Decarbonizing paper packaging – Amazon Science

Amazon delivers billions of packages annually, and for these deliveries, we intention to make use of as little further packaging as doable whereas nonetheless making certain merchandise arrive safely. When further packaging is critical, nearly all of the packaging supplies we use are constructed from paper. This consists of bins, paper mailers, and in some circumstances, paper luggage. One of many sustainability advantages of utilizing paper over different packaging supplies, reminiscent of typical plastics, is that paper is usually simpler to recycle for our prospects. Nonetheless, as with all materials produced at scale at the moment, the manufacturing processes lead to carbon emissions.

The carbon emissions related to paper packaging rely closely on the sort of paper mill, the processes and fuels used, and the grade of paper merchandise produced. At the moment, the commonest sort of containerboard paper mill within the US is a combined paper mill that makes use of each virgin and recycled fiber. The recycled fiber usually comes from “outdated corrugated containers (OCC)”, which is a recycling stream that features recycled bins such because the Amazon bins recycled by our prospects. The virgin fiber is produced from wooden chips that undergo a chemical pulping course of that breaks the bonds between the cellulose fibers within the wooden and a glue-like substance referred to as lignin that holds the fibers collectively. Containerboard paper mills that use each recycled and virgin fiber are the commonest due to diminished vitality calls for, raw-material flexibility, price effectiveness, and the regulatory surroundings.

For mills that use at the very least some virgin fiber to make paper, the method used to make the virgin fiber generates waste biomass that can be utilized as a gasoline to cut back the reliance on fossil fuels. This waste biomass consists of wooden waste from debarking and chipping the wooden and residual lignin (typically referred to as black liquor), a byproduct of the pulping course of. When this waste biomass is used as a gasoline for producing on-site steam and electrical energy, it generates what is named biogenic carbon emissions. Biogenic emissions are outlined as CO₂ emissions associated to the pure carbon cycle, which embrace emissions ensuing from the combustion of organic supplies.

Biogenic emissions from the combustion of biomass launch CO₂ that was not too long ago (in geological timeframes) sequestered by organic supplies, reminiscent of vegetation. The US Environmental Safety Company (EPA) doesn’t embrace biogenic emissions in greenhouse fuel (GHG) reporting and considers these emissions carbon impartial due to their negligible internet contribution to atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. That is in distinction to the carbon emissions related to the burning of fossil fuels, which do contribute to reported GHG emissions.

In 2021, about 74% of the direct carbon emissions reported by the US pulp and paper sector have been biogenic, with the remaining emissions coming from the usage of fossil fuels. If these biogenic emissions are captured and completely saved, as an alternative of being launched to the ambiance, it permits the manufacturing of lower-carbon paper in comparison with conventional strategies. By capturing and completely storing biogenic carbon emissions, it’s technically doable to sequester extra biogenic carbon than the quantity of fossil-based carbon launched to the ambiance because of the varied industrial processes related to paper manufacturing. This method is usually known as bioenergy with carbon seize and storage (BECCS) and is taken into account by the Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change (IPCC) as one of many key carbon dioxide elimination applied sciences wanted to restrict world warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial ranges.

Decarbonized paper packaging

Carbon seize and storage (CCS) know-how, together with sustainably managed forests, collectively have the potential to create a paper trade that turns into a local weather answer by sequestering extra emissions than the trade is answerable for releasing to the ambiance. Though CCS applied sciences present promise for serving to cut back and even remove GHG emissions, these applied sciences haven’t but been confirmed out at a bigger scale.

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To assist speed up the event and adoption of CCS, we assembled a multi-disciplinary crew to develop and suggest an idea to construct a CCS plant at a containerboard mill operated by one in every of our packaging suppliers. The proposal was one in every of solely 4 chosen by the Workplace of Clear Vitality Demonstrations within the US Division of Vitality (DOE). Our crew consists of Worldwide Paper (IP), Schlumberger (SLB) for the design and engineering, and RTI Worldwide, the analysis group that initially developed the carbon seize know-how. RTI took the lead on the proposal submission.

The award is for as much as $88 million, and if we’re capable of efficiently full all levels of this first-of-its-kind venture (goal date 2029), this large-scale demonstration facility will seize as much as 120,000 metric tons of CO₂ per 12 months, a portion of that are biogenic emissions. A CCS plant of this measurement can allow an annual manufacturing of roughly 100,000 metric tons of decarbonized paper that can be utilized for future Amazon bins and different packaging, benefiting each our prospects and the surroundings.

Carbon seize applied sciences

Carbon seize applied sciences take up and separate CO₂ from exhaust gases related to combustion processes that burn fuels to generate thermal vitality. There are three major approaches to how CO₂ could be separated from exhaust gases: 1) pre-combustion seize, which entails absorbing the CO₂ earlier than the combustion is accomplished; 2) post-combustion seize, which entails absorbing the CO₂ after the combustion course of; and three) oxyfuel combustion seize, which refers to burning the fuels in pure oxygen as an alternative of air. With the oxyfuel method, the exhaust fuel is predominantly composed of CO₂ and water vapor, enabling the CO₂ to be simply separated. Every of those methods to soak up the CO₂ varies when it comes to efficacy, vitality demand, and value. Essentially the most well-developed method is post-combustion seize.

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For post-combustion seize, the CO₂ could be captured by a liquid or a strong materials that likes to bind to CO₂. For the liquid method, a combination of water and 20-30% of an amine compound is often used to bind the CO₂. The method begins with placing the water-amine combination involved with the exhaust gases to selectively take up the CO₂ from the fuel stream. After the CO₂ has been absorbed, the liquid combination is heated in a special step to launch the CO₂. The separated CO₂ can then be compressed for storage, and the amine could be regenerated for re-use. This water-amine liquid technique is understood for its efficacy, however it’s also comparatively vitality intensive. Stable supplies have proven equally good adsorption of CO₂, however in addition they require comparatively excessive quantities of vitality to adsorb and launch the CO₂.

Over the previous 13 years, RTI Worldwide has been creating a special water-amine liquid that has a lot much less water and extra amine to handle the core challenges with the normal water-amine options. By considerably decreasing the water content material within the amine-based liquid, RTI’s non-aqueous amine solvent (NAS) carbon seize know-how is ready to decrease the vitality necessities for the absorption-regeneration cycle by as much as 36% in comparison with the normal water-amine liquid.

Along with decreasing vitality consumption, the NAS know-how additionally minimizes operational dangers and upkeep prices as a consequence of its extraordinarily low corrosivity and enhanced physicochemical properties. RTI’s NAS course of represents a step ahead for industrial decarbonization. The deployment of RTI’s NAS know-how by the awarded DOE venture at IP’s Vicksburg containerboard mill will help exhibit the scalability of this promising method to carbon seize.

Amazon co-founded the Local weather Pledge with a purpose to achieve net-zero carbon emissions throughout our operations by 2040, 10 years forward of the Paris Settlement. We acknowledge that reaching this formidable purpose requires partnerships throughout all industries to discover and develop cutting-edge carbon discount applied sciences, reminiscent of CCS. This venture permits Amazon to work with one in every of its paper packaging suppliers to scale up and exhibit RTI’s NAS know-how to decarbonize the papermaking course of. This venture may also function the muse for de-risking and scaling this know-how extra broadly within the pulp and paper trade and throughout different sectors, reminiscent of cement and metal.