Date: July 22, 2011 (Finalized November 3 , 2011)

Subject: Trip Report for Site Visit

– AbiBow US Inc. Risk and Technology review for pulp and paper production and combustion
sources NESHAP

I

. Purpose

The purpose of the site visit to AbiBow US Inc. in Catawba, South Carolina, was to obtain information about pulp and paper operations, equipment, and air pollution control
devices. This information

- gathering effort was part of regulatory development work for the Risk and Technology Review (RTR) for the Nat ional Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the pulp and paper industry.

II

. Place and Date

AbiBow US Inc. (Catawba Mill) 5300 Cureton Ferry Road, Catawba, SC 29704 (803) 981

- 8009

July 21, 2011

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 7 , Catawba, S C 29704

III

. Attendees

AbiBow US Inc.

• Dale Herendeen, Environmental Manager

• Larry Bowling, Environmental Affairs

• Allen Sanders, General Manager

• Steve Moore, URS

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Bill Schrock, Environmental Engineer, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards

(OAQPS)/Sector Polices and Programs Division (SPPD)/Natural Resources Group (NRG)

• John Bradfield, Environmental Engineer, OAQPS/SPPD/NRG

• Kelley Spence, Environmental Engineer, OAQPS/SPPD/NRG

• Katie Hanks , EPA Contractor, Research Triangle Institute (RTI)IV

. Visit Summary

The site visit began with a meeting to discuss mill background, safety, and the agenda of the visit. A flow chart of the process, provided by AbiBow, is attached (Attachment 1).
Follo wing the meeting, a tour of the facility was provided and the following areas were observed: woodyard, pulp mill, bleach plant, recovery area, caustic area, power house, wastewater treatment, and paper machine area. The information obtained during the site visit and from the Information Collection Request (ICR) response is discussed below. The topics discussed are (A) General Information, (B) Pulp Mill, (C) Bleach Plant, (D) Paper Mill, (E) Chemical Recovery and Energy Generation, and (F) Wastewater
Treatme nt.

A

. General Information

AbitibiBowater operates 18 pulp and paper mills and 24 wood products facilities in the US, Canada, and South Korea. The company is the largest recycler of old newspapers and magazines in the US. The AbitibiBowater Catawba plant (NEI47077, RTI200) opened in 1959 and employs approximately 78 0 people to produce commercial printing papers and market pulp. It was ISO 14001 certified in June of 2011 and participates in the Clean Air
Works Program, as it is located in an ozone non

- attai nment area. In January 2011, the mill received the 2010 “Spare the Air” award from SCDHEC. It is one of the largest coated mechanical paper mills in the world and is the largest lightweight

- coated (LWC) paper facility in North America. The facility is loca ted on 1,800 acres near the Catawba River and is one of three US mills that are part of the EPA Voluntary Advanced Technology Incentives Program (VATIP). The facility has also red uced its water consumption by 20 % since 2007 and its fossil fuel use by 65% s ince 2001. The mill has an annual production capacity of 878,000 metric tons and has three paper machines and one pulp dryer. The mill produces approximately 2,300

- 2,400 metric tons per day of market pulp and light weight coated paper . The facility is a fu lly integrated facility with a woodyard, pulp mill, bleach plant, chemical recovery and caus ticizing area, utilities,

paper making, and wastewater treatment. A flow diagram of the processes at the mill can
be found in Attachment 1.

B

. Pulp Mill

The Catawb a mill utilizes chemical and mechanical processes (kraft and TMP, respectively) for pulping sof twood. Wood arrives to the wood yard at the mill in the form of logs and chips and is purchased in accordance with the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Logs are d ebarked and chipped, followed by chip screening and storage. Softwood chips

as

- received are screened and stored. Chips are retrieved from storage to be processed using the TMP or the kraft Process, Figure 1.

### Chipping
and Debarking Chip

Screens Chips

Logs To Storage (TMP or Kraft)

Figure 1: Wood yard process flow dia gram

The facility upgraded the kraft pulp mill in 2003 by replacing the original kraft mill that was built in 1959. The kraft process is used to produce approximately 1650 air

- dried tons of unbleached pulp per day and the TMP process is used to produce ap proximately 800
air

- dried tons per day. The mill uses one continuous digester, installed in 2003, with a n average production of 505,000 metric tons of unbleached pulp and two TMP systems with an average production of 240,000 tons per year, Figure 2 and 3. There are three TMP lines in each system, each utilizing three stages of refining. Fresh steam is used in the chip bin of the continuous digester to reduce emissions. Turpentine, 151,250 gallons per year, is produced and sold as a by

- product from both proc esses. TMP is brightened using a totally chlorine free process (TCF). The TCF line utilizes sodium hydrosulfite as a brightening agent for TMP pulp and produces approximately 800 air

- dried tons per day of brightened pulp.

Chip Surge
Tube Chips Primary
Refiner Secondary
Refiner

Screens Decker Sodium Hydrosulfite

Tower

Pulp

Figure 2: TMP process fl ow diagramFigure 3: Kraft pulp mill process flow diagram

C

. Bleach Plant

The bleach plant has one line which utilizes an elemental chlorine free (ECF) process. Chlorine dioxide is generated using the R10 process. The ECF line, Figure 4, utilizes a D (EoP) D D sequence with oxygen delignification and produces approximately 1400

- 1500
metric air

- dried tons of bleached pulp per day. The two stage oxygen delignification system results in 60% delignification prior to bleaching. The mill also uses sealed

pr essurized washers to wash brownstock and bleached pulp. The mill sells approximately
4 0% of its pulp as market pulp and 6 0% is used to produce paper.F igure 4: Bleach plant process flow diagram
D

. Paper Mill

There are three paper machines (two twin

- wir e and one fourdriner) that produce approximately 1950 air

- dried tons per day, Figure 5. PM1 was installed in 1962 and has a machine width of 240 inches and a maximum speed of 2,800 feet per m inute. PM2 was
installed in 1986 and last rebuilt in 1997; the ma chine width is 336 inches and the maximum speed is 4,100 feet per minute. PM3 was installed in 1968 and rebuilt in 2003, with a width of 354 inches and a maximum speed 4,025 feet per minute. There are also
two off

- machine coaters and one on

- machine coater. The paper mill has a capacity of approximately 700,000 tons per year, with the main grades produced being coated groundwood papers, newsprint, freesheet, and softwood kraft market pulp. The mill also has one pulp dryer that produces approximately 6 0 0

- 800 air

- dried tons per day, Figure 6.

Cleaners Headbox Screens

Forming

Wire Presses Dryers SW pulp

Calender Reel Rereeler

Coater Reel To Finishing/Shipping

Figure 5: Paper machine process flow diagram

### Screens Headbox Decker

Cylinder

Mold Presses Dryers SW pulp

Cutter Stacker Market Pulp
Product

Figure 6: Pulp dryer process flow diagram

E

. Chemical Recovery and Energy Generation

The mill has two recovery boilers, installed in 1966 and 1983, with a s olids capacity of approximately 2.0 and 4.0 million pounds per day, respectively. A fourth level of air was
added to No. 3 recovery boiler as modifications to improve NOx emissions. The steam generated supplies 90

- 95 % of the required mill process steam. Th e mill also has three sets of evaporators, one of which was updated in 2006. Chemical recovery and causticizing are shown in Figures 7 and 8. Steam from the recovery boilers and t wo power boilers is used to generate 20

- 30% of the electricity required to ru n the mill . The power boilers utilize bark, natural gas, and fuel oil. The facility also utilizes 5,000

- 9,000 tons per year of tire

- derived fuel, which is the equivalent of 750,000 tires annually. Approximately 5 4MW of electricity is generated onsite an d the facility targets using less than 2% fossil fuel for energy generation

.Evaps

Recovery
Boiler Concentrators

Smelt Dissolving
Tank Green Liquor
Clarifier To Causticizing Liquor

From Digesters

Smelt Evaps

Evaps

Figure 7: Chemical recovery process flow diagram

Figure 8: Causticizing area process flow diagramF

. Wastewater Treatment

Approximately 28

- 33 million g allons of effluent per day are sent to wastewater treatment. The Catawba mill utilizes an aeration stabilization basin (ASB) system . A steam stripper is used to meet Cluster Rule requirements. The ASB is approximately 58 acres and 15 feet deep and is monit ored for pH, color, BOD, TSS, AOX, ammonia, and phosphorous. The wastewater treatment system includes a bar screen, primary clarifier, settling ponds, ASB, and holding basins, Figure 9. Sludge is collected from the primary clarifier

, dewatered to 30

- 40% so lids, and disposed of in sludge lagoons; the ash content of the sludge is too high for combustion and there are few local farmers to which it could be
distributed for land application.

The mill has a tertiary wastewater treatment system, installed in 198 9, that can be used in extreme drought. After the ASB, water is treated with alum, sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide, and a cationic polymer and transported to an air flotation clarifier. This process removes 96% of the color and 75% of the remaining BOD in the water. Treated wastewater is then hard piped to the holding basin, just prior to outlet to the river. The tertiary treatment is expensive to operate, only operated during extreme drought, and can process approximately 14 million gallons per day. The se ction of the river that the mill uses to collect and discharge water is free flowing and , in 2000, the mill upgraded the diffuser used for discharge. The new diffuser promotes better mixing by maintaining the outlet flow velocity, regardless of discharge v olume.

Mix Box Bar

Screen Primary
Clarifier

Holding

Basins Aerated

Biotreatment Settling

Pond

Treated

wastewater Effluent Sanitary waste from treatment plant

Figure 9: Wastewater treatment process flow diagramAttachment 1