Journal
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
Volume 16, Issue 18, Pages 1971-1979Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.02.005
Keywords
Pulp and paper; Zero emission; MiniMill; Black liquor
Categories
Funding
- UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
- National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)
- Home Grown Cereals Authority
- The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
- The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation
- JJ Charitable Trust
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Growing demand for paper is putting pressure on the World's forests, and although paper made from agricultural residues could meet global demand five times over, today less than 10% is made using these resources. The primary reason for this is the absence of cost effective, small-scale (similar to 10,000 tonnes per annum), environmentally sound pulping technology. The BioRegional MiniMill was developed in response to this problem. The MiniMill is a modular, regional scale, sustainable pulping process designed for straw and other non-wood feedstocks. The MiniMill innovates in two key areas: (i) preparation, feeding and pulping of straw using a twin screw extruder to reduce energy use, produce pulp in a shorter time and improve pulp quality, and (ii) the inclusion of a small-scale black liquor chemical and energy recovery system, based upon novel fluidised bed technology. The MiniMill is projected to be cost competitive at less than one-tenth the size of the smallest conventional wood-based pulping mill. As with conventional pulp mills, the MiniMill recovers enough renewable energy from the effluent to power the mill and qualifies for carbon emissions credits in accredited countries. In this work we report on some of the key research and development activities, at laboratory, pilot and semi-industrial scale, that have underpinned the design and development of the MiniMill. The ultimate goal of the project is to make available a technically and economically viable process for small-scale cellulose pulp production, that will facilitate the uptake of alternative uses of wheat straw, hemp or flax into the market place. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All fights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available