Metsä Group and Andritz are now operating a carbon capture pilot plant at the former’s Rauma mill, with the pilot thought to be the first in the industry to harness carbon dioxide from pulp mill flue gases.
Biobased carbon dioxide is described as a ‘virtually untapped’ byproduct from pulp mills, with the partners recommending its use as a raw material – and a replacement for fossil-based alternatives – in the fuel and chemical industries, among others. This solution is not thought to increase a wood mill’s pulp consumption or undermine its production efficiency.
At the pilot plant, Metsä Group and Andritz plan to test various operating models for energy consumption and the amount of carbon captured. The pilot period is set to gather information about requirements for flue gas treatment and the quality of the end-product.
“So far, the technology appears to be working well with the pulp mill’s flue gases,” says Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, SVP Business Development and director of Metsä Group’s carbon capture project.
Metsä Group also plans to explore the possibility of a larger-scale demo plant for carbon capture at a second location. As an extension of the Rauma pilot, this plant is envisioned with a potential capacity of between 30,000 and 100,000 tonnes of captured carbon dioxide.
However, no decision has been made regarding the project or this demo plant’s location, and implementing the project would require the resolution of technical and financial difficulties.
“The investments related to capture are large, and the market is underdeveloped, so we’re proceeding gradually,” Pehu-Lehtonen explains. “In addition, the value chains from raw material to finished products are often new and complex, requiring close cooperation between the participants and insight into industrial operations.”
Metsä Group intends to promote the emergence of markets through its development activities – but its market development is thought to depend on regulation at the EU and national level, as well as investment support for the green transition.
Earlier this year, Renewable Carbon Initiative and nova-Institute set out policy proposals to help Europe transition into carbon capture and utilization, among other renewable carbon sources. The report argues that over 90% of the European chemical industry relies on fossil fuels as raw materials, contributing to deindustrialization – whereas driving renewable carbon technologies is hoped to result in economic benefits for the EU.
In a similar project, VTT and LUT University’s three-year carbon capture and utilization effort claims to have successfully turned biogenic carbon dioxide from waste incineration and the forest industry into polypropylene, polyethylene, and other ‘high-value-added’ products. This also involved the conversion of local flue gas carbon dioxide into raw materials.
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