ECF and TCF Bleaching of Nonwood Fibers, 1995 Pulping Conference Proceedings

R. W. Hurter

HurterConsult Incorporated

Due tc environmental concerns and legislative actions in North America and Europe, the development of ECF and TCF bleaching has been a major focus of the wood-based pulp and paper industry for the past few years. To date, little effort has been made to apply ECF and TCF bleaching technology in the nonwood-based pulp and paper industry. The significant reasons for the lack of technology transfer are that nonwood fibers currently account for only about 8% of the world’s pulp and paper production and that most the production capacity is located in developing countries where economics are the prime motivator of industrial development rather than environmental concerns which have had a lower priority. However, with continuing globalization, environmental concerns will have a larger role in developing countries. Further, with tight wood supplies in North America and increasing wood costs worldwide, paper companies will begin to consider nonwood fibers as possible alternatives to wood. These factors will accelerate the need to transfer ECF and TCF bleaching technology to the non-wood based pulp and paper industry. The panel members will address various topics and considerations with respect to the application of current ECF and TCF technology to nonwood plant fibers.