The Circular Journey of a Tree:

When petroleum can no longer be relied on

When we begin our interview with CHP chairman Kirk Hwang, the topic isn’t paper but the raw materials crisis. “The solution may very well come from the forests.” He is referring to the idea of the “saccharide economy” (a.k.a. the carbohydrate economy) proposed by Ho Shou-chuan, president of Yuen Foong Yu College. The first word of this term refers to cellulose, a polysaccharide produced by plants through photosynthesis. “Just as batteries store electricity, wood stores carbon.” As trees absorb carbon dioxide, they sequester carbon in their biomass, and when wood fibers are turned into paper, the carbon is subsequently stored in the paper.

In the end petroleum will be exhausted, but the forests can be eternal. Photosynthesis is the natural world’s most effective method for removing carbon from the atmosphere.

“Black liquor,” a papermaking byproduct, contains a high concentration of lignin, which makes excellent biomass fuel for cogeneration of heat and power. CHP’s generating facility has been certified under ISO standards 13065 for bioenergy sustainability and 14067 for carbon footprint reporting.

Chiu Yi-sheng (right), director of CHP’s Hualien Mill, guides visitors through the facility’s comprehensive circular economy system.

CHP chairman Kirk Hwang is also chief sustainability officer at CHP’s parent company, Yuen Foong Yu. Building on the concept of the saccharide economy, he is a key figure in promoting forest–pulp–paper circularity.

CHP’s core products include pulp, fine paper, paperboard, and specialty papers. Products supplied to downstream companies can be turned into paper for everyday use as well as eco-friendly packaging.

The complete cycle of a tree

At CHP, a tree is never simply “used up,” but is employed in different ways. Cellulose constitutes 50% of wood and is made into pulp for papermaking. The remaining 50% is lignin, which is concentrated and used for cogeneration (combined heat and power).

Water resources are likewise carefully managed. Water used in the paper manufacturing process is purified by sedimentation and biological treatment before being discharged. The eco-pond at the rear of the Hualien Mill was created using reclaimed water, and attracts not only protected species like the ring-necked pheasant but even dragon­flies, which are very selective about their habitats.

In addition, mineral residues from papermaking are cold pressed to make “eco-bricks,” while residual woodchips are fermented with rice bran to produce organic fertilizer well-suited to improving soil quality and growing tree seedlings. Farms in Hua­lien’s Guangfu Township that were damaged by a barrier lake collapse in 2025 have used this fertilizer to help the land recover.

In this system, “waste” is no longer waste, but is material for circular reuse.

The eco-pond at CHP’s Hualien Mill draws water from purified factory discharge. The pond nurtures a rich ecosystem and has become an important venue for environmental education.

Chiu Yi-sheng, director of CHP’s Hualien Mill, has led the way in getting his site certified as an environmental education facility by the Ministry of Environment.

The materials revolution

CHP is currently in the midst of a major upgrading project: building Taiwan’s largest biomass power generation facility at the Hualien Mill. Due for completion in 2027, it will raise the mill’s green power self-sufficiency rate from 40% to nearly 90%. Biomass power generation is very dependable since it does not rely on the vagaries of the weather, and the CHP system will not only mean that the company no longer competes with households for electricity, but will also provide support to the hard-pressed national power supply.

At the same time, CHP is continuing to invest in materials innovation. It has developed products including fluorine-free greaseproof paper for use in food packaging, and Ecocell paper-based yarn for making textiles.

For Yuen Foong Yu, CHP’s parent company, the saccharide economy is not a new invention, but something the firm has been implementing for many years. Since CHP’s founding in 1968 through the present day, the corporation has not only been making paper but has also been a supplier of biomass materials, steadily working towards net-zero carbon emissions.

CHP has continued to invest in materials innovation. It has developed green materials including fluorine-free greaseproof paper as well as pulp-molded products that are 100% toxin-free and plastic-free and can be fully recycled, providing solutions to the problem of plastics overuse.

From factory to classroom

In 2024, CHP’s Hualien Mill became the first manufacturing site in Hualien County to be certified by the Ministry of Environment as an environmental education facility.

“Education is at the root of everything,” argues Kirk Hwang. Sustainability depends in the end on human action. Starting in 2021, CHP spent three years training its employees to turn technical jargon into teaching materials that can be understood by high-school students.

Chiu Yi-sheng, director of the CHP Hualien Mill, admits that the certification process was very demanding. But when he heard local students clearly explaining the circular economy, he felt it was all worthwhile. “We have the knowledge, and it is only right that we share it with the children of Hualien.”

Chiu communicates this sense of achievement to the company’s employees, to let them understand that their work is not just about making money, but about passing along knowledge.

The eco-bricks at the entrance to CHP’s Hualien Mill are cold pressed from residual sludge from the pulp manufacturing process, and boiler ash. They require no kiln firing, are low-carbon, and have proven their resilience by surviving Hualien’s frequent strong earthquakes without damage.

Innovation without shortcuts

There are no ready-made solutions in the transition to sustainability. Kirk Hwang says that CHP’s path to cross-domain innovation has had no turnkey models or standard operating procedures to follow. Their only option is to courageously feel their way forward, gaining experience through time and investments. Yet no matter the obstacles, they are determined to become a zero-waste, zero-­emissions model for the world’s paper pulp industry.

With the saccharide economy as its foundation, CHP is meeting the challenges of energy and carbon management. Its vision is to build the future one tree at a time. 

CHP and National Chung Hsing University have collaborated to create a carbon sequestration zone at the Hualien Mill. Using organic fertilizer made from residual woodchips and rice bran, they have enhanced soil carbon storage levels and developed carbon-negative technology.