Near-Zero Effluent Pulp and Paper Mill, 2002 Fall Technical Conference

The trend in the new millennium is towards increased closure of the chemical cycles in the pulp mills. The driving forces are mainly environmental and economical aspects. In addition to the economical aspects, environmental matters have a more and more important role in the future in the design and establishment of a new pulp and paper mill, regardless of the location of the mill.

In Tumut, New South Wales of Australia, Visy Paper is constructing an integrated pulp and paper mill for the production of kraft liner from plantation pine. The mill was commissioned in 2001. The mill will be the first greenfield pulp and paper mill established in Australia since Fletcher Challenge Paper’s plant, presently Norske Skog, at Albury in 1981. After completion, the mill will produce 240,000 tons of high quality kraft liner per year from around 800,000 tonnes of sawmill residues, pine plantation pulp logs and thinnings, and 50,000 tonnes of waste paper.

Environmental requirements of all the delivered components of the mill are tough. To meet this, advanced technology is applied in a wide range. All the components in the mill present the latest know-how and technology. The Tumut mill is the first step towards the concept of a near-zero effluent pulp and paper mill.