Bio-oil and Biochar as Additional Revenue Streams in South American Kraft Pulp Mills

Pulp and paper companies are seeking opportunities beyond the traditional production of market pulp. One interesting alternative is to expand their revenue streams by adding value to the wood residues that they generate. Considering that excess heat and electricity can be used for biomass pre-treatment and conversion, the aim of this work is to show how the integrated production of bio-oil or biochar would affect the operation of a 1.5M t/a kraft pulp mill in South America. Detailed balances with a focus on modern eucalyptus mills are then developed for this purpose. Since the attractiveness of increasing renewable energy is often influenced by energy policies or local market development for the new products, the target was not to determine the best investment decision. Nevertheless, an economic analysis was performed to observe the main variables affecting the viability of these technologies. The results showed that satisfactory internal rates of return can be achieved for multiple technologies depending on the price of electricity, torrefied pellets, or bio-oil.