Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

WASTE MINIMIZATION AT STORA ENSO

VEITSILUOTO MILLS
Waste minimization and resources use optimization
course 7.4.2006, University of Oulu
Hannu Nurmesniemi
Stora Enso Oyj

Stora Enso Veitsiluoto Mills

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Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

PRODUCTION CAPACITIES
• Stora Enso Fine Paper
Veitsiluoto Mill
Bleached stw and hdw pulp 400 000 t/a
Uncoated fine paper 550 000 t/a
Sheets 370 000 t/a
• Stora Enso Publication Paper
Veitsiluoto Mill
Coated magazine paper 440 000 t/a
• Stora Enso Timber Oy Ltd,
Veitsiluoto Sawmill
Sawn goods 290 000 m3/a
• Veitsiluoto Power Plant
Wood, bark and peat boiler 246 MW
Oil boiler (as reserve) 193 MW
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THE BEST AVAILABLE TECHNIQUES

FOR REDUCING WASTES

• The best available techniques for reducing waste are

to minimize the generation of solid waste and to
recover, recycle and re-use these materials, wherever
practicable. Separate collection and intermediate
storage of waste fractions at source can be beneficial
in meeting this aim.

• When the collected waste is not re-usable in the

process, external utilization of waste as substitutes or
incineration of organic materials in suitably designed
boilers with energy recovery is considered as BAT.

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Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

GENERATION OF SOLID WASTES AT

VEITSILUOTO MILLS

The production of chemical pulp and energy

generates various fractions of solid waste:
• inorganic sludge (i.e. dregs and lime mud) from the
chemical recovery
• bark and wood residues from woodhandling
• sludge from the biological wastewater treatment plant
(i.e. inorganic material, fibers and biological sludge)
• dust from boilers and furnaces
• rejects containing mainly sand from woodhandling
• fly and bottom ashes from the fluidized bed boiler.

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GENERATION OF SOLID WASTES AT

VEITSILUOTO MILLS

Various types of wastes are generated at the

paper mill:
• Rejects are generated by cleaning the raw materials
before the paper machine headbox. The rejects contain
various impurities such as shives, sand etc. and also
some fibers.
• Coating colour waste from the coater of the base paper
• Fiberclay (paper mill sludge) from the chemical
wastewater treatment plant represents the main waste
fraction at Veitsiluoto Mills and is mainly composed of
rejects and coating colour waste.

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Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

INVESTMENTS FOR UTILIZING AND

REDUCING WASTES
• A modern system for sorting and collecting waste was
built in 1998.
• A data management system was taken into use in 1998 for
calculating the amounts of wastes. This system gives
platform, department and mill specific information about
the wastes formed.
• A new fluidized bed boiler was put into operation in 1996
and it was equipped with a breaker of wood.
• The system for reducing the amount of rejects from the
centrifugal cleaner of PM1 and PM 5 was built in 1998-
1999 (cleaning of the raw materials) .
• An unloading system to transfer fly ash from the ash silo
into tank trucks was installed in 2002.
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SORTING OF WASTES AT VEITSILUOTO MILLS

ENERGY RECOVERY OF BURNABLE WASTE, yellow

colour
– Dirty paper and fiber waste (originating from mill
processes)
– Wood and bark waste, pallets, wood pieces (under 1.5 m)
RECYCLED PAPER AND BOARD, green colour
– Paper from offices and clean paper waste
– Packing board, clean paper wrappers, cores
RECYCLED PLASTIC
– Plastic wrappers of paper reels (separate collection and
baling at source)
SCRAP METAL, blue colour
– Scrap metals, also cable waste

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Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

SORTING OF WASTES AT VEITSILUOTO MILLS

LANDFILL WASTE, brown colour

– Industrial and other waste not suitable for utilization
– Bonding wires and bands, ropes, paster tapes, fibrics, gloves, wires
– Empty canisters, contexture plastics, plastics (no separate collection)
– Waste containing stones, concrete, metal, salt or PVC – plastic
(pipes, floor and wall coatings)
HAZARDOUS WASTE, red colour
– Used oils to oil containers
– Oil filters and solid oil waste, spray cans and paint waste,
electronics waste, batteries, fluorescent lamps and discharge
lamps (contain mercury), each to its own waste collection container
– Lead acid batteries and tyres to the resellers or to the hazardous waste plant
– Ink cartridges and ribbons to the main warehouse
– Print and marking inks, laboratory chemicals and solvents etc.
to the hazardous waste warehouse

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STUDIES ON UTILIZATION OF WASTES

(minimization of landfill waste)

Several studies have been conducted for utilizing wastes at Veitsiluoto Mills.
Physical and chemical properties of all important wastes have been analyzed.
For the comprehensive reviews of the "total" metal concentrations, the
leachable metal concentrations at L/S ratios of 2 l/kg and 8 l/kg, as well as the
bioavailability of metals (i.e. a five-stage, sequential leaching procedure) for
the fly and bottom ash, qreen liquor dregs and fiber clay derived from
Veitsiluoto Mills, see references.

The suitability of fly ash for road and earth construction and for a filler in an
asphalt mass has been studied in full-scale trials. The results showed that the
fly ash has very good properties especially as dry material for road and earth
construction.

Outokumpu Chrome Oy has also studied the suitability of fly ash together with
concrete as a hardener in filling the cavities in the mine in Kemi. The fly ash of
Veitsiluoto mills has been used in the mine since 2003 and the demand for this
purpose will increase in the future.
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Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

STUDIES ON UTILIZATION OF WASTES

Fiberclay has been tested in a pilot scale as a hydraulic
barrier layer of the landfill. This waste has very low
permeability properties and it was found to be suitable for
this purpose. In 2005, fiberclay from Stora Enso Oyj
Veitsiluoto Mills was used for the hydraulic barrier layer at
the closed landfills of Kuivaniemi and Kemi municipality.

A study on utilizing green liquor dregs of the pulp mill as a

neutralization agent of acidic wastewater started already in
the early 1990’s. Continuous use of dregs for this purpose
came into operation in 1995. The pulp mill has a plan to
raise the utilization degree of the green liquor dregs
increasingly by developing the clarification and treatment
process of this waste.

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STUDIES ON UTILIZATION OF WASTES

References
H. Nurmesniemi, R. Pöykiö, T. Kuokkanen, P. Perämäki and I.
Välimäki: Sequential Leaching of Trace Elements in Bottom Ash
from a Fluidized Bed Co-combustion Boiler at a Pulp and Paper
Mill Complex. – Journal of Solid Waste Technology and
Management 2005, 31, 115-121.

R. Pöykiö, H. Nurmesniemi, P. Perämäki, T. Kuokkanen and I.

Välimäki: Leachability of Metals in Fly Ash from a Pulp and Paper
Mill Complex and Environmental Risk Characterisation for
Ecoefficient Utilization of Fly Ash as a Fertilizer. – Chemical
Speciation and Bioavailability 2005, 17, 1-9.

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Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

STUDIES ON UTILIZATION OF WASTES

H. Nurmesniemi, R. Pöykiö, P. Perämäki and T. Kuokkanen:

The Use of A Sequential Leaching
Procedure for Heavy Metal Fractionation in Green Liquor Dregs
from a Causticizing Process at a
Pulp Mill. – Chemosphere 2005, 61, 1475-1484.

R. Pöykiö, H. Nurmesniemi, T. Kuokkanen, P. Perämäki.: Green

liquor dregs as an alternative neutralizing agent at a pulp mill –
Environmental Chemistry Letters 2006, 4, 37-40.

H. Nurmesniemi, R. Pöykiö: Sequential leaching of heavy

metals in fibre clay from the chemical wastewater treatment
plant at a paper mill. – Journal of Residuals Science &
Technology 2006, 3(1), 25-33.

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UTILIZATION OF PROCESS WASTES IN 2005

(tonnes as dry matter)

Pulp mill and Used oils

Paper mill Sawmill Packaging
wood handling
pallet plant and solvents

Dregs 1 075 21 440 268 93

3 720
98 800
Energy Waste water
9 260
production treatment
16 738
Neutralisation
of waste water
2 682 PCC-plant
Landscaping
Hardener in filling
the mine cavities 8 560
Power plant
Waste paper, 4 550
Used metals 937 Recycling 3 555
board and plastic

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Hannu Nurmesniemi: Waste minimization in the pulp and paper industry

CONCLUSION
• Veitsiluoto Mills have succeeded quite well in the work of reducing
and utilizing wastes.
• There are still possibilities to minimize generation of solid waste
(i.e. rejects and coating colour waste) by optimizing and
developing paper production processes as well as raise the
qualitative degree of waste utilization.
• Fibreclay will be a desired by-product for the hydraulic barrier layer
at the closed landfills. However, it is important to minimize the
amount of this main waste fraction and to reuse it as an valuable
raw material.
• Fly ash has the best demand as a hardener in filling the mine
cavities but for a certain part of fly ash other usage has to be found
e.g. road and earth construction.
• Two-thirds of the green liquor dregs have been utilized as a
neutralization agent of acidic wastewaters. In future, it is very
important to maximize the usage of dregs for this purpose.
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