The paper mill in Newberg, Oregon needs an environmentally friendly way to dispose of the waste (sludge) that results from their paper making process. Their current method for dealing with this sludge is incineration. The problem with this is that it is expensive and causes pollution. I need to find a way to either:
- Find an environmentally friendly way to dispose of the waste
- Make something of the waste
- Neutralize the odor
- Make the waste less of a fire hazard
I decided that making something of the waste would be the best way to go, because the paper mill might be able to make some money off of what would usually be thrown away. To find out what can be made, I needed to look at the chemical composition of the sludge.
Cellulose (C6H10O5)n 50-80%
Calcium Carbonate CaCO3 8-12%
Silicon Si 2-10%
Aluminum Al <1-10%
The paper mill sludge is mostly composed of cellulose fibers. Cellulose is a natural polymer, with six carbon atoms, ten atoms, and five atoms in each monomer.
Cellulose can be used to reinforce concrete, making it be able to withstand the same tensile stress as carbon and steel microfibers1 . It would be a better alternative to the concrete companies, as it would be cheaper than rebar.
I need to figure out how the paper mill can prepare the sludge to be ready for the concrete making company they would sell it to. Also, I need to find out how the company would use the product in their concrete. Most importantly, I need to see if this would be beneficial to both the paper mill and the concrete company.
1 http://www4.uwm.edu/cbu/Papers/2003%20CBU%20Reports/REP-501.pdf
1 http://www4.uwm.edu/cbu/Papers/2003%20CBU%20Reports/REP-501.pdf
Zoe, what property did you test? What data did you collect? What preparation would be needed? How are other concrete companies using this? What criteria would you use to decide if this process is beneficial to the paper mill? To the concrete company?
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