Technical Bulletin No. 0763: Membrane Technology Applications in the Pulp and Paper Industry

Literature on the application of membrane technology in the pulp and paper industry has been reviewed, and information on research activities and full-scale experience with pressure-driven membrane processes such as reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, and ultrafiltration, as well as electrochemical membrane processes such as electrodialysis, have been presented. The available information shows that since the early 1970s, a number of investigators have evaluated the use of these membrane processes for separating color, COD, BOD, and specific chemicals from pulp and paper mill process streams and effluents. In particular, ultrafiltration processes have been utilized in pulp and paper mills for water recovery, concentration of process streams and recovery of chemicals in coating effluents.