Trends in Water Pollution Control in the Finnish Pulp and Paper Industry

The present situation of water pollution control in Finland is briefly described and some future trends are discussed. Discharge permissions settled by the authorities have recently been made to include also total phosphorus and chemical oxygen demand (COD_{C r}) in addition to the conventional water pollution control parameters (suspended solids and biological oxygen demand; BOD₇). In the near future, requirements for chlorinated organic compounds (AOX) are also to be expected. In the reducing of chlorinated organic compounds, the development of cooking and bleaching processes will probably have the major role. However, also external methods can be developed and improved in this respect. In reducing nutrient loadings, developing the external purification methods will probably be the most acute way.