28 December 2022, Chennai: A workshop was organized as part of the DPIIT-UNIDO project on Firm-level demonstration of technologies and productivity enhancement for the pulp and paper industry to disseminate the results and findings of trials to demonstrate the application of black liquor heat treatment technology in India agro-based paper mills.
The ongoing project aims to customize, adapt and demonstrate innovative technologies that have significant potential to make pulp and paper mills more productive, sustainable and competitive. One of the technologies being demonstrated is black liquor heat treatment technology, aimed at improving the energy efficiency of the chemical recovery system by reducing the viscosity of black liquor, enabling achievement of higher black liquor solids during evaporation in agro-based pulp and paper mills. Under the project, a skid-mounted pilot unit has been fabricated, which is being transported to different mills across paper clusters to establish techno-economic feasibility of the technology in different operational contexts.
Trials were conducted in close cooperation with the Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute (CPPRI) and technology supplier GB Power Projects Limited, between November and December 2022 at Tamil Nadu Newsprint Limited (TNPL), Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The trials have been successful in achieving the intended ~60% reduction in black liquor viscosity, thereby enhancing energy efficiency of the chemical recovery systems in agro/ wood-based paper mills, following careful optimization of operational parameters.
Following the dissemination workshop, a visit to the pilot plant was organized for industry representatives to witness the live demonstration of the technology.