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Energy Reduction in Mechanical Pulping Program

Mission:   

The long term survival of this manufacturing sector, which includes newsprint, lightweight coated papers and market pulps for inclusion into paperboard and tissue, depends on our ability to decrease the specific energy of these products as well as to find uses for low energy pulps.  Thus, the mission of the program is twofold: to reduce electrical energy consumption of mechanical pulping and to explore the use of low energy mechanical pulping products beyond its current use.
Our commitment is a reduction of 1000 kWh/t.  This reduction should be done without affecting the product quality and with the least amount of process changeover of current mechanical pulping facilities.

Vision Statement:

The future mechanical pulping industry will require a great amount of flexibility to adjust towards rapidly changing product demand as well as the fluctuations in supply (labor and materials).  It will require deep quantitative understanding of how the quality of the pulping products is affected by the process.  Novel, optimized processes will evolve with the help of research and development.  Moreover, the mechanical pulping industry and its supporting researchers will have to explore new uses for its products since the Asian demand will at some point decline.  These products will be manufactured at low energy consumption to assure profitable margins. 

“Partnership is our Strength”

The supporting partners of this research program are:

AB Enzymes, Alberta Newsprint Company, BC Hydro, BCIT, Canfor, Catalyst Paper, FPInnovations, Holmen Paper, Mc Master University, Meadow Lake Pulp (Paper Excellence), Millar Western, NSERC, The University of British Columbia Pulp and Paper Centre, The University of Victoria, Valmet and West Fraser.

 

 

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