Collaborative research around renewable resource

The Swedish government, founding authorities and industry invest in research concerning black liquor. It is about a technology based on gasification that will recover chemicals and energy from this by-product within the pulping industry. A national research and development program have been conducted via collaboration with universities, companies and authorities.

Black liquor is a by-product in the digestive process where cellulose fibres are dissolved from wood chips by an alkaline liquid called white liquor. With modern gasification technology it can be a valuable resource for production of more pulp, and also electricity, fuel for transportation and other new synthesis products for the pulping industry. The electricity and fuel count as renewable (green) energy alternatives as the original source is wood. Swedish companies, with the technology developer Chemrec AB in the front line, are in the forefront of black liquor gasification (BLG), i.e. with extensive patents. Through the decided program that will perfromed during 2007-2009, the technology will be developed further and enhance the commercial attraction.

The research and development program is a collaboration between the forest companies Kappa Kraftliner, SCA, Sveaskog, and Södra, Vattenfall, Chemrec, The Swedish Energy Agency, the research foundation Mistra, and the regional authority of Norrbotten.

The research and development activities are coordinated by Energy Technology Centre in Piteå (ETC) with projects at Chalmers University of technology, Chemrec, Luleå University of Technology, STFI and Umeå University.

For more information contact:

- Jonas Rudberg, Managing Director, Chemrec AB, +46(0)8-440 40 56
- Rikard Gebart, Managing Director, ETC, +46(0)911-23 23 81