Environmental Wastewater Treatment Program at the Tembec Sulphite Mill Complex, 1992 Pulping Conference Proceedings

Tembec Inc. operates a multi-mill complex in Temiscaming, Quebec.

Eliminating air and water pollution is part of the company’s environmental program.

A unique environmental challenge stems from the combination of a dissolving sulphite mill, two high-yield BCTMP pulp mills, a 3-ply board mill, an alcohol plant, a lignin recovery plant and a phenol-formaldehyde resin plant.

The environmental program has two foci; the first is loss reduction within the complex, and the second is the external treatment of effluent emissions. As part of this program, the company has recently initiated operation of an air-activated sludge plant. Alternate technologies continue to be investigated to assist in reducing losses from the site. High rate anaerobic, freeze crystallization and ultrafiltration processes have been piloted.

Substantial effort has been directed toward controlling and eliminating losses from within the sulphite mill. In-mill training has also been an integral part of the environmental program.