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Boise explores potential to sequester paper mill emissions underground

Battelle and Boise Inc. will conduct the first-ever feasibility study of new carbon capture and storage technology in the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry, under a US$500,000 project announced by the U.S. Department of Energy.

This project will focus on capture technology developed by Fluor Corporation and will take place at Boise’s pulp and paper mill near Wallula, Washington.

“This study provides us an opportunity to assess the feasibility of safely and permanently storing CO2 in deep underground basalt formations for a commercial-scale operation,” said Pete McGrail, Laboratory Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and chief scientist for the project. Battelle operates PNNL for DOE.

Coupling the capture system with permanent geologic sequestration of the CO2 represents an opportunity for Boise – and the pulp and paper industry in general – to seek a potentially new revenue source from carbon credits that would be generated once a fully-functional U.S. market for carbon credits has developed.

Fluor will design a customized version of its Econamine FG PlusSM carbon capture technology for operation with the specialized chemical composition of exhaust gases produced from combustion of black liquor fuels. Fluor will determine whether any special modifications are needed to accommodate flue gas produced at the mill, including potential side benefits of reducing emissions of sulfur compounds, which produce odors. The technology has been commercially proven on numerous industrial facilities for more than 20 years. This will be the first use on flue gas for the paper industry.