Cellulose Pulp Industry in Peru: Production, Trade, and Environmental Impact
The Cellulose Pulp Industry in Peru
The paper industry accounts for 5.5% of manufacturing GDP and 0.8% of total GDP. The industry contributes US $431 million to the US $7.824 billion produced annually by the manufacturing industry. Peru is a country with lower paper consumption in Latin America, with only 13 kg per capita per year, while Chile and Argentina present consumption of 53 kg and 49 kg, respectively. The paper industry, particularly using bagasse as raw material, is vertically integrated from the production of paper pulp. This integration offers competitive advantages that allow it to diversify its sales and increase the added value of production.
1 Production in Peru
The industry produces various goods, such as newsprint, printing and writing paper, toilet paper, towels, napkins, scarves, bags, etc. It generates demand for other sectors such as the timber and sugar industries, which provide plant fibers forming the paper, and the chemical industry, which provides inputs such as bleach and other soluble.
2 The Trade of Cellulose Pulp in Peru
Finally, as regards foreign trade, Peru is essentially an importer because the inputs, such as cellulose, and finished goods, such as newsprint, are not produced in the country.
In the case of exports, high freight costs limit them to the countries of the region, especially those that do not have a highly developed paper industry. In 2001, imports amounted to 107,442 MT and exports to 28,158 MT. The countries from which Peru imports are Chile, Brazil, the USA, and Finland, and the main products imported are newsprint (newspaper), cardboard, and bond paper. The main countries where exports are destined are Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia, and the main products exported are cardboard boxes, bags, and paper napkins.
Cellulose Applications
Cellulose, prepared based on conifers and other species such as eucalyptus (in the case of Chile), is used to manufacture many different products, which include all types of paper sheaths (bags and others), printing papers (for journals, encyclopedias, books, and notebooks), toilet paper and facial tissues, diapers, and sanitary napkins; in turn, it is used to make:
South Africa is also a significant player in this industry. In Brazil, the industry has been growing about 100 thousand hectares annually with eucalyptus and pine. Similar investments have quickly placed Chile as a leading supplier of fiber for the industry.
Cotton Wool
Used in medicine, chemically pure cellulose is cotton-carding, scouring, and bleaching, and is highly regarded for its absorbent properties.
Artificial Fibers
They have properties similar to those of natural fibers. They are obtained from vegetable proteins present in certain plants, peanuts, corn, or soybeans, usually derived from the cellulose of casein. Artificial fibers started from the first attempts to produce artificial silk.
Rayon
The most common synthetic fibers are made from cellulose. The manufacturing process differs depending on the processes used; according to this measure, it is known as viscose rayon, cellulose acetate, or Bemberg. In the case of viscose, cellulose is treated with concentrated caustic soda and then dissolved in carbon disulfide.
Explosives
Nitrocellulose is one of the cheapest plastic explosives, highly explosive and dangerous, with a high degree of purity; hence, it is recommended to vary the proportions with respect to sulfuric acid if you want to do simple demonstrations. The less sulfuric acid is used, the lower the degree of purity of the nitrocellulose will be. Nitrocellulose is obtained industrially by nitration of alpha-cellulose from cotton or wood pulp.
Environmental Impact
The most obvious environmental effects of fluff pulp production are the impact on forests and the by-products of bleaching. The number of trees consumed depends on the type of paper manufactured and the manufacturing process used. It is estimated that it takes about 24 trees to produce one ton of paper using the Kraft process. It is not as efficient as other processes but has the great advantage of producing surplus electric power, which, having been produced from biomass, does not generate a net contribution of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, one of the sources of global warming.
Money
When the pulp is bleached using elemental chlorine, unwanted byproducts such as dioxins and furans are formed. High concentrations of these substances caused the closure of several fish factories in British Columbia in 1992.
Effluent
Liquid effluents are potentially a major cause of pollution, and in their raw state, they contain lignin, high biological oxygen demand, and alcohols, chlorates, heavy metals, and chelating agents. This impact is reduced to a minimum to the extent that modern plants work in a closed cycle with chemicals, and any water from the plants is treated biologically.