The Remarkable, Renewable Pine Tree
Pines are evergreen trees that include several species. They are resinous trees with needle-like leaves, and they produce seed-bearing cones. Southern yellow pines are found in the Southern part of the United States. They are cultivated and harvested by forestry companies for lumber, for the cellulose fiber used in the pulp and paper industry and for the chemical-rich resins they contain. Pine forests are replanted once harvested, making them a sustainable, renewable resource.
The pulp and paper industry converts the pine trees, recovering the cellulose fibers and generating by-product streams that contain the non-cellulose pine chemicals.
Crude Tall Oil (CTO), a by-product of the Kraft paper making process, is further processed where various value-added streams are captured. One such stream is Tall Oil Pitch (TOP) which is Arboris® starting raw material.
Arboris® extracts sterols from the TOP, which are used as cholesterol-reducing agents and as starting molecules in the manufacture of vital pharmaceuticals. After extraction, the remaining product streams are used as building blocks for Arboris®’ EverGreen Solutions® business unit, offering unique products to industrial markets such as asphalt, dust control, firelogs, mining, oilfield, rubber, and agriculture.