UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
NEWS RELEASE
Contacts:
Jane M. Sanders
(803) 725-9724 Beeper; (706) 785-8289; [email protected]
Marie Fulmer
(706) 869-9703; Beeper: (803) 867-0284; [email protected]
FOR RELEASE JUNE 5, 1997
Researchers to study how paper industry can reduce water and chemical use
AIKEN, S.C. -- Two Savannah River Ecology Laboratory researchers are among four scientists who have been awarded a $115,000 grant to study how the nation's paper industry can save money by reducing its need for water and chemicals.
Drs. Paul Bertsch and Doug Hunter, both members of the Ecology Laboratory's Advanced Analytical Center for Environmental Science (AACES), will receive $30,000 this year, and another $30,000 next year, to do advanced X-ray research at the U.S. Department of Energyπs National Synchrotron Light Source, a user facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y. The University of Georgia operates the Ecology Laboratory under a cooperative agreement with the Energy Department at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.
Heading this research project is Dr. Alan Rudie of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology in Atlanta. Also collaborating in the study is Dr. Angus Wilkinson of Georgia Tech.
Funding for the first half of the grant was recently approved by the Georgia General Assembly and Gov. Zell Millerπs office and is administered through the Georgia Consortium of Technical Competitiveness.
"This is a perfect example of how our fundamental research at Savannah River Ecology Laboratory can be directly related to an industry problem," Dr. Hunter said. "Here is a case where we are able to spend outside funding on the use of Department of Energy (DOE) facilities to help an American industry work more efficiently and address environmental issues."
The research is important to both DOE and the American public because the pulp and paper industry is estimated to be the third largest energy-using industry in America, Dr. Hunter said. If successful, the study will allow the industry to reduce water use, lower their costs and reduce environmental discharges.
The bulk of the money going to Drs. Bertsch and Hunter will be used to support the operation of the Brookhaven microprobe beam line, an advanced research facility at which both Ecology Laboratory researchers are participating research team members. The Brookhaven beam line is among the world's brightest X-ray sources, millions of times more powerful than normal medical X-rays.
One of the primary technical problems being studied is how to eliminate iron and other trace metals early on in the papermaking process. As pulp and paper plants turn away from using chlorine-containing bleaching reagents, they have begun using peroxide in the bleaching process. But iron, which is taken out of the ground by trees, reacts with the peroxide causing it to break down into hydrogen and oxygen. If more of the iron can be eliminated before the bleaching process, less of the expensive peroxide will be needed, Dr. Rudie said.
The Georgia Consortium for Technological Competitiveness (GCTC) in Pulp and Paper was established by the state of Georgia. It funds projects aimed at helping pulp and paper producers and suppliers in Georgia.
The key qualifications for funding for GCTC projects, Dr. Rudie said, are: significance to Georgia industry competitiveness; matching funds of at least one to one; collaboration by Georgia Consortium Institutions (the major research universities in Georgia, the Herty Foundation and the Institute of Paper Science and Technology); and the economic impact of success.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION: To conduct interviews, you may contact the researchers directly, or seek assistance from one of the public information officers listed above.
1. Dr. Paul Bertsch, (803) 725-5113 or (803) 725-5637. Email: [email protected] 2. Dr. Doug Hunter, (803) 725-5639 or (803) 725-0654. Email: [email protected] 3. Dr. Alan Rudie, (404) 894-9706. Email: [email protected] 4. Dr. Angus Wilkinson, (404) 894-4036.
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