Environmental impact of paper industry 05 june

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IJBSTR REVIEW PAPER VOL 1 [ISSUE 6] JUNE 2013

Environmental Impact of Paper Industry Sanni Kumar and S. M. Ali jawaid* ABSTRACT: This paper covers the paper industry production process and its harmful impact on environment. The pulp and paper industry is a stationary sources of different emissions – wastewater, waste gases and solid wastes. The pulp and paper industry convert wood and recycle fiber into pulp and primary form of paper. First Mechanical and chemical process are normally employed to produce pulp from wood.Paper industry are uses the large quantity of water and fuel lead to environmental pollution.Pulp mills are big water users the total requirement of raw water has through cleaner production measures has been reduced about 200-300 m3 per ton of pulp in 1970 to well below 50m3/ton, in some mills even below 10 m3/ton. The paper mill are also produces large quantity of particulate matter, sulphur oxides, volatile organic, solid waste and etc.

KEY WORDS: Pulp & Paper Industry, Environmental Impact, Wastewater, Air Emission, Solid Waste & Pollution Prevention & Control.

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INTRODUCTION

2.

The use of paper by a society is often taken as a yardstick of its development. The need for documentation of knowledge and record keeping has long been perceived to be linked to the intellectual prowess of a nation. The tradition of use of „bhoj patra” – or the bark of the “Bhoj” Tree for documentation of our scriptures is acknowledged the world over. Such recording pre-dates most of their list known documentation on paper like substances. As time progressed, the need for cheaper means of documentation of records was felt by civilizations [1].

World‟s primary raw-materials for paper manufacture are 75% forest woods, 20% waste-paper and 5% other fibrous waste materials, including agricultural residues.[1,3] People do not know and they cannot ever think even that to produce one Ton of paper, 3 Tons of wood is needed, for which 15 to 17 green trees need to cut. If 8 KG current per capita consumption of paper in the country, expected to be double by the year 2015, is a correct figure and the industry is totally based on wood, about 24 Kg wood at present is being utilized yearly by every Indian in the form of paper.

This is enough to bring down the Indian forest cover, which is now left hardly 11.5%, to a single digit figure in the years to come as against the International norms of minimum 33.3% of the total land of a country under forestry.

Author: Sanni Kumar is currently pursuing master of technology program in environmental engineering in MMM. Engg. College , Gorakhpur India, E-mail: sanni06bt@gmail.com *Co-Author: S.M. Ali Jawaidis currently Associate Professor in MMM. Engg. College , Gorakhpur India, . E-mail: smaj@rediffmail.com

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Pulp and paper industry generated considerable quantity of waste water, waste gases and solid waste. The environmental impact of paper is significant, which has led to changes in industry and behaviour at both business and personal levels.

With the use of modern technology such as the printing press and the highly mechanized harvesting of wood, paper has become a cheap commodity. This has led to a high level of consumption and waste.[6,7]With the rise in environmental awareness due to the lobbying by environmental governments and with increased government regulation there is now a trend towards sustainability in the pulp and the paper industry.

Regulated wastes and emissions from the pulp and paper industry include:   

Wastewater.

Solid wastes, and Air emissions,

2.1 Wastewater and liquid effluent: Waste water discharges for a pulp and paper mill contains solids, nutrients and dissolved organic matter, and unless at low levels these are classed as pollutants. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can cause or exacerbate eutrophication of fresh water bodies such as lakes and rivers.

Organic matter dissolved in fresh water, measured by Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), changesecological characteristics, and in worse case scenarios leads to death of all higher living organisms [6].Waste water may also be polluted with organ chlorine compounds. Some of these are naturally occurring in the wood, but chlorine bleaching of the

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IJBSTR REVIEW PAPER VOL 1 [ISSUE 6] JUNE 2013 pulp produces far larger amounts. Discharges can also discolour the waterleading to reduced aesthetics. This has happened with the Tarawera River in New Zealand which subsequently became known as the "black drain".

Table no.1 Liquid Effluents from Pulp and Paper Manufacturing on the basis of Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook WORLD BANK GROUP

dry fibre and 10% water.) Other typical generation rates are: particulate matter, 75–150 kg/t; sulphur oxides, 0.5–30 kg/t; nitrogen oxides, 1–3 kg/t; and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 15 kg/t from black liquor oxidation. In the sulphitepulping process sulphur oxides are emitted at rates ranging from 15 kg/t to over 30 kg/t. Other pulping processes such as the mechanical and thermo mechanical methodsgenerate significantly lower quantities of air emissions. Steam- and electricity-generating units using coal or fuel oil emit fly ash, sulphur oxides, and nitrogen oxides.

Coal burning can emit fly ash at the rate of 100 kg/t of ADP.[9] Table no.2Air Emissions from Pulp and Paper Manufacturing on the basis of Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook World Bank Group

Wastewaters are discharged at a rate of 20–250 cubic meters per metric ton (m3/t) of ADP. They are high in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), at 10–40 kg/t of ADP; total suspended solids, 10– 50 kg/t of ADP; chemical oxygen demand (COD), 20–200 kg/t of ADP; and chlorinated organic compounds, which may include dioxins, furans, and other absorbable organic halides, AOX, at 0–4 kg/t of ADP. Wastewater from chemical pulping contains 12–20 kg of BOD/t of ADP, with values of up to 350 kg/t.[4] The corresponding values for mechanical pulping wastewater are 15–25 kg BOD/t of ADP. For chemical pulping, BOD discharges are 3 to 10 times higher than those for mechanical pulping. Pollution loads for some processes, such as those using non wood raw materials, could be significantly different Phosphorus and nitrogen is also released into wastewaters.

The main source of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds is raw material such as wood. The use of peroxide, ozone, and other chemicals in bleaching makes it necessary to use a complexion agent for heavy metals such as manganese.

Table no.3 Analysis of different carbon fractions in paper mill sludge by (M.T. Rashid Soil & Environ. 25(2): 85-98, 2006)

2.2 Air Emissions: In the kraft pulping process, highly malodorous emissions of reduced sulphurcompounds, measured as total reduced sulphur (TRS) and including hydrogen sulphide, methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulphide, and dimethyl disulphide, are emitted, typically at a rate of 0.3–3 kilograms per metric ton (kg/t) of air-dried pulp (ADP). (Air-dried pulp is defined as 90% bone-

2.3 Global Focus on Greenhouse Gases: The level of C02 in the atmosphere has risen about a quarter to 350 ppm since the start of industrialization, with the rate of increase being 1.6 ppm per annum. As a result of this, there is accelerated build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The global warming trends from a period between 1950- 2000.

The region wise contribution of energy related C02 emission is shown in Fig. 1

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process or they originate in the wood itself, having been adsorbed from soil by trees.[5] Table no.4 Chemical property of Paper Sludge by (Concrete Research Letters Vol. 1(2) 2010)

2.3.2 Heavy Metals

Fig.1 Accelerated build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is best exploitation for global warming

2.3 Solid Wastes The principal solid wastes of concern include wastewater treatment sludge‟s (50–150 kg/t of ADP). Solid materials that can be reused include waste paper, which can be recycled, and bark, which can be used as fuel. Lime sludge and ash may need to be disposed of in an appropriate landfill.

2.3.1 Chemical composition of sludge: About 150 chemicals can be detected in deinked paper mill bio solids (Beauchamp et al., 2002). In general the C, N, P and K contents of deinking paper mill bio solids are similar to those of primary paper mill bio solids. The contents of arsenic, boron, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, lead, selenium, and zinc are also low and showed low variability. However, the copper contents were above the Canadian compost regulation for unrestricted use and required a follow-up. The fatty- and resin acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were the organic chemicals measured at the highest concentrations. They further concluded that raw de-inking paper mill bio solids and its young compost do not represent a major threat for the environment but can require an environmental follow-up.

Heavy metals in the sludge are known to pose potential health risks to plants and animals if present in too high concentrations. They are strongly retained by soils and therefore can persist for long periods in the environment.

Heavy metals are present as contaminants in pulp mill sludge either as a result of chemicals added during the pulping

One of the major public concerns over the use of paper mill sludge on agricultural land is the potential for heavy metal contamination of water and plants. Contents of heavy metals and organic toxic compounds in paper mill sludge are generally low (Trépanieret al., 1996; Cabral et al.1998; Demeyer and Verloo, 1999) and comparable to those found in livestock manure (Bellamy et al.1995). Concentrations of heavy metals in soil amended with paper mill bio solids or plants grown in these soils have usually been below established standards (Simardet al., 1998; Baziramakenga and Simard 2001). However, our results shows that copper levels in soil (estimated after crop harvest) after the application of de-inking paper mill bio solids at 135 Mg ha-1 exceeded the permissible limits (Goss and Rashid, 2004). These results suggest that de-inking paper mill bio solids should not be applied in heavy quantities as a single dose.

Table no.5Heavy metal concentrations in paper mill sludge from different paper mills by (M.T. Rashid Soil & Environ.

25(2): 85-98, 2006)

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IJBSTR REVIEW PAPER VOL 1 [ISSUE 6] JUNE 2013 3. CONCLUSION The paper demand increases every day as a result of developed population and industrialization. Water and energy utilization and in particularly waste generation are becoming more important concern ever worldwide. A major goal is to decrease damage to environment by waste minimization, reuse and recycle. To use best available techniques and innovative methods is becoming more an issue. However, end-of-pipe treatment is still the major approach to minimize the risk. To evaluate pollutants and to develop treatment technologies need a holistic approach.

The major pollution load constitutes wastewaters from pulp and paper mills. A variety of wastewater is generated from diverse processes. Different technologies and their combinations have been used for their treatment. The most common applied systems are biological treatment, sequential anaerobic and aerobic systems, followed after primary treatment. Solid waste management and disposal are also another concern. During the final disposal step, the aim should be chemical compound and energy recovery because of environmental and economical aspects. However, the waste minimization has still the first and important approach.

Biofilters and bio scrubbers are mostly used for removal of air pollutants and other applications are limited.

The best available treatment technology for all three waste phases depends on the production processes, raw materials and the regulations, which the industries have to obey.

4. REFERENCES 1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinking 2. Sumathi, S. & Hung, Y.T. (2006). Treatment of pulp and paper mill wastes, In: Waste treatment in the process industries. Eds: Wang, L.K, Hung, Y.T., Lo, H.H., Yapijakis, C. pp. 453-497. Taylor&Francis.

ISBN 0-8493-7233-X, USA. 3. United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA-821F-97-011 November 1997 The Pulp and Paper Industry, the Pulping Process, and Pollutant Releases to the Environment.

4. Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook WORLD BANK GROUP Pulp and Paper Mills.

5. M.T. Rashid, D. Barry and R. Goss Paper mill bio solids application to agricultural lands: benefits and environmental concerns with special reference to situation in Canada Soil &Enviro. 25(2): 85-98, 2006

Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 45, 1, 2010, 3338 12 January 2010 7. Wei Ou-Yang and Wen-Shi Wu. Investigation of Paper mill sludge as a component of Container medium Plant Pathology Bulletin 11:19-24, 2002 8. Development Document for Proposed Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Pulp, Paper and Paperboard Point Source Category.EPA-821-R-93-019. Office of Water, Mail Code 4303, Washington, D.C., 1993.

9. Gillespie, N.J., 1985. Pulp and Paper effluent management.

Journal of Water Pollution Control Federation, 57: 587-596.

10. Asha Gupta, 1997. Pollution load of paper mill effluent and its impact on Biological environment. Journal of Ecotoxicology and EnvironmentalMonitoring, 7: 101-112.

11. Asok Kumar, 1990. Geochemistry of ground water in southern Madras city, T.N. M. Phil thesis, Department of Geology, University of Madras.

12. Ecological &Environmental factors in paper industry.

13. Saxena, M. M., 1990. Environmental analysis ofWater, Soil and Air. Agro Botanical PublishersNew Delhi.

14. Bellamy K. L., Chong C, Cline RA (1995) Paper sludge utilization in agriculture and container nursery culture.

Journal of Environmental Quality 24, 1074-1082.

15. Phillips R, Kirkpatrick K, Scotford IM, White RP, Burton RGO (1997) The use of paper mill sludge on agricultural land.

Bio resource Technology 60, 73-80.

16. T. R. Naik, T. Friberg, and Y. Chun, Use of pulp andpaper mill residual solids in production ofcellucrete, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Wisconsin, USA-11 December 2003.

17. T. R. Naik, Y. Chun, and R.N. Kraus, Paperindustry fibrous residuals in concrete and CLSM, Report No. CBU2005-10, UWM Center for By-Products Utilization, Department of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee; November 2005.

18. Cabral, F., E. Vasconcelos, M.J Goss and C.M.D.S. Cordovil. 1998. The value, use, and environmental impacts of pulp-mill sludge additions to forest and agricultural lands in Europe. Environmental Review 6: 55-64.

6. N. Mladenov, Y. Pelovski. Utilization of Wastes from

Pulp and Paper Industry Journal of the University of 27

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19. Background Information for Proposed Air Emission Standards, Manufacturing Processes at Kraft, Sulphite, Soda, and Semi-Chemical Mills. EPA-453 R-93-050a. Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. Research Triangle Park, N.C. 20.Sloan JJ, Dowdy RH, Dolan MS, Linden DR (1997) Longterm effects of bio solids applications on heavy metal bioavailability in agricultural soils. Journal of Environmental Quality 26, 966-974.

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