The document discusses opportunities to increase efficiency in the pulp and paper industry through biorefining. It outlines various waste streams generated from paper recycling, including rejects, deinking sludge, and wastewater treatment sludge. These waste streams can be further processed and fractionated into valuable components. Options include direct land application, production of absorbents, building materials, fuels through thermal processing like torrefaction, and nanocellulose through acid hydrolysis. Anaerobic digestion and fermentation can also convert the waste streams into biogas, polyhydroxyalkanoates, or alginates. Overall, the waste streams represent significant potential to be valorized through one of four pathways: direct application, conversion to materials, energy

1. BIOREFINING AS A
POSSIBILITY TO INCREASE
THE EFFICIENCY OF PULP
AND PAPER INDUSTRY
Valentin I. Popa, prof.emeritus,
member of Romanian Academy for Science and
Technology, ILI, IAWS, IASPM
Technical University of Iasi, vipopa@tuiasi.ro

2. Raw materials for papermaking

3. Raw materials processing

4. • C.I. Simionescu, V. Rusan and V. I. Popa
Options concerning phytomass valorification
Cellulose Chemistry and Technology , 21
(1), 3-16 (1987)
• The term of biorefining appeared in 1990,
analogous to today petroleum refinery and
defined by International Energy Agency as
sustainable processing of biomass into a
spectrum of bio-based products (food, feed,
chemicals, materials) and bio-energy
(biofuels, power and/or heat).

6. • V. I. Popa, Chapter 1 Biorefining and pulp and
paper industry, in Pulp production and processing:
from papermaking to high-tech products, Smithers
Rapra, V.I.Popa (editor), p.1-28 (2013).
• V. I. Popa, Biorefining and the pulp and paper
industry, Lecture presented at The 7th International
Symposium for the Pulp, Paper and Corrugated Board
Industry, Braila, Romania, September 3-6, 2013,
published in Celuloza si Hartie, 61 (1), 3-17 (2014).
• V. I. Popa, Wood bark as valuable raw material for
compounds with biological activity, Plenary lecture,
The 8th International Symposium Advanced
Technologies for the Pulp, Paper and Corrugated
Board Industry, September, 15-18, 2015, Braila,
Romania, published in Celuloza si Hartie, 64 (4), 5-17
(2015).

7. • Waste paper and biorefining

8. • Romanian paper industry is based almost
exclusively on recovered paper and its recycling
gained a special attention in producing
corrugated board and sanitary papers.
• Paper for recycling should also be seen as a
source of many valuable components obtained
from rejects resulted in this process that can be
used for the production of additional high value
products alongside with paper

9. Wastes from paper recycling
• Recovered paper processing generates important
quantities of :
• coarse rejects and fine rejects,
• deinking sludge,
• primary wastewater treatment sludge,
• secondary wastewater treatment sludge
50-100 kg of dry solid waste per tonne of packaging
paper production,
170-190 kg per tonne of newsprint production,
450-550 kg per tonne of graphic paper production
500-600 kg per tonne of tissue production

12. Fractionation
1. Reuse of fibres from coarse rejects
1. Reuse of fibres from deinking rejects
• reuse own “lost” fibres, without
adverse processes effect;
• supply fibres or fines to other
neighbouring paper mills;
• offer ash-free cellulosic side streams to
other parties (e.g. chemical industry);
• reduce the problems with on-site
sludge incineration.

13. 1. Application of the side stream
of rejects without further
processing
2. Application of the side stream
of rejects with further
processing

14. 1. Application of the side stream
of rejects without further
processing

15. Application of the side stream of
rejects without further processing
• Landfilling of sludge
1. land spreading, where sludges are spread on
agricultural land for nourishing and conditioning
purposes
2. application as landfill cover, where sludges are used
as a barrier cover in landfills, using their favorable
permeability characteristics
3. land remediation, where the side stream is
contributing to the revegetation of degraded soil
(e.g. old surface mines)
4. composting of sludge, which can offer a better
product for use in agriculture and horticulture

16. • Absorbent materials
1. the production of animal bedding
2. absorbent materials for liquids with
application in the cleaning of
chemical and fuel spills

17. • Building materials
• production of cement, concrete,
bricks, and various types of board
materials (e.g. gypsum fibre board,
MDF, hardboard etc.)

18. Softboard

19. Hybrid MDF

20. Cement bonded sludge board

21. • Application of the side stream
of rejects with further
processing

22. Heating, ash, moisture content of
solid fuels

23. Thermal processing
• Incineration
• Torrefaction (250-300°C) –”bio-
coal”
• Secondary fuels – pellets/fluff
• Oil distillation out of plastics (for
rejects plastic containing)

24. Secondary fuels – pellets/fluff

25. Gasification
• Gasification allows to obtain synthesis
gas, a mixture of CO, CO2, CH4, H2O and
N2 which can be used directly as fuel (co-
combustion in a steam boiler), or
converted to other fuels or chemicals
• Four types of gasifier can be used:
counter-current fixed bed, co-current
fixed bed, fluid bed and entrained flow

26. Syngas uses

27. Biological processing
• Hydolysis and fermentation

28. Nanocellulose
• Nanocrystalline cellulose (nanocrystals or
nanowhiskers) is produced by acid
hydrolysis of cellulose fibres, usually with
sulfuric acid

29. • V.I.Popa, Nanotechnology and
nanocellulose, Celuloză şi Hârtie, 63
(4), 14-23 (2014).
• V.I.Popa, Obtaining of nanocellulose
(I), Celuloză şi Hârtie, 64 (1), 3-10
(2015).
• V.I.Popa, Obtaining of nanocellulose
(II), Celuloză şi Hârtie, 64 (2), 11-29
(2015).

30. Anaerobic digestion

31. • Critical elements:
influent distribution
system, the gas-
solid separator and
effluent withdrawal
design. The gas is
collected on a gas
collection dome. An
upflow velocity of 0.7-
1 m/h must be
maintained to keep
the sludge blanket in
suspension.

32. PHAs production
• The term PHAs
(polyhydroxyalkanoates)
refers to a family of
polyesters that serve as
carbon and energy storage
units with certain
microorganisms and which
also have considerable
potential as a bioplastic
material.

33. Alginates production
• A new aerobic waste water treatment was
developed substituting activated sludge
with anaerobic granular sludge. This
procedure facilitates producing alginate-
like exopolysaccharide as by –product.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is used.

34. • A granular
sludge-matrix
populated by
different
microoganisms
is used

35. CONCLUSIONS
There exist a significant potential for the valorization of the
large amounts of side stream generated during the paper
and board production process.
These can be organized in four categories:
1. application in its current form without further processing
2. application by conversion into a material products
3. application by conversion into energy
4. application by conversion into an energy carrier
Application of any option is determined by the local
conditions: composition of the side streams,
regional/national subsidy schemes, distance from the
partners etc.

36. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR
YOUR ATTENTION !

37. QUESTIONS