Paper is frequently perceived as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic, yet the industry that manufactures it uses large amounts of water.
The pulp and paper sector is implementing new technologies to decrease their water requirements, but with the world's climate in flux, are these changes progressing at a sufficient speed?
Recently the UPM Paso de Los Toros facility, one of the world's largest pulp mills, began operations in the center of Uruguay.
The nation had endured its most extreme drought yet while this was occurring, stirring up the discussion regarding its water consumption.
This year, an unprecedented lack of rainfall resulted in Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, running out of drinking water.
For several months, the authorities had to draw supplies from a river estuary where the saltwater of the sea mixed with fresh water, causing the tap water to be slightly salty.
Protestors assembled on the streets, loudly banging on empty plastic bottles to demonstrate their discontent with wood-pulping mills and the forestry sector that provides them with resources, as the two are accused of consuming large amounts of water.
Isabel Figari, one of the protestors, proclaimed that notwithstanding the drought, this crisis is due to our economic model, noting that at present the pulp mills have access to water while the public does not.
Uruguay's pulp mills transform eucalyptus and pine wood into cellulose, which is exported to be used in the production of paper in foreign countries.
UPM, a Finnish company, operates the new facility in Paso de los Toros. When it reaches its maximum production rate, it will be able to generate 2.1 million tonnes of cellulose annually, resulting in a doubling of the country's overall output.
This would result in the nation going up one place, supplanting Chile as the world's 11th biggest manufacturer.
The US is the largest producer, with Brazil in second place.
At UPM's new mill, wood chips are subjected to an intense process which involves boiling them in a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide under high pressure. This reaction dissolves the lignin, leaving only cellulose fibres behind.
The cellulose is subjected to a bleaching process using chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide. This requires an immense amount of water.
The Rio Negro river provides the mill with 129 million litres of water each day. The water is subsequently treated and released back into the same river.
UPM operates an additional pulp mill, Fray Bentos, situated in south-west Uruguay. The enterprise notes that both its plants are located hundreds of kilometres away from the city of Montevideo and in areas with no water shortages, hence they are not accountable for the lack of water in the capital.
The firm declares that they are utilizing the newest recycling processes to minimize their water consumption. An example of this is at their Paso de Los Toros mill, where the wood chips are boiled and the condensed water vapour is recycled.
Once the cellulose has been pulped, the liquid is reclaimed and put to use in the bleaching process. After this, it is recycled up to 100 times prior to its treatment and release into a river.
Marcos Battegazzore, UPM's VP of operations in Uruguay, explains that the work and progress is ongoing. The quantity of water taken from the Uruguay River at Fray Bentos has dropped almost 25%, while new water-saving technology has been installed in the company's Paso de los Toros plant.
As technology advances, opportunities to enhance recycling rates at mills will become more attainable.
This series looks into how advancements in technology are likely to have a significant impact on the economic landscape that is emerging.
In Uruguay, environmentalists are not only worried about the amount of water used by pulp mills, but they are also apprehensive about the possibility that the treated wastewater could still contaminate rivers.
Diana Míguez, who holds a doctorate degree, works as a senior scientist at Latitud, a Uruguayan research group. In her doctoral studies, she examined whether contaminants from the Fray Bentos mill had any impact on the hormones of fish in the nearby Uruguay River.
Her research showed that minnows reared in her laboratory and exposed to pulp mill effluent produced half as many eggs as the control group. Additionally, her team surveyed 1,000 fish from the Uruguay River and discovered that male fish taken downstream from the pulp mill had smaller testes.
Mr Battegazzore of UPM asserts that the organization has an exacting control scheme that comprises tracking the living organisms in the river each year, with both domestic and foreign academics participating.
He noted: "We have been keeping track of this in the usual fashion since two years prior to the mill's opening, so we are certain that our readings are reliable. Our observations have demonstrated that the numbers of fish in the river have not changed over time."
UPM affirms that the emissions from the Fray Bentos facility are in accord with the "best available techniques" standards set by the European Commission. Furthermore, all water monitoring results from the Paso de Los Toros plant are available on the Uruguayan environmental authorities' website, in real-time for public access.
Questions about contamination have intensified due to the leakage of sodium hydroxide from the Paso de los Toros facility last August. Inspectors hired by the Uruguayan environmental ministry found dead fish and vegetation in a close-by waterway and pond.
UPM reported to have discovered the compound in a field adjacent to the premises, taking immediate remedial action and informing environmental authorities.
Not only is the water use of mills being closely observed, but more than 1.2 million hectares of Uruguay have been planted with either eucalyptus or pine trees to be processed into paper pulp.
Juan de Andrés owns a small cattle farm in the Cerro Largo region of eastern Uruguay. He believes the presence of eucalyptus plantations, that consume a considerable amount of water from the earth, is causing his neighboring lands to dry out.
He states that when he was in his formative years, they could take 300 to 400 litres of water daily from a well. Now, however, due to the abundance of plantations, the competition for water is so intense, he doubts they can even get 400 litres of water in a single week.
Omar Paganini, Uruguay's industry minister, states that over three decades of eucalyptus plantation cultivation has yet to display any signs of decreasing water availability within the nation.
In contrast to certain areas worldwide, where natural forests are substituted with eucalyptus plantations, Uruguay has elected to cultivate these trees on grasslands.
In Uruguay, the consensus from experts, particularly UPM, is that eucalyptus plantations tend to consume more water than natural grasslands. The crucial factor is if the necessary precipitation falls in order to refill local water supplies.
Daniel Panario, the director of the Environmental Science and Ecology Institute at Uruguay's University of the Republic, explains that while in the rainier, sub-tropical north of Uruguay, tree plantations do not affect local water levels, in more arid areas of the country they often do.
He claims that regardless of their placement, monocultures debase the earth and lessen biodiversity. "Eucalyptus trees and pines swiftly modify the physical and chemical composition of the ground. This causes the dirt to become acidic," he notes.
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