In Sweden, forest industry major SCA has announced that it is investing some SEK 50 million (≈ EUR 4.9 million) in a number of upgrades to reduce the environmental impact of its Härnösand wood pellet mill. The whole project will be operational by summer 2022.
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Wood pellets have been produced since 1992 at the Murbergsviken industrial site in Härnösand. SCA’s pellets are produced from residue products in the form of sawdust from the company’s sawmills.
However, in the drying process, some terpenes and resin acids – natural substances found in wood – are emitted. When vapour and particles are subjected to sunlight, a refraction phenomenon can sometimes occur that gives the vapours a blueish colour and odour.
We are now investing in new technology, a wet electrical filter, to better capture the particles and thereby minimize the occasions when blue haze occurs, said Per-Arne Persson, Mill Manager at SCA Bionorr.
SCA will make technical measurements to confirm improved performance after the project is finished but an important contribution will be the input from a local “odour panel”, that SCA will engage during the project.
We want to learn of the experiences of our neighbours through the panel, before and after the realization of the project. This will be valuable knowledge for us, said Per-Arne Persson.
In addition to this, a project to further improve the treatment of process and surface water is underway. A new sedimentation basin is already in use and another one is being constructed and will be operational in the autumn of 2021.