ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF SOME NEW METHODS FOR PRODUCINGBLEACHED-PULPS FROM AUSTRALIAN EUCALYPT WOODS

Bleached eucalypt kraft pulps manufactured in prospective Australian g reenfield pulp mills with elemental chlorine free (ECF) and totally ch lorine free (TCF) bleaching sequences were compared using life cycle a ssessment (LCA). The comparison was restricted to two wood resources f rom different geographical areas: plantation wood from Western Austral ia and mature wood from Northern Tasmania. The starting point of the s tudy was the tree harvesting stage and the end point was dried pulp. T he main differences between the cases were a result of the different p ulp yields of mature and plantation wood. In the Tasmanian mature wood case, more wood and slightly more fossil fuel were needed, but more p ower was available for external use than in the Western Australian pla ntation case. The fossil fuel requirement was mainly for transport and wood harvesting. The pulp mills produced more effluent, emissions to air and solid waste than the wood harvesting or transport. However the contribution of the latter activity to certain air emissions and foss il fuel consumption was appreciable. There were minor differences betw een the ECF and TCF cases for each wood resource.