Swedes to invest in paper mill algae project
January 28, 2013
By The Paper Province
January 28, 2013, Värmland, SE – The Swedish governmental agency for innovation systems, Vinnova, has decided to invest four million Swedish kronor over three years in a project that uses micro-algae to produce bio-oil from the waste products of pulp and paper mills.
The money will be used to build a test facility in pilot scale at Bäckhammar mill outside Kristinehamn. The project is led by SP Technical Research Institute, with the help of The Paper Province, Nordic Paper Bäckhammar, and eleven other partners from industry, academia and the public sector. The total budget is a little over SEK 8 Million.
The project aims to develop a process that effectively allows the algae to take care of nutrients in mill waste water and bind carbon dioxide from flue gases. Bio-oil can then be extracted from the algae and in turn be refined into several different products, such as bio-diesel, bio-plastics and lubricating oil. In addition, waste heat can be utilized to keep the growing environment at a suitable temperature.
The project therefore has the potential to provide environmental benefits and new business opportunities for the mills. Initially the project will focus on the pulp and paper industry, but it will also be of interest to other industries and applications.
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