Bleaching Scenarios for the Year 2000, 1992 TAPPI Conference Proceedings

Various driving forces and resistances will interact to determine the nature of the bleach plant of the year 2000. The most prominent among these are regulatory and market pressures on environmental parameters on one hand and economic realities on the other. AOX, although not useful as a predictor of environmental impact, is a parameter that will very probably have a strong influence on future bleaching process choices. Several technologies are available to reduce strong influence on future bleaching process choices. Several technologies are available to reduce AOX, and cost considerations aside, they can be combined in various ways to give more or less additive effects. These technologies are reviewed, with emphasis on the developing ones. Several scenarios for the year 2000 are then developed on the basis of varying assumptions concerning allowable AOX levels. If AOX is limited to a value of 1.5 kg/t, a variety of options are available, all involving replacement of chlorine with chlorine dioxide to an extend depending on the extent to which other technologies are also used. More severe limitations on AOX will further limit the available options. Complete prohibition of the use of chlorine compounds would force a reduction in bleached pulp quality standards and increased production costs.