Publication Code: N2
Clean Technologies for the Pulp and Paper Industry, the Textile Industry, and Metal Coating and Finishing in Thailand
by Dhira Phantumvanit et al.
The principle of clean technology is to introduce preventive measures to reduce wastes or to recover by-products rather than to rely on corrective end-of-pipe treatment of pollutants. this study evaluated the adaptability to Thailand of 13 processes in pulp and paper production, textile production, and metal finishing and coating.
The results verify that Thailand is ready to accept five of the proposed technologies. The Siam Kraft Company, a local producer of paper using wastepaper, is ready to emulate the wastewater-free closed-circuit system of its counterpart in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) is willing to initiate a cooperative pilot project on desilication of bagasse with the FRG. Concurrently, pulp bleaching by hydrogen peroxide and paint recovery are two processes which can be readily propagated locally, while the cost of chromium recovery in zinc-electroplating ships was found to be within the means of the local platers.
The introduction of clean technology is easier in the pulp and paper industry. This is due to the universal manufacturing processes employed in different parts of the world and also to the fairly large size of the local pulp mills. In the case of textile production, the present slump in the market for synthetic fibers has arrested any chance for investment in new processes. In the metal coating and finishing arena, technologies which are applicable to the prevailing small shops must be simple and must not entail excessive investment or intensive training of the operators.
It is encouraging to reconfirm that technologies which abate pollution are also cost-effective. This clarifies why Thailand is ready to accept five proposed technologies even though there is no pollution charge which is the case in the FRG. The study also confirms the dominating role of market demand which may preempt the introduction of a clean technology. For example, cadmium electroplating is not practiced in Thailand; hence there is no market to substitute cadmium with the electrodeposition of aluminium.
Unfortunately, the study also highlights the paucity of local R & D capability, hence government should take full advantage of the research works already done elsewhere.
In summary, the time has not yet come for a wholesale promotion of clean technology. The approach should be selective, identifying the few local industries which are ready to benefit from the research and development already tested in the donor countries. The overruling factors are cost-effectiveness and product marketability. In the mean time, government should promote bilateral cooperative research and play the lead role concentrating in propagating information on the details of those technologies which can be adapted now.
February 1986