascades Inc. example, is developing a process to produce aging workforce, industry image, and carboxylated cellulose nanocrystal competition from comparable indus(CNC) called Nanocel™. ArboraNano tries (such as oil and gas or mining).

“It’s been a positive evolution in our is a business-led centre of excellence Robert Beauregard of the Université industry. It’s positive to see how minds that has invested close to $16 million de Laval noted that university enrollment is have opened up and old ways of doing in 25 projects. Its mandate ended in shifting from traditional forestry programs business have been jettisoned.”

March 2013. to programs with a focus on environmental Jim Lopez, president and CEO, Other technical presentations at the concerns, and that the forest products indusTembec Inc. biorefinery symposium included Louis try, in order to attract these young graduates, Patrick Dansereau (Polytechnique de would need to bolster its image as a Montréal) on the importance of value green industry.

“Our industry will increasingly be a packchain planning in forest biorefineries, Fanny Millar Western’s Brian McConkey aging industry,” says Kurt Schaefer, Monteil-Rivera (National Research Council discussed his company’s problems vice-president world fibre, RISI. By of Canada) on the use of microwave heating and solutions to the labour challenges, 2050, he expects 10-15% of the global in the extraction of lignin, and Adriann Van focusing on recruitment and retention, pulp and paper industry will be printHeiningen (University of Maine) on the proskills development and knowledge ing and writing, and newsprint grades; duction of biobutanol. transfer, as well as the perception of 10-15% will be tissue; and 70-80% will the industry. Important steps to take be packaging.

Water: the next hot spot include industry rebranding (McConkIn a technical panel on water consumpey mentioned the Greenest Workforce tion, Manuele Margni (Polytechnique campaign launched by FPAC), partnerThe future of the industry is de Montréal) and Caroline Gaudreault ships with industry associations and not-forbeyond paper and the founda(National Council for Air and Stream profits focused on employment, as well as First tion of a bright future lies in the Improvement) spoke of the future of Nations groups. McConkey also suggested the industry’s collective skill in wood water foot-printing and its potential need for internal programs, including mentorfiber, said Michael Edwards, effects on the forest products industry. ship and succession plans. senior vice-president, pulp and The two noted that water foot-printing Presenting last, Bob Matters of the United paper manufacturing, Domtar. methodology is currently in development, Steelworkers Wood Council reiterated the He states that the industry needs with no international or national standemographic challenges, and stressed the need to build on its strengths, and to dards in place. More complicated than for each company to have a concrete plan to re-imagine itself, adapting to the carbon foot-printing, water foot-printing deal with them, such as that at Millar Western. evolving wood fiber landscape. includes inventory and impact assessment A number of tangible measures (that is, it considers both quantity and to address the industry’s demo“Being socially responsible does not quality), and is regionalized. graphics challenge were in evimean being less profitable. It means Reporting on water impact is expected to dence at PaperWeek Canada. FPAC you need to rigorously adapt your return become standard policy, and Gaudreault stressed launched Thegreenestworkforce. analysis to a longer time frame. ” that poor implementation of reporting metrics ca and the Green Dream internAlain Lemaire, president and CEO, could have a negative impact on the forest prodship contest. As well, FPAC and Cascades Inc. ucts industry, something NCASI is hopPAPTAC organized a job fair to ing to address in its research. coincide with PaperWeek Canada.

Roger Paradis (Ovivo) also presented Approximately 200 students visited “What is the root cause of our problem on integrated water treatment options the half-dozen employers on site. on price volatility? Fragmentation of the for pulp and paper mills. In this sceNew faces, new ideas and a resurgence industry. We have too many companies nario, water treatment is decentralized, of optimism marked the 2013 version of chasing the same customers.” focusing on simpler process effluent PaperWeek Canada.

Jim Lopez, president and CEO, instead of mixed effluent. Paradis noted Tembec Inc. that integrated water treatment involves Conference report continues on pg. 16

wisdom

14

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

PACWEST CONFERENCE JUNE 12 - 15, 2013

“Improving Performance Through Optimization and Reliability”

2013 EXECUTIVE

Join us again at:

SUN PEAKS, BC

PROGRAM Committee:

IBMP ORGANIZING Committee:

AWARDS * H.R. MacMillan Trophy for BEST MILL PAPER * RUNNER-UP for full length paper (open to consultants and researchers) * BEST SUPPLIER PAPER * BEST NOVICE PAPER for first presentation by author (excluding presentation at Branch Meetings)

Delta Sun Peaks Resort To network with peers, industry leaders and technical experts. Enhance professional development learning about new technologies, process improvements and what’s being showcased for the latest industry challenges.

We are also pleased to present a full SPOUSAL PROGRAM

2013 CALL FOR PAPERS For inclusion in the Program, abstracts should be received by

MARCH 15th 2013 with paper completion by MAY 10TH

Selection of papers is based on several criteria, including originality, technical merit and mill relevance Time limit for presentations is 20 minutes with 5 minutes for Questions & Answers

ABSTRACTS

should be submitted to PACWEST 2013 Program Chair: Brian Grantham – West Fraser-Hinton Pulp at 2012 H.R. MacMillan Trophy awarded to Ralph Lunn (right) with presenter, Shawn Russell

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12

* Industry Meetings: * PAPTAC Councillors (TBC) * Mill Managers & Sr. Executives * Maintenance Managers RT * Short Courses #1 Oxygen Delignification (Paul Earl) #2 Improving Machinery Reliability – (Ian McKinnon) #3 Process Control Optimization (Doug Nelson) * Trade Fair

Bill Adams – Domtar Brian Grantham–West Fraser-Hinton Pulp Stew Gibson – Catalyst Paper Kelly Parfitt – Canfor Pulp

Dennis Froats - ERCO Worldwide Che-Man Lee - Kemira Eric Bérubé – Buckman Canada Scott Curry – CQ Strategy Ajay Vashisht – Quadra Chemicals

PROGRAM OUTLINE

brian.grantham@westfraser.com

www.pacwestcon.net

THURSDAY, JUNE 13

* Conference Forum featuring leading Industry Managers & Analysts including: Michael Steele, Director, Pöyry Christer Idhammar, Executive VP – IDCON (TBC) Brett Robinson, President, Canfor Pulp (TBC) Peter Rippon, VP Pulp & Energy, West Fraser (TBC) Jean-Francois LaRue, Chief Economist, FPAC * Pulp Machine Superintendents RT * Maintenance Managers RT * 2 Technical Sessions * Trade Fair

FRIDAY, JUNE 14

* 5K Fun Run * Trade Fair

* Pulp Machine Superintendents RT * Maintenance Managers RT * 2 Technical Sessions * 2 Panel Discussions * Feature Luncheon * Awards Dinner Dance

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

Annual Golf Tournament

SESSIONS • • • • • • •

Kraft Pulping Environment & Sustainability Process Control Mechanical Pulping & Paper Making New Technologies Improving Mill Reliability Bioenergy Bioproducts Opportunities

Conference Report

PAPTAC recognizes industry leaders at PaperWeek A

series of awards were presented to individuals and companies that have contributed to the advancement of the pulp and paper industry by PAPTAC during PaperWeek Canada.

The John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal recognized the contribution of Dr. Pierre Lepoutre to the science and technology of the pulp and paper industry. Lepoutre is the founder of the Paper Surface Science Program at the University of Maine, and was a researcher with Paprican for many years.

An Honorary Life Membership was bestowed upon André Bernier, general manager of the Resolute Forest Products mill in Fort Frances, Ont. Bernier is the past chair of PAPTAC (20092010) and has shown long-term dedication to the association.

Mariya Marinova of L’ École Polytechnique de Montréal received a Certificate of Appreciation for her exceptional leadership as the chair of PaperWeek Canada’s International Forest Biorefinery Symposium.

The Douglas Atack Award for the best mechanical pulping paper was presented to Youfeng Lin and Robert Lanouette of l’Université du Québec à Trois Rivières for their work on jack pine refining.

Wayne Bichard of FPInnovations was been selected to receive the F.G. Robinson Award for his exceptional service as Chair of PAPTAC’s Standard Methods Committee.

Veronique Morin of Cascades’ mill in East Angus, Que.,

Business Awards

André Bernier and Richard Garneau

accepted the annual Energy Conservation Opportunity Award, sponsored by Pulp & Paper Canada. Ms. Morin and mill staff won the award based on their work involving optimization of medium consistency loops.

Greg Hay, Pierre Lepoutre and Allan Elliott and Talat Patrice Mangin.

Mahmood from FPInnovations and Denis Bélanger from Kruger shared the Douglas Jones Environmental Award for their paper entitled Reducing Biotreatment Nutrient Addition Costs.

The Howard Rapson Memorial Award was preGreg Hay, Richard Berry, Jean sented to Luc Lapierre, Jean Bouchard, and Paul Earl Bouchard and Richard Berry.

The three researchers from FPInnovations garnered the award for the best technical paper concerning chemical pulp bleaching, with a paper entitled Assessment of Pulp Machine White Water Quality of Market Kraft Pulp Mills.

Jim Blight, general manager of Domtar’s Dryden, Ont., mill was named Mill Manager of the Year. “I need to share this professional honour with my colleagues here at the mill,” said Blight. “We’ve had to make some difficult but necessary changes over the recent years to reposition ourselves for the changing global markets. We’re now a safer, more competitive operation thanks to many people making a sustained, collective effort over a long period of time.” At left are (left to right) Greg Hay, Jim Blight and PAPTAC chairman Daniel Archambault.

Canfor Pulp’s Prince George Pulp & Paper mill in Prince George, B.C., received the Environmental Strategy of the Year Award. Glenda Waddell, Canfor, is shown with PAPTAC executive director Greg Hay (left) and Tom Rosser, NRCan. PAPTAC’s Safety Leadership Award was presented to Domtar’s Windsor, Que., mill.

Eric Ashby (left) accepted the award from Yvon Pelletier.

16

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Case Study

Biomass power benefits both mill and town

Photo courtesy Andritz.

One folding boxboard mill has cut the carbon footprint of its products in half by switching to a new biomass-fired power boiler.

By Cindy Macdonald, editor

A

new biopower plant at the Metsä Board Kyro mill in Finland is a joint venture between the boardmaker and two Finnish energy companies. The switch to a biomass boiler will improve the carbon footprint of three Metsä Board products – Carta Elega and Avanta Prima folding boxboards, and the Cresta wallpaper base family.

“We have been working on improving energy efficiency and sustainability of our mills. The new biopower plant will help us in these efforts, as well as meeting our target of cutting CO2 emissions by 30% across operations by 2020 compared to 2009 levels,” says Mikko Helander, CEO of Metsä Board.

The mill’s proximity to homes created a challenge for biomass delivery.

The Kyro mill is now able to replace the use of natural gas with CO2-neutral woody biomass or wood-based fuel. This is predominantly bark and other biomass from industrial side streams, as well as logging residuals and chips from thinnings.

The EUR 50 million biopower facility (operating as Hämeenkyrö Voima Oy) will produce electricity and heat for Metsä Board Kyro, and also provide heat for the neighboring district of Hämeenkyrö. The use of biomass-based power is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from the plant by approximately 100,000 t/y, to about one quarter of previous levels.

Fuel delivery was the biggest challenge Hämeenkyrö Voima is owned jointly by Pohjolan Voima Oy, Leppäkosken Sähkö Oy and Metsä Board. It provides 12 MW electricity, 55 MW of district heat, and steam to the paper mill. The boiler stratedup in the fall of 2012, using a combination

of woody biomass and peat.

The design and installation of the power plant were particularly challenging because the boiler will be in close proximity to a residential area.

The biomass is delivered by truck, already chipped or crushed. To avoid having trucks running during the night, deliveries are organized so that 20 trucks per day deliver during a 15-hour window.

This is a just-in-time operation; the silos hold enough biomass to get through the night, but not enough to carry the mill for 24 hours.

Because this new biomass boiler replaced an older unit, the project required no new tie-ins to the mill, explains Juha Kouki, a specialist in bioenergy with co-owner Pohjolan Voima. The existing turbine and cooling water system were retained. The biggest challenge was the fuel receiving system, which was constrained by the congested space and the nearby residences.

The fuel handling system was supplied

Belt conveyors take biomass from the silos to the top of the boiler.

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

17

Case Study According to Andritz, the advantage of a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler is its fuel flexibility. They are commonly used for wood waste and sludge, for example, or agricultural waste plus wood waste.

BFBs allow fuel moisture content variation, have high combustion efficiency and low emissions. They also typically have high availability and long operating times, which are important for industrial applications because processes can depend on the steam generated by the boiler.

At the Hämeenkyrö Voima site, the steam produced by the boiler goes first to a back-pressure turbine for electricity production, then to the mill for process uses, and to the town for district heating.

was to eliminate natural gas” says Kouki.

Natural gas prices are rising and taxation is high on natural gas, he explains. Overall, says Kouki, the trend in Finland is for wood-based fuels to replace natural gas.

Biomass prices are considered more stable and predictable.

Pohjolan Voima has been involved with 15 biomass power plants in last 20 years; the field is the subject of a huge investment program for the company. In the majority of cases, says Kouki, forest industry companies are part-owners.

“Fibre is no longer the only source of income for mills. They generate a lot of money selling power to the grid,” states Henrik Eneberg, director sales and mar-

The old power plant was demolished, and the new boiler installed in its place. The new equipment had to be lifted over an existing administration building.

by Raumaster. To minimize dust, the trucks are unloaded in a closed room equipped with a dust collection system. Belt conveyors were chosen because of their lower noise and other operational benefits.

The biomass is dried by the supplier prior to delivery. Seppo Hulkkonen, Andritz’s technology director, bioenergy systems, notes that the biomass generally measures 50% moisture when fed into the boiler. Peat going to the boiler has 40% moisture.

The boiler is an EcoFluid bubbling fluidized bed boiler, supplied by Andritz.

It can provide steam flow up to 105/115 t/h, at a pressure of 84 bar(g) and temperature of 510 °C. Andritz delivered the boiler island and auxiliaries, flue gas cleaning with bag filter, field instrumentation and electrification.

Biomass is dumped in a closed room with a dust collection system.

Andritz’s Hulkkonen comments that for biomass boilers in this size range, there are not many competing suppliers because the combustion technology requires dedicated knowledge. Also, “this is industrial scale, so environmental regulations are much more stringent.”

For this project, the “driving force

Andritz secures its position in boiler business Andritz decided in 2006 to establish its own biomass boiler business line, after having tried strategic alliances and considering acquisitions. That year, an acquisition added the Carbona gasifer technology to the Andritz power business unit. More recently, in 2011, the acquisition of AE&E brought Andritz a boiler technology complementary to its own.

Ragnar Lundqvist, vice-president, bioenergy systems, with

18

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

keting, recovery and power division, Andritz.

In this case, for Metsä Board, the benefits are numerous. The biomass power plant provides a more stable cost structure, and it furthers the company’s sustainability goals, as well as providing a “green” marketing edge for its products.

PPC

Andritz’s recovery and power division, notes that many mills want the evaporator, recovery boiler and power boiler as a package, and Andritz has been able to supply that.

On the power side of the business, Andritz has more than 50 references for renewable fuel power projects, nine of those since the company began using its own technology in 2006. “Now, suddenly, we are a major boiler supplier,” says Henrik Eneberg, director sales and marketing, recovery and power division.

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Operations

The quest to reduce energy consumption is driving research programs and process changes that will help mechanical pulp mills employ more low-consistency refining.

Rethinking refining

By Peter Caulfield

echanical pulping produces a higher yield than its chemical counterpart, but the equipment used in the process, particularly the high consistency (HC) refiners, is very energyintensive, which is a challenge at a time of high and increasing energy prices.

Case in point: The NewPage Port Hawkesbury thermomechanical pulp mill in Nova Scotia, before its shutdown in 2011, used to spend about $100 million per year on electricity, according to court documents presented with regard to the mill’s bankruptcy. In addition to the TMP line, NewPage Port Hawkesbury operated one newsprint machine and one supercalendered paper machine.

In western Canada, researchers have been investigating ways to reduce energy consumption in mechanical pulping. At the University of British Columbia (UBC), The Pulp and Paper Centre has been running a research project on this topic since 2007.

The purpose of the project is to help mechanical pulp mills make the transition to more energy-efficient low consistency (LC) refining and to reduce their reliance on HC refining. (Some conventional mechanical pulp mills use only HC refining. In other mills, both HC and LC refiners are used, with the former preceding the latter in the refining process.)

According to project participant BC Hydro, pilot plant trials and mill energy efficiency feasibility studies in the first phase of the project (2007 to the end of 2012) showed that LC refining was between 5 and 12% more efficient than HC refining for treating high freeness pulp, which is used to make board, tissue and towels.

Norman Wild, senior energy management engineer, Power Smart Engineering – Industrial, says BC Hydro is looking forward to getting on with Phase Two, which will “advance the technology potential” of low freeness pulp.

“Low consistency refining showed great promise in the higher freeness grades (in Phase One),” Wild said. “One TMP mill in BC was able to replace high consistency refining with low consistency refining as a direct result of the UBC research.”

The potential of low consistency refining is not only recognized in British Columbia. Alberta Newsprint Company, a TMP/newsprint mill located in Whitecourt, Alta., incorporated www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Photo: UBC

M

Equipped with this state-of-the-art single-disc refiner plus a full complement of FINEBAR® refiner plates, donated by Aikawa/AFT, UBC has “the most state-of-the-art, university-based LC refining facility in the world,” Dr. James Olson said in 2011, welcoming the donation of new equipment.

a low-consistency refiner to its reject refining line, and was able to eliminate reject screening. The move saved the mill 3,100 MWh of electrical power per year.

Goal: eliminate one HC refiner Phase Two of the research project at UBC’s Pulp and Paper Centre, which is set to begin in September 2013, will expand previous work aimed at implementing multiple stages of LC refining and eliminating one of the two HC refiners used in mechanical pulping.

Dr. James Olson, director of the Pulp and Paper Centre, says LC refining is the primary method for providing significant energy savings in mechanical pulp production, because it is more efficient than HC refining.

“LC refining is also the primary means of improving the strength and smoothness of paper,” Olson explains. “Paper [made by LC refining] can be more than twice as strong.”

The UBC project addresses a serious challenge facing the Canadian pulp and paper industry. The manufacture of mechanical pulps and wood-containing papers is one of the few sectors of the March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

19

Operations

Photo: UBC

pulp and paper industry where Canadian companies are better placed than their competitors. Their advantage lies in Canada’s investment in clean, hydroelectric infrastructure and in our slow growing northern wood species which have superior properties and which support the manufacture of wide range of high-value pulp and paper grades.

The process of mechanical pulping uses a great deal of electricity, due mainly to the low efficiency of mechanical refiners.

In British Columbia, for example, mechanical pulp mills consume approximately 10% of the electrical energy produced in the province.

High energy costs, particularly in Alberta, where the cost of electricity is set in an open market and is therefore unpredictable, jeopardize the global competitiveness of Canadian mechanical pulp mills. The survival of the industry in this country depends on the ability of mills to reduce energy consumption per tonne of product produced.

Olson says the Pulp and Paper Centre’s research on mechanical pulping benefits the Canadian pulp and paper industry in a number of important ways. “Energy savings speak to both improving the competitiveness of the industry, which protects and adds to jobs in rural communities, and to improving the environmental footprint of those operations.”

He says the energy reduction project has demonstrated a reduction in energy use of nearly 1000 KWh/t, an almost 30% reduction.

UBC’s partners in energy reduction The electrical energy reduction in mechanical pulping program at UBC began with a consortium of 11 partner companies and since then has grown to 14.

“The mills provide the testing ground for new technologies, the suppliers are the main way of getting the new technologies into the mills and BC Hydro provides oversight on energy savings estimates and incentives for companies to realize these savings,” says Dr. James Olson, director of the Pulp and Paper Centre at UBC. The partners in the project are BC Hydro, Catalyst Paper, Howe Sound Pulp and Paper, Canfor, Quesnel River Pulp – West Fraser Timber, Arkema Inc., Andritz Group, Westcan Industries, FPInnovations, Aikawa/Advanced Fibre Technologies Inc., Holmen AB, Slave Lake – West Fraser Timber, Alberta Newsprint Company, Honeywell and The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). and we were able to help get the mills and the other partners on board,” Zeller said. “We expect to play the same role in Phase Two.” Zeller is BC Hydro’s Power Smart Technology Innovation Manager for Industrial.

BC Hydro is also conducting mill trials with model predictive control (MPC). The objective of the demonstration is to combine two technologies (continuous pulp quality monitoring and MPC) to determine if it can improve mainline refining control. BC Hydro wants to show power savings with reduced product variability and improved refiner operating targets.

“We did a demonstration project with an on-line fiber analyzer, but results have been intermittent and somewhat inconclusive,” said Zeller. “Our challenge with MPC is measurement and verification of energy savings. The lack of mill staff and resources makes any demonstration project challenging.”

LC refining shakes up the traditional process

James Olson (left) and Robert Gooding, vice-president, technology for AFT Inc., examine the Pulp and Paper Centre’s pilot LC refiner.

“And we can still produce pulp of the same quality,” he said.

“Our partners are starting to implement some of these new technologies at their mills.”

A research program that was undertaken by Catalyst Paper Inc. at its now-defunct Elk Falls Mill in Campbell River, B.C., was the starting point for the UBC pilot plant, says Gord Harrison, mechanical pulping energy manager in Catalyst’s Port Alberni Division.

“The objective of the research was to determine the no-load energy, which is the amount of energy required to turn equipment over without putting work into refining the wood fibre, which is consumed by LC refiners,” he said.

BC Hydro’s Markus Zeller says his organization was one of the initiators of the Pulp and Paper Centre’s research program on energy reduction in mechanical pulping.

“In Phase One of the project we were the first funding partner 20

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

At Alberta Newsprint Company (ANC), low consistency refining is contributing to energy savings by allowing the elimination of rejects screening. Surendra Singh, ANC’s director of energy, pulp and utilities, explains that screening removes undeveloped fibre (“rejects”) from pulp before the pulp is used to produce paper.

“There was a time when screening was thought to be a necessary step in paper making,” Singh says. “However, with the proper refining, including low consistency refining, the amount of undeveloped fibre in the pulp has been reduced to an acceptable level without screening.”

Singh says ANC has benefited in two ways since it discontinued screening for rejects in July 2012.

“First, it helped us to eliminate the capacity limitation in the reject refining system,” he said. “And secondly, it enabled us to remove six electrical drives from the refining process, which saves us 3,100 MWh of electrical energy per year. The performance of our paper in press rooms, in term of percent break, has been better than ever.”

According to Singh, ANC consumes 830 GWh/y of electrical power, or 3.2 MWh/t.

PPC www.pulpandpapercanada.com

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… and now Reinforce with Buckman Technology Dan Denowski, Global Market Development Manager – Paper

• Recycled fiber starch stabilization and retention • Recycled fiber filler stabilization and retention • Additives to enhance strength properties • Additives to enhance productivity • Application of biotechnologies to improve strength, increase drainage, reduce energy, and combat stickies contaminants Starch and filler management is becoming a more important issue in making packaging grades from recycled fiber. The content of both starch and filler is gradually increasing in our recycled fiber supply. Recognizing the impact these two components have on a recycled packaging operation, then managing them to maximize recycled fiber yield while maintaining strength and productivity is a challenge that Buckman’s Reinforce programs can overcome. In addition, the impact of filler and starch on the operation’s effluent treatment needs to be considered. Beyond their impact on yield, these recycled fiber components can prove costly if they contribute to chemical oxygen demand (COD), scaling tendencies, landfill costs, and odor associated with the operation’s effluent. Impact on the operation’s carbon dioxide emissions can be measured and improved with the right Reinforce program.

A recycled packaging mill produced medium/fluting grades.

To meet strength specifications for Ring Crush and Concora, the mill added up to 10 kg/mT of wet end starch. In addition, they increased refiner loading but this quickly reduced drainage to the point where the machine had to slow down, resulting in production rates lower than budget. COD loading in their effluent was gradually increasing and becoming more costly to treat. Typical of many paper mill operations, the city gradually encroached on the real estate near the plant. Complaints of offensive odor by the local property owners near the wastewater treatment plant were on the rise. The mill had successfully implemented a number of projects to reduce fresh water usage, but these changes had a negative impact on the paper machine first pass retention. Total Suspended Solids in the effluent also showed an increasing trend, resulting in higher sludge press polymer, transportation, and landfill costs. In addition, recent corporate policy is dictating that the operation document and demonstrate measureable improvements in sustainability.

After a system audit and bench testing, Buckman proposed the following components for the Reinforce program: – Busperse® 2454 to stabilize the starch and filler coming in with the recycled fiber – A wet end management program consisting of Bufloc® 5031 and Bufloc 594 to improve the first pass retention – Bubond® 408 to address Ring Crush, Concora, and machine speed – Finally, a Mosaic® Injection System was installed on the Bufloc 594 flocculant application, enabling the replacement of 1.5 cubic meters per ton fresh water with whitewater while improving mixing between the flocculant and the fiber The results of the Reinforce program are significant. For the machine’s most common grammage, a 3-month average using Reinforce is compared with annual averages:

Strength 27

17

26

16

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Ring Crush

Recognizing that nearly every packaging manufacturing operation has unique equipment, chemistries, grades, production requirements, and value propositions, Buckman’s Reinforce Technologies provide a selection of packaging products used to increase strength, maximize productivity, improve quality, and provide improvements in sustainability and environmental impact. Our approach starts with an extensive audit of the process followed by laboratory evaluations so that we can deliver a Reinforce package that meets the customerspecific requirements. Our Reinforce chemistries include products to address:

A Reinforce Technologies Application

Concora

In today’s recycled packaging market, the papermaker is faced with an ever-increasing challenge to meet strength and production requirements using recycled fiber. Use of Single Stream instead of Multiple Stream collection practices often results in recycled fiber of mixed quality with higher ash content.

There is pressure to maintain strength targets associated with virgin fiber grades while using recycled fiber. Some strength enhancing additives negatively impact productivity.

The papermaker also has incentives to light weight, producing lower grammage products while not sacrificing strength specifications. Point-of-purchase displays require improved graphics and printability. Finally, the requirement to meet specific sustainability targets can run countercurrent to strength and production objectives.

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2009

2010

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Concora Ring Crush

Figure 1. Impact of Reinforce on key strength properties.

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March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

© 2012 Buckman Laboratories International, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sponsored Technical Paper Page 2 of 2

Increase in native starch from the recycled fiber available to the paper machine and the Bubond® 408 application led to higher strength values. In a cause-effect manner, the paper machine was able to reduce refining while still maintaining strength values at or near target. As a result, the negative impact of refining on machine speed was reduced and production rate increased by over 5%:

Production Rate mT/ hour

21 20.5 20 19.5 19 2008

2009

2010

Reinforce

Figure 2. Impact of Reinforce on production rate.

%First Pass Retention

With higher levels of filler available to the paper machine, the Bufloc wet end management program allowed better first pass and first pass ash retentions on the paper machine.

First Pass Retention 85 83 81 79 77 75 2008

2009

2010

Reinforce

Figure 3. Impact of Reinforce on paper machine first pass retention.

The net result of improved retentions was a reduction in solids content in the effluent flow. This represents over 1 mT/day improved yield. In addition, the Reinforce program has also allowed retention of the stabilized native starches coming in with the recycled fiber, thereby reducing effluent COD:

Effluent 6000 5000 4000 3000 2008

2009

2010

Reinforce

TSS kg/d COD kd/d

Figure 4. Impact of Reinforce on mill effluent properties.

Use of the Mosaic® Injection System to replace fresh water with whitewater for polymer post dilution has reduced fresh water usage for this operation:

Figure 6. Photo of a Mosaic Injector, which enables replacement of fresh water with whitewater.

Some other benefits directly related to the Reinforce Technologies program include: • Reduced electrical usage: first by reduced refining required to meet strength specifications and second with lower COD in the effluent, the water treatment plant was able to reduce blower amperages to their aeration basins.

This benefit can be quantified both financially as well as by a reduction in carbon dioxide.

• While difficult to measure, stabilizing the native starch coming in with the recycled fiber reduced many of the odiferous by-products associated with starch breakdown.

Odor complaints from the surrounding community have significantly declined.

• Polymer used at the water treatment plant’s sludge press is reduced simply because there is less sludge to be dewatered.

• In similar fashion, reduced sludge produced means less sludge to transport and landfill, shrinking the overall environmental footprint. Again, this benefit is both financial as well as environmental in nature.

In today’s challenging environment of manufacturing packaging grades using recycled fiber, Buckman’s Reinforce Technologies offer a comprehensive approach to deliver a solution for optimizing both strength and productivity while improving the environmental footprint of the entire operation. Custom designed, based on auditing and testing, Reinforce is uniquely fit to your specific operation. Contact your local Buckman representative for more information, or visit us at buckman.com.

Cubic meters / ton

Fresh Water Usage 8 7 6 5 4 2008

2009

2010

Reinforce

Figure 5. Impact of the Mosaic Injection System on fresh water usage.

22

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

buckman.com © 2012 Buckman Laboratories International, Inc. All rights reserved.

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Featured J-FOR Paper SPECIAL BIOREFINERY ISSUE Published in:

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BIOREFINERIES — A CASE STUDY OF FISCHER-TROPSCH DIESEL PRODUCTION IN CONNECTION WITH A PULP AND PAPER MILL

www.paptac.ca

ABSTRACT

TURO HAIKONEN*, MARI TUOMAALA, HENRIK HOLMBERG, PEKKA AHTILA A problem arises in integrated production plants, where several products are produced simultaneously, when different plants are evaluated in respect to their own energy efficiency indicators. Energy efficiency is measured as the ratio of energy input to products produced. In a mill that produces pulp and paper products, heat, electricity, and liquid transportation fuels, the challenging problem is how to define a millspecific energy efficiency indicator and how it can be compared to corresponding indicators in other mills. In this study, energy efficiency figures were calculated for a stand-alone Fischer-Tropsch (FT) plant and for a case in which the same stand-alone plant is connected to an integrated pulp and paper mill. In addition, the study also evaluated CO2 emission efficiencies. The results clearly indicate that the introduction of the FT plant into an integrated pulp and paper mill is beneficial from the perspective of primary energy and biomass use. When considering CO2 emissions, the benefit depends on the definition of the plant boundary and the degree of optimization of the integrated process.

INTRODUCTION For a long time, wood-based biomass has been used mainly in the production of pulp and paper products in the forest industry.

Recently, forest industry companies have become increasingly interested in producing alternative end-products such as biochemicals, bio-plastics, food ingredients, and bio-fuels. These new bio-based products represent a new business potential for the forest industry. The bio-based products can also replace existing fossil-fuelbased products, for example polymers.

Because of the existing infrastructure, available side streams, and process flows, it seems economical to connect these new production units with an integrated pulp and paper mill. The purpose of this integration is to create efficient processes with minimum utilization of raw materials and energy as well as low CO2 emissions. Energy efficiency improvements are seen as one of the most effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions [1].

A need has arisen for new bio-based transportation fuels since the European Union set targets for bio-fuel use within the transportation sector. According to

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the EU, the share of bio-fuels should have been 5.75% by the end of 2010 and should rise to 10% by 2020 [2,3]. Biomass-based Fischer-Tropsch (henceforth FT) diesel is an attractive end-product because it has properties similar to those of conventional fossil-based diesel and therefore is easily used in modern diesel engines. Furthermore, FT production technology is well known because it has been in existence since the early 20th century.

The effects of introducing an FT plant into an integrated pulp and paper

TURO HAIKONEN

MARI TUOMAALA

School of Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, Aalto University, P.O. Box 14100, P.O. Box 14100, 00076 Aalto, 00076 Aalto, Finland Finland *Contact: Turo.Haikonen@aalto.fi

mill have been studied, e.g., in [4]. However, relatively few studies have investigated the benefits of integrating an FT plant into a pulp and paper mill, and therefore this study presents a good overview of the benefits of this type of integration. Table 1 represents the energy flows in this study.

In the integrated pulp and paper mill, only energy production from the power boiler was studied. Steam production in the power boiler decreased when the FT plant was implemented. Therefore, the assumption was made that when steam from the FT

HENRIK HOLMBERG

School of Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 14100, 00076 Aalto, Finland

PEKKA AHTILA

School of Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 14100, 00076 Aalto, Finland

Journal of Science & Technology for Forest Products and Processes: VOL.1, NO.3, 2011

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plant replaces power boiler steam production, the old power boiler (biomass input 151 MW) can be replaced with a new, smaller one (biomass input 39 MW).

TABLE 1

that these waxes will be refined to liquid transportation fuels somewhere else.

First, biomass is pre-treated (cleaned and crushed) and then dried to a moisture con-

Energy flows in the reference case [4].

Fischer-Tropsch (FT)

Integrated pulp and paper mill

FT + integrated pulp and paper mill

Purchased biomass, MW

260

151

299

Produced electricity, MW

26

31

27

Consumed electricity, MW

27

31

58

Purchased electricity, MW

1

---

31

Biomass for purchased elect., MW

2.6

---

79

Produced heat, MW

---

100

100

156

---

156

Produced FT liquids, MW

Table 1 demonstrates the reduction achieved in the biomass utilization rate.

Before integration, the total biomass utilization was 414 MW (260+151+2.6), and after, it fell to 378 MW (299+79). One drawback of integration is the increase in electricity consumption. The efficiency of purchased electricity production was assumed to be 39%.

In this study, the FT plant is introduced into an integrated pulp and paper mill (IPPM). This connection is highly favourable if the excess heat from the FT process can be used in the IPPM [5]. Integration also makes it possible to use the existing infrastructure of the mill site, thus lowering the investment cost for roads, biomass pre-treatment, connections to the external power grid, and so forth. The primary focus of this study is to calculate the energy and CO2 emissions efficiency of an FT plant and then to investigate how these figures change when the FT plant is integrated into an integrated pulp and paper mill. The FT process has been modelled in Excel, and the chemical composition of syngas has been calculated using the HSC-Chemistry program. Energy and CO2 balances have been calculated using these software programs.

tent of 15 wt%. The moisture content of the biomass entering the gasifier should be 10–15 wt% for efficient operation of the gasifier [6]. In this study, biomass drying is accomplished with secondary heat (hot water and condensates) and with lowpressure steam. The proportions of drying media can be varied, but for these calculations, 50% for each was chosen.

The gasifier is modelled using the HSC-Chemistry program, which calculates the equilibrium composition of the synthesis gas (= syngas) by minimizing Gibbs’ free energy. Carbon conversion is assumed to be 100%. After the gasifier, light gaseous hydrocarbons (e.g., methane,

METHODOLOGY Description of the Fischer-Tropsch process In the FT plant studied, waxes are produced from biomass, and it is assumed

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TABLE 2

ethane, and propane) will be reformed to carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2). Tars are assumed to be catalytically destroyed in the gasifier. After the reformer, the syngas is cooled before entering the shift reactor. Cooling is accomplished by first generating high-pressure (HP) and then medium-pressure (MP) steam.

In the shift reactor, steam is used to adjust the H2/CO ratio of the syngas to a value suitable for the FT reactor (a practical value with a Co catalyst = 2.15 [7]).

At this point, syngas contains some impurities, such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S), carbonyl sulphide (COS), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Therefore, the catalysts used in the shift reactor must tolerate sulphur compounds. Particles will be removed in the filter upstream of the shift reactor. The shift reactor is also modelled using the HSC-Chemistry program. After the shift reactor, syngas is again cooled by generating MP and LP steam before entering the scrubber.

Before the FT reactor, the syngas pressure is raised to 4.0 MPa, and the syngas is fed to the regenerative absorber. Impurities are assumed to be removed to an acceptable level in the scrubber and in the regenerative absorber followed by guard beds. A slurry-bed FT reactor and a low-

Initial values.

Gasifier + Reformer

Shift reactor

FT reactor

Pressure [MPa]

1.5

1.3

4.0

Temperature, exit [°C]

850

437

240

Dry biomass flow

10 kg/s

Biomass moisture

15% after dryer

Dryer heat demand Production of O2 Steam to gasification and shift LP steam to regenerative absorber

3.7 MJ/kgH2O 390 kWh/t 0.4 kg/kg dry matter 6 MW

LP steam production

0.5 MPa, 160°C, 6 MW

MP steam production

2.2 MPa, 320°C, 36 MW

HP steam production Annual operation

9.0 MPa, 510°C, 16 MW 7884 h

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SPECIAL BIOREFINERY ISSUE

temperature (240°C) conversion process are assumed. In the FT reactor, long- and short-chain hydrocarbons are formed from H2 and CO. Hydrocarbons consisting of five or more carbon atoms are regarded as the desired end-product (socalled FT waxes), and short-chain hydrocarbons are regarded as off-gas. Reactions in the FT reactor are highly exothermic, and the temperature increase in the reactor is controlled by generating MP steam.

Part of this steam can be used in the process, and the rest can be superheated and sent to the turbine for electricity generation. The initial values used in this study are presented in Table 2 and a flow-sheet of the FT process in Fig. 1.

All produced off-gas can be directly combusted to produce HP steam, or part of the gas can be recycled to the reformer, where hydrocarbons will be cracked to H2 and CO, thus increasing the conversion to FT waxes. In addition to the conversion

efficiency η, the product deviation of the FT reactor is dependent on the so-called chain-growth probability factor α. The larger the value of α, the longer are the hydrocarbons produced. Both η and α are influenced by several factors, among them temperature, pressure, the catalyst used, and catalyst activity, but these factors are not addressed in this study [7].

CALCULATION OF CASES a) Stand-alone Fischer-Tropsch plant In the stand-alone case, the amount of FT wax produced is maximized by recycling most of the off-gas, but not all off-gas can be recycled. Inert gases (e.g., CO2) can accumulate in the process, and consequently the specific energy consumption in pumping and compression increases. Excess off-gas, HP steam, and MP steam generated in the process are used for electricity

production in the CHP plant. b) Integrated FT wax production The FT production unit can be integrated into an integrated pulp and paper mill, and in this case, processes can be connected so that the steam produced in the FT plant can be used in the pulp and paper mill. This reduces the need for steam production in the CHP plant. As a result, additional options are available in the new situation:

1. Steam production in the biomass boiler can be reduced and the excess biomass used in the FT plant to replace purchased biomass. Off-gas is burned in the CHP plant.

2. Same as option 1, except that offgas is burned in the lime kiln to reduce the use of fuel oil.

3. Excess steam is sent to the condensing turbine to produce electricity.

Fig. 1 - Flow-sheet of the Fischer-Tropsch process.

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Typical heat and electricity consumption figures for integrated pulp and paper mills were used in this study. It is assumed that the mill’s other processes remain unchanged. A recovery boiler supplies part of the heat and electricity needed at the mill site. Heat supplied from the CHP power plant is 82 MW and remains unchanged.

The purchased electricity is assumed to be produced from coal (assumed η = 40%).

The selected study boundaries are shown in Fig. 2.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 3 presents the calculated results, which only indicate the changes in the flows crossing the boundaries shown in Fig. 2. The changes in the flows include the CO2 emissions and the amounts of purchased biomass, electricity, and fuel oil.

The base case represents the stand-alone options for the FT plant and the integrated pulp and paper mill. As a result of the

TABLE 3

Purchased biomass [MW]

Calculated energy flow changes.

Coal for Purchased purchased electricity elect.

[MW] [MW]

Fuel oil [MW]

FT waxes [MW]

CO2 [t/a]

100

1340 138000

167

0.2

0.5

0

Stand-alone IPPM

33

12

30

26

0

Option 1

130

18

45

26

100

178000

Option 2

140

18

45

16

100

156000

Option 3

200

-7

-17.5

26

100

10100

Stand-alone FT

integration, the FT process generates most of the heat required at the mill site. This reduces the biomass input to the CHP boiler. The drawback is the reduction in electricity production in the CHP plant.

The CO2 figures presented in Table 3 include emissions from both coal and fuel oil combustion.

In Option 1, the off-gas and heat produced in the FT plant can be used to replace biomass in the CHP plant. In this process option, the use of biomass can be

decreased by 70 MW. The decrease in the electricity production of the CHP plant increases the need for electricity from the external power grid. This then increases the coal-based CO2 emissions. This process configuration has the highest CO2 emissions and the lowest biomass utilization rate.

In Option 2, the off-gas is burned in the lime kiln, reducing the use of fuel oil by 10 MW. This means an annual decrease of 22,000 t in CO2 emissions.

Fig. 2 - Mill-site boundary and CO2 calculation boundary.

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Featured J-FOR Paper SPECIAL BIOREFINERY ISSUE However, the total CO2 emissions are larger than in the stand-alone case. This results from the increased electricity needed from the power grid. From the mill’s perspective, by replacing fuel oil with FT off-gas, savings can be achieved not only in CO2 cost, but also in purchased fuel oil. The heat produced in the FT process reduces purchased biomass by 60 MW, meaning that all the marginal fuel (biomass) to the CHP boiler can be replaced. The biomass reduction is 10 MW lower than in Option 1 because the steam production from offgas is made up with biomass.

In Option 3, the biomass input to the mill is kept constant, and excess steam is used to produce electricity. The negative value in Table 3 shows that this electricity (in this option, 7 MW) can be sold to the power grid. This option also produces the lowest amount of CO2. Electricity production can even be increased if the mill’s energy production is based on the gas turbine and the heat recovery steam generator, but this option was not investigated in this study.

These results show that, from the perspective of primary energy utilization, it is beneficial to integrate the FT process into an integrated pulp and paper mill.

The improvement in the utilization of total primary energy is evident, even when the increase in purchased electricity is taken into account. The lowest utilization of total primary energy is 209 MW in Option 3, and the highest is 257 MW in the standalone case.

When the FT plant is operating within an integrated pulp and paper mill, maximum production of FT waxes is not necessarily the most reasonable option.

Determining the most economical process

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option for an integrated plant is a multicriteria optimization process and is strongly dependent on the current market value of the end products, raw materials, and utilities. For instance, if the CO2 price is high, it might be beneficial from the mill’s perspective to replace fossil fuels with offgas, thus decreasing the off-gas recycling ratio in the FT plant. However, electricity production may be preferred in other situations.

This study also revealed that when various perspectives are considered, creating efficient processes becomes problematic. Another purpose of this study was to comprehend how unit processes relate to biorefineries and how these interactions influence energy efficiency.

REFERENCES

CONCLUSIONS The purpose of the study was to investigate how energy and CO2 flows are influenced when an FT process is connected to an integrated pulp and paper mill. According to this study, it is beneficial to integrate the FT process into an integrated pulp and paper mill from the perspective of primary energy utilization. The benefit of integration comes from the possibility of using heat and off-gas produced in the FT process in the CHP plant to replace purchased biomass. After integration, the amount of purchased biomass can be significantly reduced. This reduction in biomass utilization increases purchased electricity requirements, which increases the CO2 emissions from the power grid. If purchased biomass is kept constant, the mill’s electricity demand can be covered by the mill’s own production, and the excess electricity can be sold. This approach reduces the CO2 emissions from the power grid.

6.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7.

Siitonen, S. and Holmberg, H., “Estimating the Value of Energy Savings in Industry by Different Cost Allocation Methods”, International Journal of Energy Research, 36:324334 (2012). http://ec.europa.eu/energ y/res/ legislation/doc (accessed 10.12.2010). http://eurlex.europa.eu (accessed 10.12.2010).

McKeough, P. and Kurkela, E., “Process Evaluations and Design Studies in the UCG Project, 2004– 2007”, VTT Research Notes 2434, Espoo, Finland (2008).

Saviharju, K. and McKeough, P., “Integrated Forest Biorefinery Concepts”, PulpPaper, Helsinki, Finland (2007).

Tijmensen, J.A., Faaij, A.P.C., Hamelinck, C.N., and van Hardevelt, M.R.M., “Exploration of the Possibilities for Production of FischerTropsch Liquids and Power via Biomass Gasification”, Biomass and Bioenergy, 23:129-152 (2002).

Dry, M., “The Fischer-Tropsch Process: 1900–2000”, Catalysis Today, 71:227-241 (2002).

Journal of Science & Technology for Forest Products and Processes: VOL.1, NO.3, 2011

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Technology News – Finland

T

echnology trends from Finland

In October 2012, PPT Group of Finland, an organization representing machinery and equipment manufacturers in Finland, invited a group of magazine editors to meet suppliers and tour facilities.

The following article arises from that visit.

ABB meets evolving mill needs

D

uring a press tour in Finland last fall, ABB discussed industry trends and recent product developments.

The journalists were treated to a tour of the extensive ABB campus in Helsinki, which houses the company headquarters and manufacturing operations. As ABB decentralizes its operations, moving production closer to key markets, the Finland facilities are able to concentrate more on product development and engineering.

Twenty years ago, said Juha Moisio, senior vice-president, quality control (QCS) and paper machine drive systems were the company’s focus. Now there’s also an increasing emphasis on power distribution, instrumentation and energy optimization.

“There are less and less engineers working for mills now. So the customer is more dependent on the supplier to design and manage the power network,” Moisio commented.

Energy management drills down ABB’s energy management and optimization software, cpmPlus Energy Manager, was originally designed for supporting electricity trading in free markets, but has now been modified for corporate and/or milllevel energy monitoring. The largest system to date was delivered to UPM. It allows the Finnish company to plan its electricity consumption and optimize purchases. It can also be used to plan when to sell energy.

From a centralized location, managers can see the energy balance of all the company’s mills. UPM was the first company to apply the ABB energy management technology corporate-wide.

Now, energy management systems are being used to look more deeply into the mill, and monitor various processes, according to Anders Gästgifvars, ABB’s marketing manager. “Because there are a lot of energy optimization projects going 28

on in mills, the energy management system lets the mills see the effect of energy improvement programs.”

In the future, the integration of energy optimization with other operations will allow planning of energy consumption based on production plans and eventually customer orders.

Put the brakes on web inspection ABB’s latest web inspection system, HDI800, uses LED illumination combined with a new CCD camera technology and a new ink-jet marking system.

The HDI800 has 0.5 mm resolution, allowing it to spot defects as small at 0.1 mm. The LED illumination is energyefficient, consuming about one-tenth the energy of the previous halogen light source.

ABB’s competitive advantage, according to ABB’s product manager for web inspection systems, Ari Niinistö, is the image processing board which lets the inspection system process large amounts of data. “This lets us introduce higher speed cameras with better resolution.”

Cascades’ La Rochette mill in France purchased an ABB web inspection system

New efficient permanent magnet motors that are controlled by ABB’s PMC800 sectional drive system increase reliability and reduce energy consumption.

at the end of 2010. In this case, the inspection system was coupled with an automated braking system for the winder, so that when a defect or fault is noted and marked at the paper machine, the winder will stop at that spot so the defect can be examined and removed, if necessary.

Niinistö noted the mill’s customer complaints have diminished since the system has been in operation.

Paper machine drives: co-ordination is key

On the subject of paper machine drives, Markku Haikola, general manager for ABB’s paper machine drives business, noted that there must be precise coordination between the control system, inverters and motors.

When controlling acceleration for example, the power in each individual motor would be enough to break the web if it were out of sync. One of the more significant developments in paper machine drives is the use of permanent magnets in motors, Haikola said. Direct drive technology allows a narrower machine hall, with a 2- to 3-m space savings on the machine-side bay. As well, direct drives have lower maintenance needs because they cause no downtime due to gear and encoder failures. There is also no need to re-tune the drive due to mechanical wear.

Interesting fact: On average, ABB starts up a paper machine drive system twice ABB’s cpmPlus Energy Manager system a week. monitors energy consumption, production One project in China involved 220 drive and supply, and optimizes energy efficiency based on current state and demand forecasts. points on one machine.

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

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Consultants

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Contact Jim Bussiere 800-268-7742, ext 3606 or 416-442-5600, ext 3606 Fax: 416-510-5140 careers

PulP & PaPer Jobs Pöyry (Montreal) Inc. Montreal, QC 514 341 3221

Pöyry Management Consulting NA Oakville, ON New York, NY 289 291 4573 646 651 1547

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Freeman Staffing, Inc. specializes in the placement of engineers (all disciplines), production type supervisors, managers, mill and/or plant managers and corporate executives in the pulp & paper industry, North America-wide. For specific current job searches call us or contact our web site. All resumes are treated with complete confidentiality.

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March/April 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

29

Bio-Economy

Lignol supplying lignin for commercial application in plastics sector

L

ignol has secured a commercial supply agreement to supply lignin to a market leader in the sustainable thermoplastics industry.

Lignol Energy’s wholly owned subsidiary, Lignol Innovations Ltd., will supply HP-L™ lignin to a European company, as an ingredient in its commercial products. Previously Lignol had delivered trial samples which were used for formulation development, customer evaluation and product trials.

From its production facility in Burnaby, B.C., Lignol Innovations will supply tonnage quantities of HP-L lignin for this supply agreement and anticipates working with this customer on other product applications.

Dr. E. Kendall Pye, chief scientific officer of Lignol.

“This order in the thermoplastics field complements our own development efforts with the use of HP-L lignin in proprietary polymer applications,” says president and CEO Ross MacLachlan.

Lignol Innovations is engaged in a wide range of application development projects

FPInnovations and CanmetENERGY collaborate on bio-energy FPInnovations and Natural Resources Canada’s CanmetENERGY have signed a memorandum of understanding which will formalize the collaborative efforts of the research teams from both organizations, after years of informal cooperation.

Speaking at PaperWeek Canada in Montreal, Pierre Lapointe, CEO of FPInnovations, said the agreement will facilitate the delivery of innovative solutions in areas such as energy co-generation, biorefining, and transformation of forest biomass to bio-energy and high-value bioproducts.

Researchers from both organizations will work together to exchange scientific and technical information and collaborate on joint projects.

Natural Resources Canada’s CanmetENERGY is Canada’s knowledge centre for scientific expertise on clean energy technologies. It encompasses more than 450 scientists, engineers and technicians, and more than 100 years of experience.

FPInnovations is a not-for-profit organization that specializes in the creation of scientific solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector.

30

Pulp & Paper Canada March/April 2013

with the products derived from its biorefinery technology. The company’s modified solvent-based pre-treatment technology facilitates the rapid, high-yield conversion of cellulose to ethanol and the production of value-added biochemical co-products, including high purity HP-L lignins.

Test flight shows bio-based aviation fuel as good as conventional Results from the world’s first civil flight powered by 100% biofuel show that the biofuel used in the test flight last October is cleaner than conventional aviation fuel and equally efficient, according to the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).

The biofuel used for this flight originated from oilseed crops.

Information collected in-flight revealed an important reduction in aerosol emissions (50%) when using biofuel compared to conventional fuel. Furthermore, additional tests performed on a static engine show a significant reduction in particles (up to 25%) and in black carbon emissions (up to 49%) compared with conventional fuel. These tests also show a comparable engine performance, but an improvement of 1.5% in fuel consumption during the steady state operations.

The jet’s engines required no modification as the biofuel tested meets the specifications of petroleum-based fuels.

NRC flew the jet, powered by 100% unblended biofuels, on October 29, 2012, achieving a milestone for the aviation industry. The Falcon 20 flew on biofuel at 30,000 feet, similar to regular commercial aircraft altitude.

The Resonance™ brand industrial oilseed crop used to make the biofuel is uniquely suited for production in semi-arid regions, making it suitable for cultivation in the southern Prairies, the manufacturers say.

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

It isn’t enough to protect water systems in the mill.

Protect the ones outside too.

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Busan 1215 can improve wet end efficiency, product quality, and machine efficiency, so your mill can: • Reduce consumption of additives • Reduce holes and sheet defects due to microbiological activity • Improve runnability

discover just how powerful sustainability can be.

Find out more. Contact your local Buckman representative, or visit us online at buckman.com.

©2012 Buckman Laboratories International, Inc.