Main Features of the project:
CO2 Emissions saved (tCO2)
Investment: approx. 5 Mio euro
Partnerships (if available): Cosun Beet Company (Netherlands)
Crown Native, WFU paper produced with sugarbeet fibers
Project Description
Crown Native is a paper developed by Crown Van Gelder International B.V. (CVG). Twenty percent of the wood free cellulose fibers have been replaced by sugarbeet fibers coming from the residual flow from the sugar plant of Cosun Beet Company, cooperative of 9.000 Dutch farmers. Sugar beet fibers contain hardly any lignin. When there is no lignin , there is no need to take it out in order to still produce a ‘wood free’ (lignin free) paper. The removal of the lignin is an energy intensive process step, which can now be avoided. At CVG we have designed a new process of selecting, storing and treating these sugar beet fibers and incorporating them in our stock preparation. We have designed the process in such a way that we have created a continuous production process, as is usual at a paper mill. All together this has given us a unique knowledge position.
Crown Native still has all the benefits of a wood-free uncoated or light coated paper, though it has a 16% lower environmental footprint compared to our standard WFU paper. All our customers who appreciate the benefits of a fresh fiber based WFU paper, therefor have the possibility to switch to Crown Native.
What makes your project innovative relatively to decarbonisation?
We have carried out a Life Cycle Analysis (According to the new EU Directive, carried out by Ecochain) The scope was from the moment a tree is harvested in a FSC/PEFC certified wood until the moment that 1 tonne of paper was leaving CVG. A huge reduction on the environmental impact was seen. Comparing the production of 1 tonne dry of wood cellulose to 1 tonne dry of sugar beet pulp, the reduction is 80%. By replacing 20% of the wood cellulose: 0,20 x 0,80 = 16% reduction. This is due to the fact that an energy intensive process step can be avoided (removal of the lignin), the fact that an industrial agricultural residual stream is used from the sugar production (and not a primary souce) and the fact that the fibers are produced locally, on one place, nearby the paper mill. Very few transport is needed to get at the fibers at our premises. All these factors have a huge impact on the environmental foot print and the reduction of CO2 emission along the complete production and logistic chain.
Project Purpose
At CVG we wanted to know which parameters were influencing the environmental footprint of our paper. The LCA analysis clearly showed that at our papermill the by far most dominant factor is the emission of our gas fired power plant., but looking at the complete production chain, so from harvesting the trees until the moment a reel of paper is leaving CVG, then the production and usage of the WFU pulp is by far the most dominant factor determining the total environmental foot print (= sum of Global heating potential, NOx/SOx emissions, water usage and land usage). So, it made sense to look into alternative paper fibers. After 1,5 years of examining all kind of fibers, we came to the conclusion that the sugar beet pulp is offering not only a huge reduction of the environmental footprint, but also adds strength to the paper. This combination made it the ideal candidate for producing paper.
Ofcourse we had to overcome a lot of challenges. No one ever before had been treating sugar beet fibers making them suitable for paper production. We did successful small scale test, but then installing the big production equipment at our paper mill, unfortunately the results were completely different. Our Technologists and engineers had to figure out themselves how to improve and replicate the small scale results.
Also taking out most of the manual handling was (and is) not easy and turning it into a continuous process. But last year we have reached the right scale of operation and reached a reasonable cost price. Also thanks to the long term commitment of our launching customers who had the patience and the willingness to make extra efforts at there side.
Project Evaluation
We have carried out many trial runs on our paper machine. Every time we were learning and solving problems. The sugar beet fiber is a hydrophilic fibre with good binding properties, but it is reacting differently than standard wood cellulose. We had to understand how the grinding and refining is influencing the retention chemistry, the runnability of the paper machine and the properties of the paper. This has cost a lot of time and money besides the investment in new equipment.
Jan Rops, Product Manager Crown Native:
“For being a relative small paper mill, producing 160-170.000 tonnes of paper, we have again ‘changed the world of paper’. We have done it 18 years ago by introducing our world famous ‘Letsgo high speed inkjet paper’ for transactional print, commercial print mail, or for example book print and now we are doing it again by incorporating on an industrial scale alternative fibers from agricultural residual streams into papermaking. Fibers that otherwise would have gone to biogas production plants or biomass power plants. So, we have been able to move valuable organic materials up on the ‘ladder of Moerman’. An important step in making our economy more circular and more sustainable.
This was not an easy process and we have to thank also our development partners and our launching customers. Most of our launching customers are in food packaging market or commercial print market. They take profit of all the benefits of Crown Native. It has a 16% lower environmental footprint, it is a food safe paper, it is a very strong paper, it is a ‘permanent’ paper and it has a special “ecological” look, as you can notice small cork particles coming from the skin of the sugar beet. Those particles directly tell that it is a different paper. It tells the story of the origin of the paper. Although the paper is made with sugarbeet fibers, it is still a white paper that can be printed with all common printing techniques and with all PMS/company colours. By choosing Crown Native as their preferred paper, our customers help the environment and the help making the economy more circular. Not to forget that they can tell a unique story !
In the near future we expect to present also other types of paper with other alternative fibers, which also reduce the environmental footprint and help to make the economy more circular and more sustainable”.
