Turpentine Recovery and Safety in Kraft and Thermomechanical Pulp Mills Panel, 1995 Pulping Conference Proceedings

Vic Uloth, Moderator

Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada

Efficient turpentine recovery improves kraft mill operations, adding dollars to the balance sheet while reducing air and water contamination. Turpentine recovery in TMP mills reduces volatile organic carbon (VOC) and odourous emissions while producing a saleable by-product. As mill performance is generally evaluated on the throughput, quality, yield and costs of pulp and paper manufacturing, turpentine recovery is often a low priority. Because turpentine is a flammable liquid, turpentine vapours and liquid must be handled in a manner that will minimize the danger of fire or explosion. Complacency and neglect can have catastrophic consequences. Safe handling practises, together with methods to increase turpentine recovery efficiency and improve condensate quality in kraft mills, will be discussed in the first four presentations. Turpentine recovery in TMP mills and its effect on air emissions will be discussed in the last half of the fourth paper and in the final presentation.