DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR WATER CONSERVATION IN PULP AND PAPER SECTOR doc

FINAL REPORT

ON

DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR
WATER CONSERVATION IN PULP AND
PAPER SECTOR


Sponsored by


CENTRAL POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
Delhi


Submitted by:

{Environment Group}
NATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY COUNCIL
New Delhi
(March, 2006)


TABLE OF CONTENT

SL. NO.
TITLE
PAGE NO
Chapter 1: Background
1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Objective of the study 2
1.3 Scope of work 2
1.4 Methodology 3
Chapter 2: Industry Profil;e: Pulp and Paper
2.1 Status of Pulp and Paper Mills in India 5
2.2 Classification of Pulp and Paper Mills in the country 11
Chapter 3: Manufacturing Processes
3.1 Generalised Paper /Paper board making process 16
3.2 Different industrial processes in pulp and paper sector 17
3.3 Chemical recovery from black liquor 36
Chapter 4: Water consumption pattern in other countries 48
Chapter 5: Present Water consumption pattern prevailing
in pulp and paper sector in India

5.1 Background 52
5.2 Water consumption Scenario 52
5.3 Water consumption: Norms/Standards for paper and pulp 52
5.4 Water consumption: Latest Trends 54
Chapter 6: Unit Process/operation specific water
consumption factors

6.1 Background 58
6.2 Existing Water Consumption Status 62
Chapter 7: Formulation of Standards for water
consumption by different categories of pulp and paper
manufacturing units

7.1
Background
79

7.2
Proposed categaries of pulp anf paper mills for standards
78
7.3
Proposed types of Water consumption standards
82
7.4
Development of category specific water consumption standards
83
7.5
Proprosed category specific wastewater discharge standards
90
Chapter 8: Water conservation options identified for
different categories of pulp and paper mills
92
Conclusion 115

Annexure I: Copy of Questionnaire
Annexure II: List of pulp and paper mills in India
Annexure III: Compilation of Questionnaire data
STUDY TEAM


PROJECT ADVISOR


Dr. A. K. Saxena, Group Head


TEAM LEADER

Mr. Rajat Gupta, Senior Consultant

TEAM MEMBERS

Mr. K. K. Sinha, Senior Consultant
Ms. Shukla Pal, SeniorConsultant
Mr. S. Baskaran, Consultant

From other Regional Offices

Mr. Kaliprasad V, Senior Consultant, RPMG, Hyderabad
Mr. Hemantha S S, Consultant, RPMG Bangalore

SECRETARIAL ASSISTANCE

Mrs. H. K. Sarna
Mr. R.K. Ahuja

LABORATORY ASSISTANCE

Mr. S. K. Jain, Laboratory Analyst
Mr. Bhupinder Singh Yadav

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT




National Productivity Council (NPC) places on record its sincere thanks to the

Central Pollution Control Board for entrusting the study on “ Development of
Guidelines for Water conservation in Pulp and Paper sector”. NPC is grateful
to Shri P. M. Ansari, Additional Director, CPCB and Shri S. K. Gupta, Senior
Environmental Engineer, CPCB for their cooperation and assistance at
various stages of the project in collecting information from State Pollution
Control Boards and in selecting representative pulp and paper mills. NPC is
also thankful to all State Pollution Control Boards for providing list of operating
pulp and paper mills in their respective states.

NPC places on record its sincere thanks to all the management of following
pulp and paper mills for their full cooperations during conduction of field
studies in their mills:
1. M/s Tehri Pulp & Paper Ltd, Muzaffarnagar
2. M/s Shreyan Industries Ltd., Ahmedgarh
3. M/s HNL, Kottayam
4. M/s ITC (PSPD) Ltd., Bhadrachalam
5. M/s Seshasayee Paper & Boards Limited, Erode
6. M/s Indo Afrique Paper Mills (P) Ltd., Pune
7. M/s Pudumjee Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd. Pune
8. M/s. Shalimar Paper Mills (p) Ltd., Muzaffarnaga
9. M/s The Simplex Mills Co. Ltd. (Paper Division), Gondia
10. M/s KAWATRA PAPER Mills Ltd., Dadri

NPC also extends its thanks to various pulp and paper associations for
providing information on pulp and paper mills operating in India.

Last but not the least, NPC is thankful to all those who have been associated
with the project studies either directly or indirectly.
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The pulp and paper industry is one of India's oldest and core industrial sector.
The socio-economic importance of paper has its own value to the country's
development as it is directly related to the industrial and economic growth of
the country. Although paper has many uses, its most important contribution to
modern civilization is its use as a medium to record knowledge.
Paper manufacturing is a highly capital, energy and water intensive industry. It
is also a highly polluting process and requires substantial investments in
pollution control equipment. In India, around 905.8 million m
3
of water is
consumed and around 695.7 million m
3
of wastewater is discharged annually
by this sector
1
.
India’s current average fresh specific water consumption of about 150
m
3
/tonne of product is far above the global best specific water consumption of
28.66 m
3
/tonne (for large scale wood based pulp and paper mill) and this
large gap is primarily attributed to the use of obsolete technology /
equipments and poor water management practices.
The large water requirements and consumption by the Indian pulp and paper
industries has led to, water fast becoming a scarce commodity and lowering
of the groundwater table and thus increased pumping costs and more
importantly water shortage in many regions. Realizing the importance of water

and excessive usages of water by pulp and paper sector, Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) has taken initiative to develop the water conservation
guidelines and water consumption standards and entrusted National
Productivity Council to undertake the study to address these issues.
India produces 5.96 million tones of paper per year (2003 – 2004) through
309 paper manufacturing mills at a capacity utilization of approximately 60
percent. The number of paper manufacturing mills has increased consistently
from just 17 in 1951 to around 600 in Year 2002 with an annual installed
capacity of 6.2 million to meet the increasing demand. However since 2001 –
02, the number of mills have fallen sharply to 309 in the year 2004 primarily
due to increased environmental regulatory pressure, water shortage etc.
The profile of Indian pulp and paper sector including the various aspects like
product consumption pattern, operational scale, state wise industry inventory,
production process used, raw material used is presented in the Figures E-1
to E-3 and tables E-1 to E-3.
Table E-1: Consumption pattern of paper and paper board products in
India
Type of paper Main varieties % of total
consumptions
Cultural paper cream woven, maplitho, bond paper,
Chromo paper
41%
Industrial paper

kraft paper, paper board – paper
board - single layer board, multilayer
board, duplex board,
43%

1

Source: Estimated by CSE based on the wastewater discharged data published by CPCB in "Water quality in India (Status and trends)
1990 - 2001".

National Productivity Council, New Delhi

Specialty paper
Security paper, grease proof paper,
electrical grades of paper
4%
Newsprint glazed, non-glazed 12%






National Productivity Council, New Delhi

66
227
20
57
187
174
21
62
3
22
12
12

0
50
100
150
200
250
Cultrual -
high grade
Cultural -
low grade
Industrial
Newsprint
Pulp
Specialty
Figure E-2: Distribution of Pulp and Paper Mills
Based on Products Manufactured
No of
Mills
Producti
on, 104
TPA

Table E-2: Distribution of Pulp and Paper Mills (Number of Mills) Based
on Pulping Processes and Operational Scale
No of Mills Installed Capacity,
million tonnes/yr
Sl.
No
Pulping Process
Large

Scale
Small
Scale
Grand
Total
Large
Scale
% Small
Scale
%
1 Chemical Soda
Process
29 26
54
0.666 4.26 0.106
18.2
8
2 Hydro Pulping
92 113
219 12.80
7
81.88 0.462
80.0
7
3 Kraft/Sulphite
process
34 2
36
2.169 13.87 0.010 1.65

Table E-3 : Summary of classification of pulp and paper sector in
different categories
Large/Medium scale Small Scale Sl.
No
Product
type
Agro
based
Integrated
2

Pape
r Mill
3
Wast
epap
er
Woo
d
base
d
Agr
o
Integrated Paper
Mill
Waste
paper
Total
1. Cultural -
high

15 1 15 14 7 1 12 65

2
Integrated refers to mill using wood, agro residue and waste paper as raw material
3
Paper Mill refers to mill using pulp produced from other mills to produce directly paper and
paper products
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

Large/Medium scale Small Scale Sl.
No
Product
type
Agro
based
Integrated
2

Pape
r Mill
3
Wast
epap
er
Woo
d
base
d
Agr
o

Integrated Paper
Mill
Waste
paper
Total
grade
2. Cultural -
low grade
2 1 8 1 1 7 20
3. Industrial 19 2 50 18 1 90 187
4. Newsprint 1 1 15 2 2 21
5. Pulp 4 4
6. Specialty 2 4 3 3 12
Total 39 3 2 92 21 26 1 4 114 309

In order to develop water conservation measures for different types of
industries in the pulp and paper sector and also the water consumption /
discharge standards, 10 mills were identified (in consultation with CPCB) in
accordance with the above referred distribution of pulp and paper mills based
on operational scale, raw material used, pulping process, end product etc.
Detailed studies were conducted in these 10 mills to identify the water
conservation measures and also to generate the water consumption profile.

The detailed studies in conjunction with the data from questionnaire survey,
literature search and international water consumption norms have been used
to develop water consumption standards in the country.

Existing Water Consumption Norms / Standards: India

In India so far, no standards have been set for water consumption by any

agency. However CPCB has prescribed standards in terms of wastewater
discharge for different categories of pulp and paper industry. The wastewater
discharge quantum with additional 21 % (towards evaporation losses) is
generally used to give a fair picture of water consumption. The wastewater
discharge standard of 150 and 50 m
3
/tonne of product for small agro and
wastepaper based mills respectively and 200 m
3
/tonne for large scale mills
prescribed by CPCB do not appear appropriate as it does not cater to different
categories of pulp and paper manufacturing mills prevailing in India presently.
Further, this standard in the current scenario seems to have outdated as the
current average water consumption is itself 150 m
3
/tone of product.
As per
Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection (CREP)-
2002
, following water discharge standards have been agreed upon by
different pulp and paper manufacturing associations:
A. Large scale pulp and paper mills:
¾ Less than 140 cum/tonne of paper within 2 years
¾ Less than 120 cum/tonne of paper in 4 years for mills installed before
1992
¾ Less than 100 cum/tonne of paper in 4 years for mills installed after
1992
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

B. Small scale pulp and paper mills:

¾ Less than 150 cum/tonne of paper within 3 years

This standard is also discharge specific but takes into consideration the
operational scale and the age of the mill. This standard also does not
differentiate on the basis of pulping process, raw material used, end product
etc.
Centre for Science & Environment through their Green Rating Project has
reported significant reduction in water consumption in large-scale Indian
paper mills and average figure has been reduced to 135 m
3
per tonne paper
in the year 2002 due to increasing awareness regarding water conservation,
ever increasing pressure from government regulatory agencies and also due
to increasing water scarcity in many regions. The CSE finding gives an
indication that most of the industries are already achieving the water
consumption norms as agreed upon by them under CREP programme –
2002.

Existing Water Consumption Norms / Standards: World

In developed countries, most of the pulp and paper manufacturing mills are
wood based, however, due to environmental implications, trend is changing
towards use of recycled fibre as is the case with India.
The average water consumption for wood based large pulp and paper
industries primarily producing paper & paper board products from 6 regions /
countries namely United States, Australia, Europe, Canada Finland & Spain
have been compiled from various documents available on the web and the
same is presented in the Table E-4 below :

Table E-4: Region / Country Specific Average Water Consumption in

Large Scale Wood Based Pulp and Paper Mills

Sl.
N
o.
Region /
Country
Average Specific
water
consumption
(m3/T of product)
Source
1 U.S.
64
(Average value in
the year 2000)
Appendix “W” of Report on Status of Pulp
& Paper in US by Michiel P. H. Brongers
and Aaron J. Mierzwa
2
.
Australia
28.66
( Average value
for the year 2003)
APIC Public Eco-efficiency Report 2003
3
.
Europe
40

APIC Public Eco-efficiency Report 2003

4
.
Canada
67
APIC Public Eco-efficiency Report 2003
5Finland
40
Pulp Fact - Environmental Implications of
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

Sl.
N
o.
Region /
Country
Average Specific
water
consumption
(m3/T of product)
Source
. the Paper Cycle” by Nigel Dudley, Sue
Stolton and Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud WWF
International 1996
6
.
Spain
30
Pup Fact – Environmental Implications of

the paper Cylcle by Nigel Dudley, Sue
Stolton and Jean Paul, Jean Renaud –
WWF International 1996
The average water consumption for wood based large pulp and paper
industries primarily producing paper & paper board products in
developed countries varies from 30 – 70 m3/tonne of Product. Whereas
average water consumption in waste paper based pulp and paper mills
in developed countries varies from 8 – 10 m3/Tonne of product.

Current Water Consumption: A Revisit - Questionnaire Response

In order to review present water consumption levels in pulp and paper sector
in India, questionnaires were circulated to all the pulp and paper
manufacturing mills. Based on the questionnaire responses by industries (44
mills responded out of total of 309), specific fresh water consumption range
(excluding domestic) has been compiled and is as given below:

S.No. Raw Material End Product
Specific Water Consumption
(M
3
/T of product)
Min Max Remark
Large Scale category
1 Integrated
Cultural high grade
including newsprint 105 202
2. Wood Based
Cultural grade
including newsprint 68 168

3. Wood Based Newsprint only 74 There is only one mill
4. Wood Based Rayon pulp 130
Only one mill in this
category responded
5 Agro Based Cultural - high grade 73 -do-
6 Agro Based
Cultural - low grade
including newsprint 46 -do-
3 Waste paper Newsprint 29 -do-
Medium Scale category
1 Agro Residue Cultural – high grade 102 219
2 Agro Residue Industrial grade 28
Only one mill in this
category responded
3
Waste Paper
Based Cultural – high grade 40 -do-
4 Waste Paper Newsprint 16 -do-
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

S.No. Raw Material End Product
Specific Water Consumption
(M
3
/T of product)
Min Max Remark
based
5
Waste paper
Based Industrial grade 5.5 35

One mill reported 5.5
m3/T & operating with
zero discharge system
Small Scale category
1 Agro Residue Cultural - high grade 156
Only one mill in this
category responded
2 Agro Residue Industrial 7
Straw board making
mill
3 Waste paper Cultural - high grade 18
Only one mill in this
category responded
4 Waste paper Cultural - low grade 14 25
5 Waste Paper Industrial 7 80

Current Water Consumption: In depth Study Findings
Keeping in view, the above mentioned variation prevailing in Indian pulp and
paper sector, ten representative mills were selected in consultation with
CPCB official for carrying out detailed field studies. During the field studies,
detailed water balance, material balance (with respect to fibre and water)
audits were carried out. And based on studies, specific water consumption in
each mill was estimated. The specific fresh water consumption estimated in
each representative mill is as given in table E-5 below:

Table E-5: Specific Water Consumption in Selected Field Study Mills

Mill
Code
Operational Scale & Raw

Material
End Product Water
consumption,
m3/T
Large Scale
1 Wood & Wastepaper based Newsprint
manufacturing
80
2 Wood & wastepaper Based Cultural – high
grade
77
3 Wood, Agro& wastepaper Cultural – high
grade
67
Medium Scale
4 Agro & waste paper based Cutural – high
grade
80
5 Agro & waste paper based Industrial grade 47
6 Waste paper based Cultural – high
grade
48
Small Scale
7 Agro & waste paper Cultural – high
grade
110
8 Agro & wastepaper based Industrial grade 93
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

Mill

Code
Operational Scale & Raw
Material
End Product Water
consumption,
m3/T
9 Waste paper based Cultural – low
grade
13
10 Waste paper based Cultural – low
grade
129

Proposed standards for water consumption in pulp and paper sector

Based on the detailed pulp and paper mill’s inventorisation and observations
from the dry and detailed field studies conducted during the course of this
study, it became evidently clear that water consumption varies significantly
depending upon the raw material used, scale of operation and the end
product. Realizing these variation it was clear that one or two general
standards would not suffice for the entire pulp and paper sector. Accordingly,
considering the prevailing characteristics of Indian pulp & paper mills in the
country, following six categories of pulp and paper mills with respect to water
consumption pattern have been proposed for formulation of standards:

A. Large scale Wood based and integrated pulp and paper mills
manufacturing cultural grade paper & paper board and / or
Newsprint
B. Small/Medium Scale Agro based pulp and paper mills
manufacturing high grade cultural paper

C. Small/Medium Scale Agro based pulp and paper mills
manufacturing industrial grade paper
D. All wastepaper based pulp and paper mills manufacturing high
grade cultural paper with “De-inking”
E. All wastepaper based pulp and paper mills manufacturing cultural
grade paper without De-inking
F. All medium / small scale waste paper based mills manufacturing
industrial grade paper

While developing the water consumption standards for the above referred
categories following factors have been considered.

¾ The standards developed should ensure continuous reduction in water
consumption.
¾ The standards should be such that they trigger technological
interventions as well as reuse / recycling opportunities and thus lead to
quantum reduction in water consumption in long term.
¾ The standards should be India specific and practicable and feasible to
implement.
¾ The standards should also even out the huge water consumption
disparities among the similar type of mills in short term.
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

Considering all the above factors, three levels of standards have been
formulated. The three levels are

•
Benchmark Standard: This standard refers to minimum water
consumption required after implementation of best available technology
(economically viable and currently practiced / demonstrated in India),

recycle and reuse practices. This standard has been developed by
identifying the various mill operations involved in each specific category
and also identifying the least water consumption actually achieved by
any of the mills studied in that particular category. The total of water
consumption in each of the mill operation / process would be the
benchmark standard for that specific category.
The idea of developing this standard is to ensure
o Quantum reduction in water consumption: No mill in the
above referred categories is currently operating at this level. To
achieve this level most of the mills would need to undertake
certain technological modifications and complex recycling /
reuse measures to achieve the quantum reduction in the water
consumption and comply with these standards
o
Development of feasible standards: Further these standards
reflect the feasible and demonstrated mill operation specific
water consumption norms already practiced in one or the other
industry in India and thus expected to be appreciated and
followed by industries.
Since complying with these standards would need technological and complex
recycling / reuse systems interventions, which require significant time and
resources at the industries end, it is proposed that these standards to be
considered for implementation after four years from the acceptance year of
this report.

•
Best Achieved Standard: This standard refers to the minimum water
consumption already achieved by a mill (or can be achieved by
implementation of simple recycling / reuse measures) simple in the
specific category.

This standard is developed with the perspective of bringing the other mills to
the currently best achieved and demonstrated level in the country. This
standard can be achieved by implementation of simple water recycling and
reuse practices and minor technological changes.
This standard is proposed to be considered for implementation from two years
from the acceptance year of this report. The three years grace period is
proposed to enable other industries to undertake technologies feasibility
(technical, economical, environmental etc) and implementation.

•
Relaxed Standard: This standard provides 20 % relief over the best
achieved standard in each specific category. This standard is proposed
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

for immediate reduction in water consumption by most of the high
water consuming industries and thus bridge the huge gap between
best performing and worst performing mills in a short time. It is
estimated that this standard can be achieved by other industries in
each categories by implementing simple reuse, recycling and other
minor modification.
This standard is proposed to be implemented after six months from the
acceptance of this report. The six months grace period is proposed to enable
other industries to undertake the reuse, recycling and other minor
modifications.
The process of developing above referred benchmark standards would also
identify mill operation / process or section specific water consumption
benchmark figures that can be used by the industries for continuous
improvements.

The consolidated proposed water consumption/wastewater discharge

*
standards for each category of the pulp & paper mills are compiled and
tabulated below in table E-6:

Table E-6: Proposed Water Consumption/Wastewater Discharge
Standards
Proposed water
consumption/wastewater discharge
standard in m
3
/ Tonne of product
Sl Category Description
Benchmark Best
achievable
Relaxed
1
Large scale Wood based and integrated pulp
and paper mills manufacturing Newsprint,
Cultural grade paper and paper board
63 / 50 67 / 53 80 / 63
2
Small/Medium Scale Agro based pulp and
paper mills manufacturing cultural grade paper
38 / 30 80 / 63 95 / 75
3
Small/Medium Scale Agro based pulp and
paper mills manufacturing industrial grade
18 / 15 47 / 37 56 / 44
4
All wastepaper based pulp and paper mills

manufacturing high grade cultural paper and /
or news print with “De-inking”
19 / 15 41 / 32 49 / 38
5
All waste paper based pulp & paper mills
manufacturing high grade cultural paper without
“De-inking”
9 / 7 13 / 10 15 / 12
6
All Medium / Small scale wastepaper based
pulp and paper mills manufacturing industrial
grade paper
6 / 5 6 / 5 7 / 6
National Productivity Council, New Delhi


* Wastewater discharge standards have been evolved with an assumption
that around 21% of the input fresh water is lost as vapour in fourdreineir
machine (drier section) and in boiler section and the balance is discharged as
wastewater.

Further, it is recommended to reuse this wastewater as much as
possible for irrigation purpose.

Water Conservation Options Evolved and Recommended to Achieve
Quantum Reduction in Fresh Water Consumption in Pulp and Paper
Sector

The high water consumption in Indian pulp and paper industry is mainly due to
obsolete process technology, poor water management practices and

inadequate wastewater treatment.
In order to evolve techno economically feasible option, detailed field studies
were carried out as mentioned earlier. Depending upon the category and
scale of operations, water conservation options have been recommended.
They are briefly described below:

Low – cost improvements


• General Housekeeping Measures: General housekeeping measures
deals with low-cost improvements like leak detection, repair, production
scheduling, use of press type tap, auto close valve hose to reduce
wastage due to negligence, etc
• Using better quality raw material to achieve desired brightness:
Manipulation of raw material quality enables use of lesser quantity of
bleaching chemicals, hence requires less water quantity for bleaching
and washing
• Dry de-dusting of straw for removal of fines and dust / Dry depithing of
Bagasse / Dry debarking of Wood
• Collection of black liquor spills in a common tank: This reduces fresh
water consumption required for floor washing.

Design stage procedures (new plant/equipment)


• Use of Better pulp washing technology: Various technologies available
in decreasing specific water consumption are potcher washing,
hydraulic washing, vacuum drum washing, Pressure washing, diffusion
washing, chemi or belt washing, twin roll press washing. Among all,
potcher washing has maximum specific water consumption (55 - 60

m3/BDMT bleached pulp) and twin wire roll press has minimum
specific water consumption (26 m3/BDMT bleached pulp). However, a
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

twin wire roll press washer for a 300 OD TPD fiberline costs approx.
1081 million INR. Where as a vacuum drum washer would cost only 10
– 25 million INR, hydraulic washer would cost 2.5 million (works good
with lower capacity). Therefore, techno-economic feasibility is required
before identification of suitable washer in the individual mill.
• Use of More Efficient Deinking Plant : The clarified water is reused in
different mill operations: Helicopulper, H D Cleaner, Pulp Dilution,
Centricleaner, Pressure screen
• Membrane filtration technique in deinking process instead of
conventional floatation method: Membrane separation technology is a
potentially attractive method for the removal of flexographic ink
residues from the wash filtrate effluent of deinking mills and thereby
enabling recycle of wash filtrate
• Installation of Indirect & More Efficient Heat Transfer System for Blow
Heat Recovery In Digestor Section: This avoids generation of
contaminated wastewater (in direct heat transfer, waste gases are
directly injected to water) and enables reuse of cooling wastewater.
• Replacing barometric leg (direct) condensor cooling by surface
(indirect) condensor cooling: The wastewater from barometric leg is
generally discharged to ETP and cannot be completely recycled back

Process modifications including recycle/reuse


• Optimum use of cooling wastewater:
A. Collection of once-through cooling water and reuse it in different

process operation
B. Converting once-through system into a closed –loop system by
installing a cooling tower
• Recovery and re-cycling of clean water from vacuum pumps
• Installation of Vacuum flume tank to recycle vacuum pump sealing
water
• Replacement of water seals in Process Pumps: Mechanical seal
pumps can be used to avoid usage of sealing water. Also seal less
pumps are extensively used in chemical industries which can also be
used pulp and paper manufacturing mill.
• Use of modified design of nozzle in Decker thickener shower
• Use of efficient Decker thickener/ vacuum drum showers
• Use of efficient shower system and Regular monitoring of low pressure
and high pressure showers and in the paper machine section
• Use of Enzymatic deinking process
• Recovery of bleaching chemicals through membrane separation &
reuse (closed loop bleaching): For Mills with Elemental Chlorine free
bleaching process.
• Reuse of secondary condensate in raw material preparation section,
Brown Stock Washing / Bleach Washing
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

• Reuse of Spout cooling wastewater
• Reuse of barometric leg wastewater: This wastewater is suitable for
reuse in Brown stock washing.
• Reuse of wastewater from DM plant (regeneration & sandfilter
backwash), softner (regeneration & sandfilter backwash) for ash
conditioning / quenching

Process redesign which includes improvement in quality and

management of paper machine wastewater

• Choosing right type of saveall system: There are different technologies
to clarify paper machine white water like polydisc saveall, Krofta
saveall, sedimentation type saveall, drum filter, inclined or Hill screens,
etc. Depending upon the usage of clarified water and quality required,
type of saveall needs to choosen. In large scale mills, polydisc saveall
is advantageous. The clear filtrate generated from the saveall can be
directly used in high pressure paper machine showers.
• Optimum use of paper machine clarified wastewater in sections other
than paper machine: Various application areas are :Decker thickener
showers, Vacuum washers, Centricleaner reject dilution, Pulp dilutions
before bleaching stage, Johnson screen showers, etc. this requires
provision of sufficient storage capacity. A modified storage capacity
similar to ‘Stawford” separator helps in further separation of solids and
fibres from the clarified water
• Use of back or recycled water in low pressure showers: Various
locations in paper machine section where back water can be used are:
Wire section - Breast roll, wire turning and wire-return rolls, knock – off
shower, trim knock – off shower, wire cleaning shower ( low
pressure).,Press section - Cleaning of rolls

Total system closure with zero liquid effluent


• Tertiary treatment of wastewater for recycling: In tertiary treatment,
Aluminum oxide, ferric oxide and poly electrolytes assist coagulation of
waste in the effluents, which are then sand filtered. The quality of
treated wastewater after the tertiary treated is fit for recycling back
completely to the system especially in wastepaper based mills and

partially for other mills.

However, there is a limitation to continuous recycle of wastewater within the
plant for a long period as it leads to slime generation. This is prevented by
optimized addition of biocide and chemicals in the water at regular intervals.




National Productivity Council, New Delhi

Conclusion

Existing standards are passé.
The questionnaire responses, CSE’s green rating project and the detailed
field studies have clearly indicated that the majority of industries in-fact
actually performing better than both the existing standards and the CREP
standards they have agreed to.

Common standard not far-sighted
It has also clearly emerged from the in depth studies that water consumption
varies significantly based on the scale of operation, raw material used and the
end products manufactured. Hence a common standard for all type of
industries would not be prudent and accordingly standards have been
developed for six categories of pulp and paper industries considering
operational scale, raw material used and the end product manufactured.

Recommended standards a challenge already conquered
While comparing with the existing standards, the currently recommended
standards may seem to be a challenging task to achieve but actual practice

these have already been achieved in totality by an Indian enterprise (Best
achieved standard) or partially i.e. at a mill process level by one or the other
Indian enterprise (benchmark standard). Hence the proposed standards are
practical and feasible to achieve. The industries may refer to the water
conservation measures identified under the study to achieve the water
consumption standards.

Let’s not stop, we need to go further
The currently developed and recommended water consumption standards are
still comparably high in light of the latest world wide trends on water
consumption. The currently developed standards should be treated as short
term applicable for about 8 years. It is further recommended that these
standards should again be revisited after 6 years.


***************
Final report on water conservation in Pulp and Paper Sector Page No.1
National Productivity Council, New Delhi
CHAPTER 1

BACKGROUND

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The pulp and paper industry is one of India's core sector industries. The average
production in the year 2003 – 2004 is 5.96 million tonnes per annum.
The socio-economic importance of paper has its own value to the country's
development as it is directly related to the industrial and economic growth of the
country. Although paper has many uses, its most important contribution to modern
civilization is its use as a medium to record knowledge. Paper represents the perfect
adjustment of a basic material to any use and purpose.

Paper manufacturing is a highly capital, energy and water intensive industry. It is
also a highly polluting process and requires substantial investments in pollution
control equipment. In India, around 905.8 million m
3
of water is consumed and
around 695.7 million m
3
of wastewater is discharged annually by this sector
1
.
Looking into the serious nature of pollution, the pulp and paper industry in India has
been brought under the 17 categories of highly polluting industries.
In global comparison on specific water consumption (the global best specific water
consumption is 28.66 m
3
/tonne for large scale wood based pulp and paper mill),
India is still far behind ( India’s average fresh water consumption in pulp and paper
sector is 150 – 200 m
3
/tonne of product) and this is largely attributed to the use of
obsolete technology / equipments and poor water management practices.
At the same time, water has been increasingly becoming a scarce commodity and
several industries are experiencing acute water shortages especially during non-
monsoon periods. While most large industries are located near abundant water
supply source (the rivers), The majority of small / medium scale agro residue/waste
paper based mills are in clusters and have to depend on groundwater. The
continuous exploitation of ground water by these industries has led to lowering of the
groundwater table and thus increased pumping costs and more importantly water
shortage in many regions. This has forced many industries to curtail their production
levels and some closed down their mills for want of adequate amounts of water.

However, in large scale mills, the situation is slightly better with regard to water
conservation and environmental compliance because of better technology /
equipment employed by them, large scale of operation and also access to latest
information / developments. Despite this, water management is very poor in pulp
and paper industry and it requires immediate attention as its excess use is affecting
the water availability particularly during non-monsoon.

1
Source: Estimated by CSE based on the wastewater discharged data published by CPCB in "Water quality in India (Status and trends) 1990 -
2001".
Final report on water conservation in Pulp and Paper Sector Page No.2
National Productivity Council, New Delhi
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has therefore approached National
Productivity Council (NPC) to develop suitable guidelines for water management in
different types of pulp and paper mills through out the country.

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of the study is to evolve appropriate guideline for conservation of
water based on the existing water management practices and identify optimum
recycle/reuse options for water.

1.3 SCOPE OF WORK
For the above objective, following scope of work has been defined:
(i) Inventorisation of pulp and paper manufacturing mills through out the country
(ii) Classification of the mills in different categories according to scale of
operation, raw material usage, products manufactured
(iii) Selection of 10 representative mills for detailed studies
(iv) Preliminary survey of the selected mills, followed by detailed studies. Detail
study comprises of:
• Collection of background data regarding the raw material consumption, product

output, installed and operating capacity of existing process and utilities etc.
• Study of the manufacturing process.
• Identification of the sources and characterisation of the wastewater generated
from each process operation
• Compilation of material balance for complete process
• Identification of the water conservation, waste recycling/reuse options, if any
adopted by the mill
• Compilation of the water balance for the complete mill and
• Generation of water recycle/ reuse and other conservation options with or without
mild treatment.
(v) Cost benefit analysis for optimum reuse and recycling of waste water in terms
of reduction in pollution load reaching ETP and fresh water consumption for
each type of pulp and paper industry
(vi) Evolve limits for water consumption and discharge from the processes
assuming the optimum water consumption level for each type of industry
(vii) Formulation of guidelines for water conservation for each type of pulp and
paper industry

Final report on water conservation in Pulp and Paper Sector Page No.3
National Productivity Council, New Delhi
1.4 METHODOLOGY
The following methodology is being adopted to accomplish the above said scope of
work:
Phase I

(i) Questionnaire for seeking information on the type of product, scale of
operation, production process, water management practices followed, etc was
prepared in consultation with CPCB officials and Pulp and Paper
manufacturing Association’s members. A copy of questionnaire is placed as
Annexure I.

(ii) The inventorisation of pulp and paper mills and other relevant information on
pulp and paper mills was compiled through various agencies, research
institutes, pulp and paper manufacturing associations, state pollution control
boards, and associated bodies.
(iii) Questionnaires were sent to around 622 pulp and paper manufacturing mills
through out the country.
(iv) Responses received from the Questionnaire survey has been compiled.
Based on the responses, typical wastewater characteristics from pulp and
paper mill has been generated.
(v) Literature survey was carried out with respect to production process, water
consumption, wastewater generation, etc for different types of pulp and paper
mills has been procured from pulp and paper manufacturing associations,
printed matters and internet.
(vi) Based on the literature survey and questionnaire survey, criteria for selection
of representative mills has been developed.
Phase II

(vii) Based on the information obtained from Pulp and paper mill associations and
other Institutions, pulp and paper mills through out the country have been
classified according to scale of operation, raw material usage and product
manufactured.
(viii) Ten representative mills were identified as per the criteria developed in
consultation with CPCB and based on the questionnaire responses.
(ix) Detailed studies at the individual mill were carried out as given below:
− Background data with respect to raw material consumption, product
output, installed and processing capacity, existing process and utilities,
etc. were collected from stores and inventory, raw material preparation
section, pulp mill section, chemical recovery section, stock preparation
section, paper machine section, utilities department, engineering
department, projects, quality control and technical services department.

− The manufacturing process was studied in a detailed manner. Following
general process related information were collected:
Final report on water conservation in Pulp and Paper Sector Page No.4
National Productivity Council, New Delhi
- Yield
- Cooking temperature and time
- Cycle time
- Makeup chemical type and amount
- Bleaching stages and time
- Temperature and charge to bleaching towers
- Dilution factor in washing
- Black liquor solids content before and after evaporation
- Black liquor quantity
- Product target data
This was followed by collection of specific process related details,
engineering drawings and verifying them by conducting a shop floor walk
through. Simultaneously, different input and output streams were identified
at each process step
− Different sources of wastewater generation was identified and marked.
Sampling and monitoring of wastewater at these points was carried out.
The samples were analysed for relevant parameters for characterization of
inlet process water and wastewater stream.
− Material balance for the complete process was compiled. TSS balance
was also carried out to ascertain the fiber loss from the process.
− Water conservation measures as adopted by the mills were identified and
the total water saved per unit of the product was computed.
− Water balance for the complete mill along with the water used in the utility
was made.
− Water conservation techniques/technologies were identified and techno-
economic feasibility of the identified technologies/techniques were studied.

The impact of implementation of these were also ascertained so as to
determine the effect on the pollution load.
Phase III
(x) On the basis of the studies carried out in all the ten mills, limits for water
consumption level for each type of industry was established.
(xi) Subsequently, general guidelines for water conservation for each type of pulp
and paper industry were evolved.
Final report on water conservation in Pulp and Paper Sector Page No.5
National Productivity Council, New Delhi
CHAPTER 2

INDUSTRY PROFILE : PULP AND PAPER

2.1 STATUS OF PULP AND PAPER MANUFACTURING MILL IN INDIA

Growth Pattern
The pulp and paper mill sector in India is one of the oldest industries. The first paper
manufacturing mill was commissioned in 1812 in the eastern state of West Bengal.
At the time of independence (1947) there were less than 20 mills in India with a total
annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes. The number of paper manufacturing mills has
increased from just 17 in 1951 to around 600 in Year 2002 with an annual installed
capacity of 6.2 million tonnes and has then fallen to 309 in year 2004. The reason
has been non-availability of techno –economic solution for black liquor
recovery/treatment for agro based pulp and paper manufacturing process. Due to
regulatory pressure, several small/medium scale agro based pulp and paper
manufacturing mills have been forced to closed down in recent years.
The capacity utilization is estimated at around 60-65 percent of the total installed
capacity. The growth of paper mills from 1950 onwards along with average installed
capacity is as given in the Table 1.
Table 1: Number of paper mills in India with installed capacity during 1950 to

2004
2

Year No of
Mills
Installed Capacity
(million tonnes/
annum)
Actual Production
(million tonnes/
annum)
1950 – 51 17 0.137
1970 – 71 55 0.768
1980 – 81 137 1.816
1990 – 91 325 3.304
1999 – 01 600 6.2
2001 – 02
594 8.500
2003 – 04
309 7.8 5.6

In India, the average size of a pulp and paper mill is only about 25,000 tonnes per
annum (tpa) when compared to 85,000 tpa in Asia and about 300,000 tpa in Europe
and North America.
The low capacity utilisation in the industry is due to high incidences of sickness in
many small / medium mills and thus most of these are operating either at lower
capacity or closed. The state wise distribution of the closed mills during 1999 to
2002 is given in Table 2 below.

2

Source: IARPMA & indiastat.com
Final report on water conservation in Pulp and Paper Sector Page No.6
National Productivity Council, New Delhi

Table 2:No of mills closed between 1999 and 2002
3

State-wise Number of Paper Mills Closed Down in India
(01.01.1999 to 31.10.2002)
State
No. of Sick Paper Mills
Andhra Pradesh 3
Bihar 1
Chattisgarh 1
Goa 0
Gujarat 11
Haryana 0
Kerala 2
Karnataka 2
Madhya Pradesh 2
Maharashtra 18
NCT Delhi 9
Orissa 0
Punjab 7
Rajasthan 0
Tamil Nadu 7
Uttar Pradesh 13
West Bengal 4
Total
80

Product Portfolio

Indian industries produces different types / grades of paper for variety of uses. The
paper and paperboard product segment constitutes of cultural paper, industrial
paper and specialty paper. Cultural paper comprises of writing and printing paper,
Art/Media paper, Bond paper, Copier paper, Cream wove, Maplitho, Ledger paper,
etc. Industrial paper comprises of Duplex Board/Paper, Kraft Paper, Other
Board/Paper.
The major types of paper that are produced in the country along with main varieties
and their consumption pattern (demand indicator) are presented in the Table 3
below:
Table 3: Consumption pattern of paper and paper board products in India
Type of paper Main varieties % of total
consumptions
Cultural paper cream woven, maplitho, bond paper, 41%

3
Source: (www.indiastat.com)
Final report on water conservation in Pulp and Paper Sector Page No.7
National Productivity Council, New Delhi
Type of paper Main varieties % of total
consumptions
Chromo paper
Industrial paper

kraft paper, paper board – paper
board - single layer board, multilayer
board, duplex board,

43%
Specialty paper Security paper, grease proof paper,
electrical grades of paper
4%
Newsprint glazed, non-glazed 12%

In India, the cultural varieties (writing and printing paper) account for about 41% of
the production, specialty papers including coated papers for about 4% and newsprint
for about 12 %. This leaves about 43% for kraft and boards.
The world consumption of paper and paperboard at present has been estimated to
be over 300 million tonnes a year which includes 30% of cultural papers, 14% of
newsprint, and the balance of kraft / packaging paper and specialty paper.

State wise Distribution of Pulp & Paper Mills

The statewise distribution of pulp and paper mills (including further distribution based
on raw material used) in the country from 2000 to 2004 is given in Table 4 through
Table 6.
Figure 1 depicts the present distribution of pulp and paper mills in India. Annexure
II gives the list of industries operating in 2004
Table 4: No of pulp and paper mills as on 2000
4

State-wise Number of Paper Mills in India
(As on June 2000)
States/Uts
No. of Paper
Mills
Andhra Pradesh 22
Assam 4

Bihar 9
Chandigarh 8
Gujarat 68
Haryana 15
Himachal Pradesh 15
Jammu & Kashmir 1
Kerala 7
Karnataka 17
Madhya Pradesh 21

4
Source: IARPM