PeCOD® Case Study #03 Pulp and Paper
The pulp and paper industry utilizes wood as raw material to produce pulp, paper, card board, and other cellulose based products. Pulp and paper mills produce large volumes of wastewater and residual sludge which presents a number of challenges with regards to treatment and discharge. Contaminants in pulp and paper waste streams often include effluent solids, sediments, absorbable organic halides (AOX), chlorinated organic compounds, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). In many cases, the delignification and wash pulp steps require excessive volumes of bleaching chemicals which contribute significantly to the higher COD contamination typical of this wastewater.
A Chilean multi-national paper company invested in a MANTECH PeCOD ® COD Analyzer to improve the health and safety of operators and to significantly reduce analysis time. By continuously monitoring COD levels (less than 15 minutes), the mill was able to optimize the pulp process and reduce the consumption of bleaching chemicals. The decrease in chemical consumption resulted in a lower amount of organics to treat, and in turn, reduced treatment chemicals, energy and discharge fines. Figure 1 demonstrates the reduction in COD levels between 2013 and 2014, since implementing the PeCOD ® COD Analyzer. The pulp and paper mill saved greater than $10,000 (USD) per day by optimizing treatment processes, reducing energy usage and decreasing chemical usage. Savings of 3 million US dollars per year yields a return on investment of just 3 days. The PeCOD ® COD Analyzer has provided critical information to the operators while improving health and safety to the community and the environment.
Figure 1 : A graph of PeCOD ® COD results from the pulp washing step at a pulp and paper mill. Wastewater samples were collected and analyzed over a two-year period.
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