This study estimates efficiency in energy utilization at firm level and feasible energy saving target of the pulp and paper industry in India. For this analysis, data is extracted from prowess ...database for a panel of 67 major pulp and paper producing firms over the period of 2003–04 to 2013–14. We employed radial and non-radial variants of data envelopment analysis to assess the feasible energy saving target with the current level of output. Particularly, we employed slack-based method with variable returns to scale as a flexible and pragmatic approach to performance analysis. Results reveal no significant improvement in the energy efficiency level of the firms over the study period and show vast energy saving potential. Results of slack-based measure of energy efficiency show the feasible energy saving potential of 40%. Further, size of the firm, age and financial performance are important factors that influence energy efficiency. Therefore, this study recommends special attention to the paper industry while implementing energy efficiency programme. We also reviewed four major policies for industrial energy efficiency improvement initiated by Bureau of Energy Efficiency, India.
•Energy efficiency of Indian paper industry is estimated using firm-level data.•Radial and non-radial variants of data envelopment analysis are employed.•Slacks-based measure of energy efficiency shows the feasible energy saving potential of 40%.•Results reveal no significant improvement in energy efficiency level of the firms over study period.•Size of the firm, age and return on asset drive energy efficiency level.
Because it is a mature industry, the European pulp and paper industry (PPI) possesses strengths due to its infrastructure, technological know-how, and the availability of biomass. However, the ...declining trend in the wood-based products sales, coupled with an increasing amount of global attention focused on a bio-based and circular economy, sends a clear signal to the industry, indicating that it needs to transform its business model to increase its profitability while contributing to climate change mitigation. Integrating the biorefinery concept as a value creation business model seems to be the pathway that will reach these objectives. This study was carried out to empirically assess and prioritize factors that affect the diffusion and implementation of the biorefinery concept in the European PPI. For this purpose, a three-phase Delphi study, including a SWOT-Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), was conducted. During the course of this study, the opinions of experts from industry and academia were gathered using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The findings reveal that the political dimension has a significant influence on the ability of individuals to tackle the economic barriers while reinforcing the environmental and social benefits in the macro-environment. At the industry level, the availability of biomass appears to be a strength of the PPI, while the knowledge gap regarding technology and the market represents a crucial barrier for the biorefinery development. The human resources issue is indicated as an important premise behind the identified barriers on a strategic level. Finally, five potential strategies for the biorefinery development in the PPI were derived by logically combining the results of the SWOT-AHP decision-making.
•Determinants for success of biorefinery transition in the pulp and paper industry.•Empirical expert-assessment of drivers and barriers for biorefinery diffusion.•Multiple-criteria decision-making method to weight factors for biorefinery diffusion.•Evaluation of 12 strategic options for biorefinery implementation.
We present a rotational terahertz imaging system for inline nondestructive testing (NDT) of press sleeves for the paper industry during fabrication. Press sleeves often consist of polyurethane (PU) ...which is deposited by rotational molding on metal barrels and its outer surface mechanically processed in several milling steps afterwards. Due to a stabilizing polyester fiber mesh inlay, small defects can form on the sleeve's backside already during the initial molding, however, they cannot be visually inspected until the whole production processes is completed. We have developed a fast-scanning frequenc-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) terahertz imaging system, which can be integrated into the manufacturing process to yield high resolution images of the press sleeves and therefore can help to visualize hidden structural defects at an early stage of fabrication. This can save valuable time and resources during the production process. Our terahertz system can record images at 0.3 and 0.5 THz and we achieve data acquisition rates of at least 20 kHz, exploiting the fast rotational speed of the barrels during production to yield sub-millimeter image resolution. The potential of automated defect recognition by a simple machine learning approach for anomaly detection is also demonstrated and discussed.
•The PPI has been seeking renewal under the emerging concept of bio-economy.•We explore the current situation and the potential for future value creation.•We adopt a Delphi approach aimed at PPI ...experts in several European countries.•The industry’s future relies heavily on innovation, and developing new products.•We construct a scenario and discuss the needed changes to current business logics.
The current challenge facing the European pulp and paper industry is how to materialize the transformation to a bio-economy, as well as to realize the necessary new green innovations. The risks, costs and constraints of doing business will increase, thereby further intensifying competition, but at the same time new business opportunities will open up. This study adopts a three-round dissensus-based Delphi approach in order to explore our key research question of how the pulp and paper industry may change strategically, and what is the potential for value creation in the year 2030. According to our expert panel, the main drivers of competitiveness in 2030 will include energy and material efficiency, sustainability, as well as new innovations in products to serve customer needs better. According to the projected 2030 scenario, the pulp and paper industry will produce more diversified products, focus on higher value-added, and aim at consumer segments with higher environmental awareness. On average, 40 percent of the turnover will according to the panel come from genuinely new products. Strategic cross-sectorial partnerships will have a key role in making this big leap, while simultaneously acknowledging the changing needs of sustainability-conscious customers and other stakeholders.
Polymeric wet-strength agents are important additives used in the paper industry to improve the mechanical properties of paper products, especially when they come into contact with water. These ...agents play a crucial role in enhancing the durability, strength, and dimensional stability of paper products. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the different types of wet-strength agents available and their mechanisms of action. We will also discuss the challenges associated with the use of wet-strength agents and the recent advances in the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agents. As the demand for more sustainable and durable paper products continues to grow, the use of wet-strength agents is expected to increase in the coming years.
The chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions from the pulp and paper industry in China have declined continuously since the tighter COD discharge standards were implemented in 2008. Using firm-level ...data from 2003 to 2013, we investigate how China's pulp and paper firms would respond to the tighter COD discharge standards with a difference-in-differences design. We find that the tighter COD discharge standards have significant causal effects to induce the pulp and paper firms to reduce their COD emissions primarily through adopting cleaner production. However, the effectiveness of the tighter COD discharge standards depends on monitoring and enforcement activities as well as other regulations accompanying with the tighter COD discharge standards, all of which have become strengthened since China's 11th Five-Year-Plan (FYP, 2006-2010). While strengthened environmental regulations since the 11th FYP are from the top leadership of the Chinese government in order to deal with the increasing environmental degradation, the underlying driving force of the strengthened environmental regulations is from the household demand for better environmental quality as income increases. This study enriches literature not only on firms' responses to environmental regulations in developing countries but also on environmental regulations and technology adoption as well as environmental enforcement and compliance.
Lignin is a heterogeneous aromatic biopolymer that accounts for nearly 30% of the organic carbon on Earth and is one of the few renewable sources of aromatic chemicals. As the most recalcitrant of ...the three components of lignocellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin), lignin has been treated as a waste product in the pulp and paper industry, where it is burned to supply energy and recover pulping chemicals in the operation of paper mills. Extraction of higher value from lignin is increasingly recognized as being crucial to the economic viability of integrated biorefineries. Depolymerization is an important starting point for many lignin valorization strategies, because it could generate valuable aromatic chemicals and/or provide a source of low-molecular-mass feedstocks suitable for downstream processing. Commercial precedents show that certain types of lignin (lignosulphonates) may be converted into vanillin and other marketable products, but new technologies are needed to enhance the lignin value chain. The complex, irregular structure of lignin complicates chemical conversion efforts, and known depolymerization methods typically afford ill-defined products in low yields (that is, less than 10-20wt%). Here we describe a method for the depolymerization of oxidized lignin under mild conditions in aqueous formic acid that results in more than 60wt% yield of low-molecular-mass aromatics. We present the discovery of this facile C-O cleavage method, its application to aspen lignin depolymerization, and mechanistic insights into the reaction. The broader implications of these results for lignin conversion and biomass refining are also considered.
Production planning and scheduling in the pulp and paper industry can be very challenging. In most cases, practitioners address the production planning process manually, which is time-consuming and ...sub-optimal. This study deals with production planning encountered in a pulp mill company involving different wood species, parallel heterogeneous lines, inventory limits, sequence-independent setup times and preventive maintenance. To tackle the problem, an efficient mixed-integer formulation is proposed that optimizes when, where and how much to produce of different wood species and schedules preventive maintenance to minimize the total setup times. Several computational experiments are conducted to solve a case study in a pulp mill company in Chile. The results show the capability of the model to support the decision-making process in the pulp and paper industry, providing an efficient tool for practitioners to solve the problem in a reasonable amount of time.
For analytical applications in portable sensors to be used in the point-of-need, low-cost SERS substrates using paper as a base, are an alternative. In this work, SERS substrates were produced on two ...different types of paper: a high porosity paper (Whatman no. 1); and a low porosity paper (commercially available office paper, Portucel Soporcel). Solutions containing spherical silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and silver nanostars (AgNSs) were separately drop-casted on hydrophilic wells patterned on the papers. The porosity of the paper was found to play a determinant role on the AgNP and AgNS distribution along the paper fibres, with most of the nanoparticles being retained at the illuminated surface of the office paper substrate. The highest SERS enhancements were obtained for the office paper substrate, with deposited AgNSs. A limit of detection for rhodamine-6G as low as 11.4 ± 0.2 pg could be achieved, with an analytical enhancement factor of ≈10
for this specific analyte. The well patterning technique allowed good signal uniformity (RSD of 1.7%). Besides, these SERS substrates remained stable after 5 weeks of storage (RSD of 7.3%). Paper-induced aggregation of AgNPs was found to be a viable alternative to the classical salt-induced aggregation, to obtain a highly sensitive SERS substrates.
The sustainable management of residual waste streams generated from the pulp and paper industry (PPI) has garnered increasing concerns due to the energy crisis and the pressing environmental threats ...posed by substantial effluent discharges. Using renewable lignocellulosic waste for resource generation presents a revolutionary approach to achieve environmental sustainability. Integrating the PPI with biorefinery processes allows for diversification beyond paper production and facilitates resource recovery. This review critically evaluates the valorization of waste streams from the PPI, with a pronounced emphasis on expanding into bioenergy and biofuels production, while also fostering the development of innovative biomaterials, such as biochar and activated carbon for applications with high added-value, such as environmental remediation and supercapacitors development, thus ensuring long-term sustainability. The review also emphasizes the significance of adopting a circular economy and its role in achieving environmental sustainability, with a particular emphasis on thermochemical technologies, which hold promise for resource recovery from wastewater. Furthermore, the review identifies critical bottlenecks in the path of waste stream valorization and engages in a forward-looking discussion on future prospects within the PPI.
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•Black liquor contains major inhibitors e.g., furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.•Black liquor is used as a low-cost sugar, to produce e.g., bioethanol, biobutanol.•Paper mill wastewater used e.g., graphene sheet development, biochar, carbon fuel cell.•Porous carbon by black liquor showed capacitances for supercapacitor electrode.•Integrated biorefineries can achieve sustainability by Kraft pulp conversion.
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