Recycled Fiber Paper Mill Water Reduction and Reuse: Reviewing Fresh Water Reduction
and Process Water Recycling Initiatives

ABSTRACT
It is well documented that the papermaking process tends to require a significant amount of water to produce quality
paper. Paper mills in geographical areas prone to drought or mills that purchase their water from local municipalities
are experiencing pressure to find methods to reduce water consumption and recycle process water. In 2016, a
combination of non-mechanical mesh and wedge-wire screens to remove fine paper fibers from process water was
utilized, resulting in a 33% reduction in freshwater usage. The wastewater treatment plant has also seen a reduction
in the volume of water that must be processed before being discharged to the municipal sewer system. However, the
total mass of biological oxygen demand (BOD) remained constant. The pretreatment plant has struggled with solids
loading in the primary clarifier from fiber and solid waste in the influent stream from the fiber processing area plant.
A second wedge wire non-mechanical screen was installed upstream of the primary clarifier to remove these solids.
Further testing is being conducted to remove more TSS and reduce the BOD loading in the aeration basins.
Increasing the efficiency and reliability of the pretreatment plant is critical for future projects which include using
pretreated effluent water as mill process water, further reducing water usage by another estimated 30-50%. 

TAPPI conference proceedings and presentations, technical papers, and publication articles provide technical and management data and solutions on topics covering the Pulp, Paper, Tissue, Corrugated Packaging, Flexible Packaging, Nanotechnology and Converting Industries.

Simply select the quantity, add to your cart and your conference paper, presentation or article will be available for immediate download.