Increasing power production and biofuel usage in the pulp and paper industry

Methods and strategies for increasing both the extent and the efficiency of utilisation of biofuels in the forest products industry have been studied. At the present time, the most important biofuels are spent pulping liquor (black liquor) and wood wastes. The power-to-heat ratio of cogeneration plants, fuelled by black liquor or by wood, could be significantly increased by application of new gasification technology currently under development. The first part of this article considers future energy consumption and production scenarios in the Finnish pulp and paper industry. In the second part of the article, results of studies of certain critical aspects of black liquor gasification technology are reported. The research on black liquor gasification reported herein was funded by the Ministry for Trade and Industry, by Ahlström Machinery, by Kverner Pulping, by Enso, by Metsä-Serla, by UPM Kymmene and by VTT.