The paper industry is one of the biggest polluters of the environment. Innovation and technological progress brought improvements in terms of environmental protection and closing material and energy loops. This master thesis focused on the deinking process, which is part of the paper manufacturing process. We compared different scenarios using chemicals (traditional approach), commercial enzymes, and proprietary enzymes. Proprietary enzymes are produced using the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus on a medium of paper sludge. The DEX method was used for a multi-criteria evaluation of the three scenarios of the deinking process. The evaluation criteria were related to indicators of economic performance, social impact, environmental sustainability, and circular economy. The comparative assessment of the scenarios was conducted in two rounds (following Delphi principles). For deinking with proprietary enzymes, we performed an even more detailed analysis using a three-layered canvas business model (TCBM), where we observed and described the economic, environmental, and social impacts of such paper production. The results of the analysis show that the scenario of deinking with proprietary enzymes is the most favourable in terms of overall sustainability. This is followed by the scenario with commercial enzymes. The worst scenario in terms of overall sustainability is deinking with chemicals.
|
