Lone rangers

Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Saharanpur: First concentrated effort, initiated in the 1990s, with the help of the United Nations (UN). Based on its 'ferrite technology', a pilot plant was installed and run successfully for two years. The project, which was promising, was abandoned once UN funding stopped.

Agro Pulping Machinery Pvt Ltd, Chennai: Modified the Copeland recovery system to suit it for agricultural raw materials. The system burnt the black liquor at a concentration of 35-40 per cent, and thus got rid of the bottleneck of higher energy requirement and silica interference from straw-based small mills.

Shreyans Paper Mills, Sangrur: Has installed the Copeland system. According to Anil Kumar, executive director: "It was a choice between closing down totally and installing a recovery system. We chose the later." But industry experts feel that the technology, estimated at about Rs 10 crore for a 75-tonne plant, is unviable without external grants; Shreyans received an installation grant from the United States Agency for International Development.

Amrit Banaspati Limited, Sailakhurd: Patented a technology called ligno-sulphate in 1988-89. The technology helps recover ligno-sulphate, a high value chemical used in the wood industry, which is marketed. Ligno-sulphate technology costs about Rs 2.5-3.0 crore for a 50-tonne plant. Has yet to find favour in the industry.

There has also been a proposal to install combined chemical recovery units -- on the lines of common effluent treatment plants -- in places where clusters of agro-based mills exist. But it has been bogged down by logistical problems. Which means, the industry's search for a feasible recovery system is still on.