Beneficial Use of Solid Wastes at P. H. Glatfelter Company's Glatfelter Division, 2000 Environmental Conference Proceedings

- J. C. Gingerich -- The Glatfelter Division of the P. H. Glatfelter Company consists of two millsites; a fully integrated kraft pulp and paper mill in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania and a recycled paper mill in Neenah, Wisconsin. Both facilities produce fine, white papers. Solid waste disposal has been a primary environmental concern for these mills. This has led over the years to varied solutions for minimizing the volume of solid wastes sent to landfills. The most recent concern for Spring Grove has been high calcium waste solids generation: ash from the circulating fluid bed (CFB) power boiler, and excess lime mud from pulp mill lime kiln outages and system purges. For Neenah it has been primary and secondary wastewater sludge production. The lime content and cementitious properties of dry CFB ash have allowed its development as a soils amendment and conditioning additive, and lime substitute. The moist lime mud has been developed as an agricultural soil conditioner. The dewatered, mixed wastewater sludge is processed into glass aggregate in a thermal plant adjacent to the Neenah mill. This facility was developed and is owned by Minergy Corporation. Ten other area paper mills also have their waste sludges processed through this facility.