Roaring Spring Paper Products is spending about $1 million to turn paper into a substitute for coal.
In 2007 the Altoona-area maker of office supplies like notebooks and folders embarked on an ambitious recycling program that saves an estimated 26,000 trees every year. But Bill Brumbaugh, one of the minds behind Roaring Spring’s environmental initiatives, wasn’t entirely happy with that setup. If paper has a lot of ink on it, for example, it’s often sent to a landfill because removing the ink is so much work. Some is sent overseas and treated with harsh chemicals before being recycled.
Brumbaugh had an epiphany three years ago, when he learned that skyrocketing fuel costs would drive up Roaring Spring’s cost to truck waste paper to recycling facilities.
He thought, Why not burn the paper? That would save diesel fuel. And paper just might burn more cleanly than coal.
So Roaring Spring asked researchers at Penn State to look into Brumbaugh’s idea. They found that burning paper produces 75 percent less ash than coal. Next year the company plans to start work on a facility to make fuel from wood, cardboard and paper. The material will be shredded, moistened, put under pressure, and quickly heated and cooled to create cubes.
The project’s cost is estimated at $1.5 million, with $450,000 covered by a state grant. Brumbaugh says industrial site and furnace manufacturers are interested in the project, and recycling facilities are excited about a way to get rid of unwanted materials.
Source: Bill Brumbaugh, Roaring Spring Paper Products
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen
