II.B.3.

Economic Trends

World Market Competition

The U.S. produces roughly 30 percent of the world’s

paper and paperboard. The pulp and paper industry is
one of the most important industries for the balance of
trade in the U.S. This trade balance increased through
most of the 1990s. In 1999, exports from SIC codes
261-263 were $8.5 billion. In recent years, however,
exports have been declining and imports have been
increasing. Between 1997 and 2000, exports declined
5.5% and imports increased by more than 20%. The
declining exports and increasing imports are partly due
to a strong dollar in this period and the recent slow
down of the U.S. economy (AF&PA, 2001).

The U.S. industry has several advantages over the rest

of the world market, including modern mills, a highly
skilled work force, a large domestic market, and an
efficient transportation infrastructure. Major export
markets for pulp are Japan, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and
France. The U.S. Department of Commerce anticipates
exports to grow faster than production for domestic
markets through 2004. World Trade Organization
(WTO) efforts to reduce tariffs include those on pulp
and paper products; if these are successful, the U.S.
industry expects pulp and paper export rates to
increase even further.
Sector Notebook Project 11 November 2002 Pulp and Paper Industry
Introduction, Background, and Scope
However, pulp and paper are commodities and therefore prices are
vulnerable to global competition. Countries such as Brazil, Chile, and
Indonesia have built modern, advanced pulp facilities. These countries
have faster-growing trees and lower labor costs. Latin American and
European countries also are adding papermaking capacity. Furthermore,
the strong value of the dollar has made imports less expensive relative to
domestically-produced goods. Because of this increased foreign
competition, imports of paper to the U.S. market are expected to increase
three percent annually through 2004 (U.S. Department of Commerce,
2000
Table 12: Common Air Pollutants From Pulp and Paper Processes
Source Type Kraft recovery furnace Fine particulates, nitrogen oxides Fly
ash from hog fuel and coal-fired burners Coarse particulates Sulfite mill
operations Sulfur oxides, ammonia Kraft pulping and recovery processes
 Reduced sulfur gases Chip digesters and liquor evaporation Volatile
organic compounds Pulp drying (non-integrated mills) Volatile organic
compounds All combustion processes Nitrogen oxides

Data Table Column Heading Definitions

The following definitions are based upon standard

definitions developed by EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory
Program. The categories below represent the possible
pollutant destinations that can be reported.

ON-SITE RELEASES -- are an on-site discharge of a

toxic chemical to the environment. This includes
emissions to the air, discharges to bodies of water,
releases at the facility to land, as well as contained
disposal into underground injection wells.

Releases to Air (Point and Fugitive Air Emissions)

-- Include all air emissions from industry activity. Point
emissions occur through confined air streams as found
in stacks, ducts, or pipes. Fugitive emissions include
losses from equipment leaks, or evaporative losses
from impoundments, spills, or leaks.

Releases to Water (Surface Water Discharges) --

encompass any releases going directly to streams,
rivers, lakes, oceans, or other bodies of water. Any
estimates for storm water runoff and non-point losses
must also be included.

Releases to Land -- includes disposal of toxic

chemicals in waste to on-site landfills, land treated or
incorporation into soil, surface impoundments,
Sector Notebook Project 47 November 2002 Pulp and Paper Industry
Chemical Releases and Transfers
spills, leaks, or waste piles. These activities must occur
within the facility's boundaries for inclusion in this
category.

Underground Injection -- is a contained release of a

fluid into a subsurface well for the purpose of waste
disposal.

TRANSFERS -- is a transfer of toxic chemicals in

wastes to a facility that is geographically or physically
separate from the facility reporting under TRI. The
quantities reported represent a movement of the
chemical away from the reporting facility. Except for
off-site transfers for disposal, these quantities do not
necessarily represent entry of the chemical into the
environment.

Transfers to POTWs -- are waste waters transferred

through pipes or sewers to a publicly owned treatments
works (POTW). Treatment and chemical removal
depend on the chemical's nature and treatment
methods used. Chemicals not treated or destroyed by
the POTW are generally released to surface waters or
land filled within the sludge. Metals and metal
compounds transferred to POTWs are considered as
released to surface water.

Transfers to Recycling -- are sent off-site for the

purposes of regenerating or recovering still valuable
materials. Once these chemicals have been recycled,
they may be returned to the originating facility or sold
commercially.

Transfers to Energy Recovery -- are wastes

combusted off-site in industrial furnaces for energy
recovery. Treatment of a chemical by incineration is
not considered to be energy recovery.

Transfers to Treatment -- are wastes moved off-site

for either neutralization, incineration, biological
destruction, or physical separation. In some cases, the
chemicals are not destroyed but prepared for further
waste management.
 Transfers to Disposal -- are wastes taken to another
facility for disposal generally as a release to land or as
an injection underground.

IV.A. EPA Toxics Release Inventory For the Pulp and Paper
Industry

According to Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data from

SIC codes 261-263, the pulp and paper industry
released (to the air, water, or land) and transferred
(shipped off-site) a total of approximately 263 million
pounds of
Sector Notebook Project 48 November 2002 Pulp and Paper Industry
Chemical Releases and Transfers
toxic chemicals during calendar year 2000. This 1

represents approximately 2.5 percent of the total

pounds of TRI chemicals released and transferred by all
reporting facilities that year.

Media comparison of TRI releases

The total amount of TRI toxic chemicals generated by

the pulp and paper industry is a gross profile of the
types and relative amounts of chemical outputs from
mill processes. Additional information which can be
related back to possible compliance requirements is
available from the distribution of chemical releases
across specific media within the environment. The TRI
data requires filers to separate the total releases for
the pulp and paper industry for air, water, and land
releases. This distribution across media can also be
compared to the profile of other industry sectors.

The pulp and paper industry releases 66 percent of its

total TRI poundage to the air, approximately 22 percent
to water and POTWs, and 9 percent is disposed on land
(on site and off site). This release profile differs from
other TRI industries which average approximately 63
percent to land, 27 percent to air, and 4 percent to
water and POTWs. A larger proportion of water releases
correlates with the water intensive processes of the
pulp and paper industry. An average mill requires 10
million gallons of influent water per day and will
produce the corresponding amount of effluent waters.
Examining the pulp and paper industry's TRI reported
toxic chemicals by chemical, highlights the likely
origins of industry releases (see Table 14).

Air releases can be traced to a variety of sources.

Approximately 63 percent are methanol, a by-product
of the pulp making process. The other major air toxic
chemicals, such as chlorinated compounds and sulfuric
acid, originate in the bleaching stage. Methanol is the
most frequently reported chemical by pulp and paper
mills, and it accounts for approximately 15 percent of
the water releases and 97 percent of transfers to
POTWs by the industry. Overall, methanol represents
roughly 60 percent of the pulp and paper industry's TRI
releases and transfers.
 The diversity of processes in the pulp and paper
industry can be seen in the diversity of chemicals found
in the TRI report. The TRI chemical released and
transferred by the second largest number of mills is
ammonia, which is used as a buffer in acid sulfite
pulping (Air & Waste Management Association, 1992).
In addition, some TRI chemicals are only reported by a
few mills, suggesting process specific needs such as
paper finishing or use in wet additives.

Industry Sector
PM2
NO2 SO2
CO PM10 5 VOC
61,35 32,53
8,039 45,341 10,926 2,109
Metal Mining 8 4
Oil and Gas 151,76 366,79 94,54
4,607 4,379 226,208
Extraction 3 3 9
Non-Fuel,
Non-Metal 48,76 20,95
27,001 15,747 16,874 3,806
Mineral 0 6
Mining
18,28
Textiles 7,448 15,043 5,343 3,386 25,544
6
Lumber and
142,95 57,00 38,33 100,7
Wood 37,313 9,189
5 9 7 61
Products
Wood
62,45
Furniture 7,046 3,008 6,905 5,260 2,779
7
and Fixtures
Pulp and 567,54 318,26 85,40 63,57 488,02 144,3
Paper 2 3 3 7 9 73
1,723
604 2,466 1,723 80,982
Printing 1,915
Inorganic 176,69 19,54 12,58 43,56
94,938 201,994
Chemicals 7 9 6 3
Plastic
Resins and 83,36
28,890 56,946 5,493 4,155 71,815
Man-made 3
Fibers
Pharmaceuti 13,40
2,662 14,676 2,273 1,455 17,132
cals 7
Organic 128,45 166,39 34,63 16,90 159,3
102,461
Chemicals 4 8 7 0 19
Agricultural 10,25 12,70
18,492 65,389 7,311 65,765
Chemicals 7 0
Petroleum 438,37 298,60 33,62 26,87 161,2
478,998
Refining 5 2 0 0 07
Rubber and 87,25
2,515 9,565 5,209 3,217 20,368
Plastic 8
Stone, Clay,
161,11 372,67 127,2 78,64 32,68
Glass and 312,740
3 9 83 7 7
Concrete
Iron and 1,080,5 105,79 60,96 47,50 44,60
307,981
Steel 76 4 2 1 8
Metal 104,35 22,39 15,65 17,28
6,298 4,770
Castings 0 3 4 5
Nonferrous 418,64 30,882 24,01 17,43 244,413 8,663
 Metals 7 9 3
Fabricated
90,57
Metal 6,029 11,672 4,691 3,264 18,742
5
Products
Electronics
27,45
and 22,105 6,428 3,184 2,349 6,882
3
Computers
Motor
95,86
Vehicle 13,439 15,388 4,016 2,270 24,123
1
Assembly
Aerospace 2,832 7,413 1,834 1,287 5,363 7,440
Shipbuilding
471 2,139 1,574 753 2,537 4,984
and Repair
Ground
711,15 6,681,1 285,9 165,0 12,976,2 191,0
Transportati
5 63 32 29 79 63
on
Water
Transportati 83 153 2,162 733 66 6,787
on
Air
Transportati 5,231 2,079 186 140 90 2,398
on
Fossil Fuel
436,15 5,789,0 252,5 141,0 12,667,5 54,72
Electric
1 99 39 02 67 7
Power
Dry Cleaning 217 438 190 117 220 3,163
Source: U.S. EPA Office of Air and Radiation, AIRS Database, 2001.

Table 3-1. GHG Emission Sources at Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Facilities
Emissions Source
Estimated
number of
sources
nationwidea
Types of pulp and
paper mills where
emissions sources
typically are
located GHG emissions
Subpart of 40 CFR
Part XX where
emissions reporting
methodologies
addressed
Fossil fuel-fired Boilers 786 All types of pulp and
paper mills
CO2, CH4, N2O Subpart B*
Thermal Oxidizers,
RTOs 48 Kraft pulp mills CO2, CH4, N2O Subpart B*
Gas Turbines 28 All types of pulp and
paper mills
CO2, CH4, N2O Subpart B*
Biomass Units
200
Chemical pulp
mills(kraft, soda,
sulfite, semichemical)
CO2, biomass-
CO2, CH4, N2O
Subpart B*
Chemical Recovery
Furnaces-Kraft & Soda 168 Kraft and soda pulp
mills
CO2, biomass-
CO2, CH4, N2O
Subpart V
Chemical Recovery
Furnaces-Sulfite 13 Sulfite pulp mills CO2, biomass-
CO2, CH4, N2O
Subpart V
Chemical Recovery
Combustion Units:
Standalone
Semichemical
12
Stand-alone
semichemical pulp
mills
CO2, biomass-
CO2, CH4, N2O
Subpart V
Kraft and Soda Lime
kilns 164 Kraft and soda pulp
mills
CO2, biomass-
CO2, CH4, N2O
Subpart V
Makeup Chemicals
(CaCO3, Na2CO3)
≤ 55 Kraft and soda pulp
mills
CO2 Subpart V
Flue gas desulfurization
systems ≤ 5
Mills that operate
coal-fired boilers
required to limit SO2
emissions
CO2 Subpart B*
Wastewater treatment:
anaerobic 18 Chemical pulp mills
(kraft, mostly)
CH4 Subpart CC*
Onsite landfills 100 All types of pulp and
paper mills
CH4 Subpart BB*