Sustainability in Action
Wastewater treatment upgrade brings added benefits
One of the three bio towers at Georgia-Pacific's Papermaking mill at Stubbins in the UK, was taken off-line in 2009 following the discovery that it was generating high levels of sulphide and impacting the efficiency of the mill's secondary biological plant. It was therefore decided to refurbish the tower. As anticipated, bypassing the bio tower subsequently generated an increase in COD levels due to the mill's reduced ability to handle waste water. Prior permission from the local environmental authorities to operate with a 30% increase in COD levels for a nine month interim period via a Permit Variance was sought. This gave the designated project team a specific time frame to successfully complete refurbishment work with integrity and compliance, encompassing focus on safety and the environment within and outside the mill.
The emptying and cleaning phase began mid-March 2010, and the plant was re-commissioned in August 2010.
Dedicated team work and careful planning during a tight nine-month timeline resulted in significantly reduced COD and sulphide levels. COD levels dropped by 19% and sulphide by 50%. The environmental benefits from the project have also contributed to maintaining the mill's ISO 14001 standard.
Because the Stubbins mill is situated in a residential area, the team first identified any potential impact from the work on the local community (increased traffic, noise, odour etc.) and proactively communicated the eventuality of disruption. Following the refurbishment, previous residential odour complaints have been minimised.
"This is a perfect example of how employees contribute to making Georgia-Pacific a more sustainable company. The results of the project reflect all three dimensions of sustainability: social, economic and environmental" says Tom Berben, Georgia-Pacific EMEA' Environmental Director.
The project earned the Stubbins team a Georgia-Pacific Global Environmental Excellence award.
Wastewater treatment system in Cuijk, the Netherlands
Georgia-Pacific's tissue mill in Cuijk, the Netherlands, needed to upgrade its wastewater treatment system to meet new environmental standards. With some smart planning, the mill was not only able to improve the treatment system's efficiency to comply with the new regulations, but also optimize utilization of biogas as an energy source for its steam boilers.
The wastewater treatment system upgrade included new controls to better manage the flow of water through the system. A steady flow of wastewater helps ensure that it is cleaned to the proper levels before being released. The mill also installed a recirculation system to clean the water even more thoroughly, which resulted in fewer pollutants being discharged into the local municipal wastewater treatment system.
However, improving the efficiency of the Cuijk mill's wastewater system led to an increase in biogas production, a normal byproduct of bacteria used to treat wastewater without the use of oxygen. Pre-viously, the mill had burned off most of its biogas using a flare system. But with more biogas available from the treatment system, the mill team recognized that they could capture and clean the biogas, making it a good substitute for natural gas to run the mill's steam boilers.
"This project has provided both environmental and economic benefits," says Cor Wientjes, Environ-mental Manager at the Cuijk mill. "Our mill's wastewater is now more than 10% cleaner when it's dis-charged to the municipal treatment system, plus we're using less water overall. In addition, we have reduced our sulfur dioxide emissions to almost zero, while consuming less natural gas. These environ-mental improvements have resulted in lower wastewater taxes and reduced energy costs for the mill."
The project earned the Cuijk team a Georgia-Pacific Global Environmental Excellence award.
Adjusting effluent temperature to protect fish
In 2008, Georgia-Pacific’s manufacturing site at Bridgend, South Wales found itself facing a big chal-lenge, namely the Fresh Water Fishery Directive (FWFD). This legislation was passed by the European Union in 2003 to protect fish by setting temperature restrictions on effluent discharge into inland riv-ers designated by EU member states as needing protection in order to support fish life.
The river Llynfi, from which the Bridgend mill takes water and into which it discharges water for paper manufacturing, and also a very popular spot for game fishing (salmon, trout), is covered by this legislation.
The legislation requires all facilities to reduce the temperature of their final effluent to less than 21.5°C and produce an effluent that, upon mixing with the river water, creates a temperature differential of no more than 1.5°C compared with the river water temperature upstream of the discharge.
As a result, the mill began evaluating a cooling system for its effluent in 2005, a project that would have cost as much as €3.7million to ensure total compliance. However, the team was unable to monitor the varying conditions of the river water coming to the mill, which led to uncertainty about achieving continuous compliance. Early in 2008, the local Environment Agency (EA) pushed the mill to fully im-plement the requirements of the directive before year-end. Consequently, the Georgia-Pacific Bridgend team of employees who specialize in environmental matters joined forces with their engineering colleagues to investigate a different approach to reducing the temperature of the effluent, which would take into account river conditions.
The team concluded that the most cost-effective solution would be to decrease the heat load of the effluent by reducing water loops in the mill. After thorough investigation, eight feasible and beneficial projects were identified, requiring a total capital expenditure of €206 000. The team calculated that this system would reduce the mill’s fresh water usage from 7500m3/day to 4700m3/day, thus reducing the effluent heat load by 3200KW/day.
Following approval and implementation of the projects, the EA visited the site again in July 2008 and was pleased to see the progress the mill had made. It requested a final report by the beginning of December on how the Bridgend site would remain compliant and how full compliance would be commu-nicated. To ensure compliance, the mill installed a meter to measure river flow and temperature both upstream and downstream, which allows continuous calculation of the temperature effect the effluent has on the river. This, combined with the eight ongoing projects, means that the mill can now control the effluent heat load so as not to breach the FWFD.
The team was highly commended in Georgia-Pacific’s Environmental Excellence Award program for the project.
“This is a great example of experimental discovery and of Georgia-Pacific’s commitment to achieving excellence in protecting our natural surroundings and the environment,” said Tobin Finley, Georgia-Pacific EMEA Compliance Director. Tom Berben, EMEA Environmental Director, added that the mill had even gone beyond its initial objective by creating value in other areas, such as reduced water con-sumption and energy savings.
Green by Design® initiative
Lotus Professional® is part of Georgia-Pacific, our global family of companies and one of the world's largest producers of commercial paper products. We identified the following environmental challenges for our products and demonstrated how, by practicing the three Rs,'reduce, reuse and recycle', we are able to address them.
- Reduce paper consumption
Recycled content is a priority for away-from-home products, but reducing use is even better for the environment. - Continue to use Recycled fibers or virgin fibers from certified suppliers
Meeting today's needs without jeopardizing our ability to meet future needs is key. - Improve energy efficiency at our manufacturing sites and during transportation of our products
We recognize that fuel use and air emissions are of interest to our customers and other stakeholders. - Reduce waste, water consumption
Producing paper is a water-intensive process, but water consumption is relatively low. We are constantly looking for ways to decrease our water consumption, as well as identify opportunities to improve the efficiency of our production processes.
"Our controlled use tissue and towel systems have real sustainability advantages," says Pierre Pelekhine, EMEA Sustainability Director. "We needed a platform that would allow us to communicate our sustainability activities to our customers in a more proactive and compelling way, demonstrating how we can help them achieve some of their environmental and economic goals. Green by Design® is providing this platform."
The group's Green by Design initiative focuses on reducing, reusing and recycling. One-at-a-time dispensing of tissue and towels encourages users to take only the paper they need, reducing waste where the products are used. The company's manufacturing processes reuse waste where possible, and about 80% of fibers used in the EMEA group's away-from-home products are from recovered paper.
"We've been pleased with the success of the Green by Design program so far," says Pelekhine. "Using it to explain our sustainability approach has helped us gain new business from customers who value these attributes."
For more information, please visit: www.greenbydesigninitiative.eu
ECO Promise® initiative
Sustainability is important to Georgia-Pacific EMEA's retail customers and research has shown that forest stewardship is highly valued by consumers. The group's Eco Promise® program is designed to emphasize Georgia-Pacific's sustainability commitments, such as those to sustainable forest management.
"Behind the Eco Promise® is our assurance that 100% of the wood pulp in our retail tissue and towel products comes from third party-certified suppliers," says Michel Moriaux, European Marketing Manager. "We support and work with major certification programs and encourage our suppliers in their sustainable forest practices."
The Eco Promise® symbol currently appears on Georgia-Pacific's retail products in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Italy and will be rolled out over time to other countries where the company has retail tissue and towel brands.