Metsä Group to Start Investigation on Capturing Wood-Based Carbon Dioxide
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Metsä Group and the technology company Andritz will investigate the possibility of building a carbon capture facility in connection with the bioproduct mill. The work focuses on the capture of four million metric tons of carbon dioxide from a mill the size of the Kemi bioproduct mill. The Kemi mill is the largest wood-processing mill in the northern hemisphere.
The study will determine the optimal size of a recovery system that would be the most energy efficient combined with the bioproduct mill, as well as the cooling and logistical requirements of the system. The goal is to use the electricity, heat and steam generated in the bioproduct mill as efficiently as possible so that no waste heat is generated.
This work follows on from the carbon capture study launched in 2023. Carbon dioxide capture using an amine solution is an existing proven technology that has been used for decades around the world. However, combining this technology with a pulp or bioproduct mill is progressive.
After the investigation with ANDRITZ, the project will proceed to the pilot phase in Metsä Group’s mill area in Rauma in 2025.
Wood-based carbon dioxide to replace fossil raw materials
If carbon dioxide capture proves viable, a new high-volume wood-based raw material will emerge for the forest industry.
"Our goal at Metsä Group is to process northern wood into increasingly valuable products. If implemented, carbon dioxide capture would open up opportunities for a significant new chemical industry in Finland and boost the Finnish hydrogen economy,” says Sari Pajari-Sederholm, Metsä Group’s EVP, Strategy.
Metsä Group generates about 12 million metric tons of wood-based carbon dioxide annually, which could be used as a raw material for fossil material substitutes as the related technology and markets develop. For example, renewable hydrogen and wood-based carbon dioxide could be used to produce synthetic methane and methanol to be used as raw material in the chemical industry.
Mondi Invests in Sustainable Production at Czech Plant
Mondi has announced that, as part of the company’s efforts to cut water use and increase water recycling in its operations, it plans to further modernise its activation tanks and other infrastructure around the wastewater treatment plant at the Mondi Štĕtí plant in the Czech Republic.
"All waste water generated from our production processes is treated in wastewater treatment plants on-site and/or off-site before being discharged to the aquatic environment to ensure wastewater quality meets regulatory requirements.
Mondi Štĕtí (Czech Republic) runs our largest industrial wastewater treatment plant, which is the second largest in Czech Republic. Calculated based on municipal waste water, it has a treatment capacity for a population of 600,000,” the business said in a statement.
In 2023, the Mondi Štětí plant assessed further technical improvements and installed new screens, according to the statement.
