Innovations & Investments
More biochemicals for growing demand
MARKKU RIMPILÄINEN AND MARJA BERISA, Photo: Mikko Tikka / Fotonokka
The growing bioeconomy needs more crude tall oil and crude turpentine as feedstock. In the future, Metsä Fibre’s Kemi bioproduct mill will annually supply the market with an additional 50,000 tonnes of biochemicals.
The use of crude tall oil and crude turpentine, generated in con- nection with pulp production, is increasing sharply. “Demand now exceeds supply many times over,” says Katja Salmenkivi , Sales Director for Metsä Fibre’s biochemicals. Growth in global demand is driven by two things. First, the use of fossil raw materials must be reduced, so many sectors of indus- try need more renewable and recyclable bio-based raw materials. Second, crude tall oil (CTO) and crude sulphate turpentine (CST) are extremely versatile raw materials for the chemical industry and can be refined into a variety of products. “Crude tall oil and crude turpentine are organic compounds that can be used for pretty much anything. What you ultimate- ly produce is dictated by the potential demand for the product, and whether you can achieve adequate industrial efficiency in the process,” says Salmenkivi. Like crude oil but renewable Just like fossil crude oil, tall oil and turpentine are a mixture of molecules that can be distilled to obtain various fractions for different purposes. Crude tall oil is refined into fatty acids, rosin acids, sterols and so on. These are used to replace fossil materials in many industrial processes and products. Crude tall oil is also made into biofuels.
Tall oil is used in products such as paints, soaps, adhesives, lubricants, and coatings. Metsä Fibre’s pulp customers use adhe sives containing tall oil in paperboard production to glue different layers together. Crude turpentine is also processed through distillation. Turpen- tine itself is a widely used bio-based solvent. It can be found in detergents, flavourings, and fragrances, for example. In the rubber industry, turpentine is used to improve the flexibility of rubber. Only non-edible raw materials allowed Biochemicals made of Nordic wood do well in sustainability comparisons of different raw materials. Sustainable forest man- agement ensures forests are renewed and that they bind carbon while growing. In contrast to many other bio-based raw materials, trees do not require separate land area or take agricultural land from food. The EU is working to apply the cascading principle to biochem- icals. It requires natural resources to be used and recycled for as long as possible and allocated to the most valuable purposes possible. “While the legislation is not yet complete, the goal is clear. In the future, non-edible biomaterial will be preferred feedstocks for use in fuel production or for other industrial purposes. This points
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