2010 TAPPI PEERS Conference Focused on Sustainability, the Environment and Biorefineries

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Sessions on sustainability, the environment and biorefineries drew a large number of attendees at 2010 TAPPI PEERS Conference and the 9th Research Forum on Recycling, held October 17-21 in Norfolk, Va. More than 370 forest and paper industry professionals participated in the four-day conference that also included a special Boiler MACT Town Hall Meeting. Attendees represented more than 30 paper companies and 20 universities from around the world and the exhibit hall showcased the latest technologies available to the marketplace from 23 companies.

Attendance was high at the Boiler MACT Town Hall and Committee meetings in anticipation of the upcoming US EPA announcement regarding new emission limits. Timothy Hunt of the American Forest and Paper Association cited estimates that the proposed new limits could cost the paper industry $4.5 billion and jeopardize as many as 72,000 jobs. Discussions centered on how the industry should react to the new limits. Among Hunt's suggestions for key fixes were setting the limits based on overall performance of actual sources, not a mythical boiler, and basing standards on the best performing 12 percent of sources, not "best of the best."

Another important gathering was a "Stickies Summit" in conjunction with the 9th Research Forum on Recycling. Co-organized by Mahendra Doshi of the TAPPI Journal editorial board and Danny Haynes with Eka Chemicals, the summit brought together recycling experts from Japan, U.S., Canada and Europe to discuss the need for global standardization of definitions related to stickies.

 
A discussion on company sustainability efforts and how they impact business was a popular panel session, as were sessions on hemicellulose extraction and pulp mill repurposing for ethanol production, which was led by TAPPI Journal editorial board member Peter Hart.

The 2011 TAPPI PEERS Conference is slated for October 2-5 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore., USA. Abstracts are now being accepted and a formal call for papers will be issued in early 2011.