Progress at the Pump

(North Carolina State University Campaign News) Professor Sunkyu Park, who has deep NC State roots, is working to turn waste from the pulp and paper industry into the biofuel of the future. Boosted by private support, his research could revolutionize the energy industry — in more ways than one.

In 2017, Park was named the E.J. “Woody” Rice Associate Professor in Paper Science and Engineering for his extraordinary service to the Department of Forest Biomaterials. This four-year professorship was established in 2008 to recognize a tenured faculty member in the department who is focused on research and teaching in biomass utilization for sustainable bioenergy and biomaterials. The Rice endowment has enabled Park to support his lab’s day-to-day operations while he pursues major advances in, among other areas, biorefinery.

The Future of Fuel

Park is the lead researcher on this project, which, in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, seeks to turn a waste product of pulp and paper mills known as “paper sludge” into a high-performance biofuel. The three-year grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office and provides the researchers with more than $2.5 million.

Sludge fuel is created by separating carbohydrates from paper sludge and converting them into a usable form of hydrocarbon, which can then be added to jet or diesel fuel to make it more sustainable, economical and environmentally friendly. Park’s team is also seeking to reduce the production cost by integrating and optimizing the overall conversion process. This innovative technique could create approximately 150 million gallons of sludge fuel per year given the current supply of paper sludge.

That supply is quite large. Park said more than 8 million tons of paper sludge are produced in the U.S. each year, and two thirds are currently deposited into landfills. Transporting the sludge to the landfills, paying the landfill fees and covering all of the other associated expenses comes to roughly $30 per ton. The total cost of U.S. sludge disposal? Roughly $160 million. Annually. READ MORE