Pollution Prevention Technologies for the Bleached Kraft Segment of the U.S. Pulpand Paper Industry

摘要

The report examines: (1) the current state of the art, (2) the economics ofadoption, and (3) the level of adoption, of selected pollution prevention technologies in the U.S. pulp and paper industry. The focus of the report is on the bleached kraft segment of the pulp and paper industry, due to the heightened concern over its environmental impacts. This concern is related primarily to the use of chlorine-based compounds in the manufacture of bleached pulps, and the nature of the byproduct pollutants associated with conventional pulp making processes. In particular, it is the persistence, non-biodegradability, and toxicity of some of the chlorinated organic compounds formed during chlorine-based bleaching that explains the high level of attention directed toward this segment of the industry. The bleached kraft segment accounts for approximately 35 percnet of the pulp mills and 47 percent of the pulp production capacity in the U.S. industry.