News Environment & Sustainability Pulp
Doug Routley visits Catalyst Crofton to see impact of $5.85 million CleanBC funding

Doug Routley, Parliamentary Secretary for Forests, visited Paper Excellence’s Catalyst Crofton mill on June 3 to see how the $5.85 million of CleanBC funding will impact its operation.

Catalyst Crofton is investing the CleanBC fund in its GHG emission reduction project. This project is a combination of three process improvements that for a significant reduction in total steam energy demand, resulting in decreased natural gas usage at the mill.

The three areas of focus for this project are:

1. Re-engineering an unused diffusion washer with state-of-the-art diffusion washing technology to maximize the black liquor fuel quality while using less steam energy.
2. Investing in fibre filter equipment to remove valuable wood fibre from the black liquor fuel and increase the efficiency of the evaporation process.
3. Automate the cleaning process of Evaporator #3 to improve steam efficiency through reduced evaporator downtime.

“We’re very appreciative for the ongoing support that Doug has extended and that he could join us today and learn about the investment’s the BC government is helping us make at Catalyst Crofton,” said Graham Kissack, vice-president of environment, health and safety and corporate communications. “These upgrades will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and those of B.C., while helping us remain more globally competitive as we continue to produce the renewable and sustainable forest products that our world needs.”

The CleanBC Industry Fund provincial government program invests a portion of the government’s carbon tax revenues into businesses that are working on emission reduction projects.

“The B.C. government’s new vision for the forest sector is one where all British Columbians benefit from this precious resource while protecting the environment and mitigating climate change,” said Doug Routley, Parliamentary Secretary for Forests. “Paper Excellence is showing leadership by working with their partners to address climate change while protecting good paying, family supporting jobs in our community.”

Crofton already has reduced its carbon footprint by over 70 percent since the Kyoto Accord in 1990. This CleanBC project will further reduce the mill’s GHG emissions by another 17 percent or about 32,000 tonnes of C0₂e per year by reducing the operation of the mill’s natural gas power boiler.