Johnsonburg Mill Optimizes Chemical Use for Consistent Sheet Brightness
White paper, like white paint, is not just white. Brightness is an important characteristic in our paper products. The brightness of white paper matters to customers who use it for printing books, brochures or marketing mail. To achieve the specified brightness, our mills use chlorine dioxide in the pulping process, which is also widely used for treatment of drinking water. We use it to brighten pulp after it’s reduced from wood. The pulp goes through a three-stage bleaching process to achieve the desired brightness before continuing through the mill to become uncoated freesheet paper. Through a continuous improvement project, the team at our Johnsonburg Mill in Pennsylvania has managed to reduce the volume of chlorine dioxide used while maintaining the brightness our customers expect. The work also highlights Domtar’s commitment to quality and sustainability.