An ingenious Finnish approach to forestry uses the whole tree, recycling energy and byproducts
vast forest lives a monster with a voracious appetite. Once, it would have been called a pulp mill. But after a recent makeover costing €1.2bn it is now known as a bioproducts mill—and as such is one of the biggest in the world. This sprawling plant, near Äänekoski, a town in the centre of the country, consumes 6.5m cubic metres of wood a year.
As for the mill itself, Metsä’s stated aim is to make best use of every part of a tree, both to maximise the value of its wood and, where possible, to continue to lock up its carbon. To this end, besides the bread-and-butter business of turning out planks and plywood, the firm has come up with several new ideas. Three are of particular interest. One is a better way of converting wood pulp into fibre that can be turned into textiles.
Pieces of timber too small to process as logs—including offcuts and thinnings from the forest—are chipped and pulped to make paper. Much of this papermaking is done by other firms, but the Äänekoski mill itself produces a lightweight board that has a shiny surface suitable for high-quality printing. It does this by squeezing together layers of wood pulp that have had their fibres carefully arranged. The mill churns out enough of this paperboard to be folded into 32m cartons a day.
Caustic soda and carbon disulphide are, however, toxic and bad for the environment. Metsä’s researchers have come up with an alternative process involving a solvent based on salt. This is, according to Katariina Kemppainen, a development manager at Metsä, a more environmentally friendly alternative. To start with, a pilot plant will produce up to 500 tonnes of textile fibres a year. If successful, a much bigger plant with more capacity will be built.
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