a) What is ECF?

ECF is the acronym for “Elemental Chlorine Free”. Pulp in its unbleached form is brown in colour and needs to be bleached to make it white. In conventional bleaching process the lignin present in the pulp is first removed as chloro-lignin by reaction with Chlorine gas (Elemental Chlorine) before final bleaching with Hypo Chlorite. This process results in releasing dioxins which is harmful. In ECF bleaching process the primary delignification is carried out by Oxygen and final bleaching is done by Chlorine Dioxide. In this process the usage of Elemental Chlorine is totally avoided and hence it is called ECF. In this process the release of dioxins are much lower since the efficient delignification by Oxygen, substantially reduces the requirement of bleaching chemicals.

b) What is Ozone Bleaching

In Ozone bleaching, Oxygen delignified pulp is further treated with Ozone to remove lignin further so that the requirement of Chlorine Dioxide for final bleaching is considerably reduced compared to ECF pulping. In Ozone bleaching process the major portion of bleaching is carried out by Ozone and a minor portion by Chlorine Dioxide.

c) What is TCF?

TCF is acronym for “Total Chlorine Free”. In TCF bleaching process the usage of chlorine, in any form, is totally eliminated.

d) How can Paper Industry be sustainable?

e) What is meant by “zero solid waste discharge”?

A mill is said to be “Zero Solid Waste Discharge”, if the total solid waste generated from the process is either recycled or reused either by the mill it self or by some one else.

f) How does ITC sequester carbon?

ITC PSPD has covered over 1 lac hectares of land by social and farm forestry plantations. These plantations sequestered 3695 kilotonnes of CO2 whereas the carbon dioxide released by manufacturing and freight is 1572 kilotonnes, making ITC a carbon positive Corporation.