Recycling, sustainable resource management, and the use of renewables are the ways for decarbonising paper production in Cartiere di Guarcino Spa

Cartiere di Guarcino Spa (CDG) is a paper mill specialised in the production of decorative paper for high and low pressure and for the flooring industry. The plant covers an area of 144,000 m² and produces 50,000 tonnes of paper annually, employing 190 people.

The company is strongly oriented toward the circular economy — both in the sustainable management of the natural capital underlying paper production (pulp, water, and energy), and in its integrated business model.

The paper plant produces all the electricity needed by the paper mill through a cogeneration plant that generates both electricity and heat, powered by sustainable renewable bioliquids — specifically, animal by-products. It also focuses on virtuous water management and recycling. In fact, a large part of the raw material (65% of the paper production inputs) comes from recycled paper.

CDGhas been awarded as one of the best practices of Legambiente’s national campaign I cantieri della transizione ecologica (The construction sites of the ecological transition), dedicated to those projects and good practices that combine sustainability and innovation.

Towards a next step of sustainability, CDG is developing a pilot project together with other partners, in order to reduce the waste energy into the environment and to use such result heat to produce further steam (at 5,5 barg) for industrial purposes.

Potential future developments

The sustainable approach to production, in addition to green energy, follows the circularity of raw materials through maximizing recovery and renewability.

The above-described system, which uses the waste heat of only one engine, could be doubled, whereas the waste heat of a third engine is already used as heating in the winter season and , as well, as pre-heating of the engine combustion air. The company’s R&D department has also obtained a Cradle-to-Cradle certification, which includes five criteria that CDG already meets: renewable materials and their reuse through recovery and recycling; production of at least 50% of energy from renewable sources; water resource management, particularly the use of water and quality of effluents; and social responsibility, based on socially sustainable work practices.  This will lead to the introduction of new products into the decorative paper sector, identified by  their high level of sustainability and circular criteria.

Current contribution

Cartiere di Guarcino (CDG), through the company Bio Energia Guarcino srl (a controlled subsidiary), installed in 2010 a cogeneration plant producing both electricity and heat, powered by sustainable bioliquid. This plant, with a capacity of 20 MW (electricity) and 5 MW (thermal energy – steam), meet the paper mill’s entire electricity needs and roughly 35% of its thermal needs. The sustainable approach is not only ensured by green energy, but also by the circularity of the process, which involves the use of certified and renewable raw materials (by products) and maximising their use through recovery.

The further innovation to be implemented is the recovery of hot water, generated by cogeneration plant cooling system, to produce further steam. This application offers a significant potential in the industrial sector where waste energy (as hot water) could be enhanced and led to a reduction of fossil fuel (in this case natural gas), by using a thermal source available. The project aims to use some 1,3 MW_th hot water (from one of the engine cooling system unit) to send to two system connected in parallel: 1) a Heat Pump connected to a mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) system uses 0,6 MW_th to produce 0,8 tons steam at 5,5 barg and 2) an Adsorbtion heat Transformer (AHT) system uses 0,7 MW_th to produce 2,4 tons steam at 5,5 barg. The electrical power needed for the 2 systems is nearly 0,3 MW_el and the output of the innovative system accounts 20% of the whole steam demand.