New waste-to-energy methods to recover and utilize the energy in the black liquor have been developed. The use of black liquor gasification has the potential to achieve higher overall energy efficiency than the conventional recovery boiler while generating an energy-rich syngas from the liquor. The syngas can be burnt in a gas turbine combined cycle to produce electricity (usually called BLGCC for Black Liquor Gasification Combined Cycle; similar to IGCC) or converted through catalytic processes into chemicals or fuels such as methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), or F-T diesel (usually called BLGMF for Black Liquor Gasification for Motor Fuels). This gasification technology is currently under operation in a 3 MW pilot plant at Chemrec's^[7] test facility in Piteå, Sweden. The DME synthesis step will be added in 2011 in the "BioDME" project, supported by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and the Swedish Energy Agency.^[8]

This is a form of waste, though the paper mills has been using it for energy since the 30ies. However given the needs of liquid fuel for transport and the mills being stationary the paper industry is looking into new energy models. The paper mills often own energy companies to handle their needs and sell of their excess. Maybe paper will be a by-product of black liquor fuel industry down the road?

There is also Värmlandsmetanol in Värmland, though I don't know if they also go by way of Black liquor or if they plan to use some other chemistry.

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