Carbon Neutrality in Pulp and Paper: Technologies to Reduce Emissions

Pulp and paper industry is one of the largest industries in terms of both water and energy intakes, known as water and energy consummated industry in the global as well as in the resource consummated industry. Because the process involves energy utilization, the industry is also one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, which makes the search for ways to decrease its carbon intensity necessary. This transformation to the accomplishment of carbon neutrality is important to improve the environmental footprint of the industry. In this article, an attempt is made to define what carbon neutral is in the pulp and paper industry, examine state of the art technologies for reduction of emission and also review the latest trends in emission reduction technologies in the sector.

What Does Carbon Neutral Mean in Pulp and Paper?

In order to explain carbon neutrality, what do carbon neutral mean? Literally, carbon neutral cover the act of emitting equivalent amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) with those which can be removed or otherwise offset. This forms the basis of the climate change agenda across the world. Therefore, carbon neutrality for the wool processing mills of the pulp and paper industry is attained through the application of relevant technologies to offset the remaining emissions, enhance operating efficiency, and employ carbon removal technology. However, the main target of such changes is to attain a state whereby emission level of the industry is equivalent to the removal or offset level.

The Importance of Sustainability in the Pulp and Paper Industry

As long as the industry is changing direction towards sustainability development, the whole value system or the entire chain from the acquisition of the raw material to energy consumption and waste disposal is changing. Other business practices must also be introduced with the objective of decreasing the environmental footprint of the industry such as greenhouse gases emissions. It is more sustainable, for example, to pay attention to the decrease of principals’ dependence on virgin resources, intensifying the utilization of paper products for recycling, and optimizing the energy consumption and the emission of CO2 with the use of energy-saving technologies.

Among the key approaches towards sustainability, there is a very important approach connected with the circular economy.

Recycling paper products for recycling lowers the levels of fresh pulp that has to be produced, which is a time consuming and capital intensive process. It also helps in saving the natural resources in addition to bringing direct change into the carbon effect of the concerned industry by decreasing emissions within energy and material consumption.

Decarbonizing the Pulp and Paper Industry: Pathways to Carbon Neutrality

In the context of the meaning of decarbonisation the action means, the decreasing of carbon emission so that they do not put any pressures on the climate system anymore. It was pointed that, in the pulp and paper industry, decarbonization of the pulp and paper industry can be achieved through the improved supply of cleaner energy, advances in technological innovation and improved processes.

The main advancement in this area is the use of carbon capture and storage also referred to as CCS. Carbon capture technologies are technologies that are intended to capture CO2 from industrial processes for either storage intervals or utilization by industrial processes. CCS technology make carbon neutrality possible since it does not allow the release of CO2 into the air.

As a high-emitting industry, this paper examines how the pulp and paper industry can adopt CCS as a part of their operational systems.

Another new solution is the use of carbon removal technology; it is even more elaborate than carbon capture. This approach is centered on proactively pulling out CO2 from the atmosphere, which is immensely useful not simply in bringing organizations to carbon neutrality but, in certain scenarios, further to carbon negativity. Carbon capture technology is used in combination with bioenergy systems, so that coupled biomass generation can occur in a closed system……Know More

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Kate Williamson More about AuthorKate, Editorial Team