Klabin to Use ABB Power Distribution Technology at New Pulp Mill
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ABB, Zurich, Switzerland, will supply a 34.5 kV power distribution system based on gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) technology for Klabin’s new pulp mill being constructed in Ortigueira (Paraná State), Brazil. The contract, booked in the second quarter of 2014, is valued at $20 million and includes design, supply, commissioning, and startup services.
Klabin is the largest producer and exporter of packaging paper in Brazil and is considered to be the largest integrated pulp and paper company in the country, exporting to more than 60 countries. The Puma project will demand total investments of $2.4 billion, not including forest assets, improvements to infrastructure and taxes. Startup of the new plant is expected for the end of the first quarter of 2016.
The new mill will have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million metric tons of pulp, of which 1.1 million metric tons is short fiber (eucalyptus) and 400,000 tons is long fiber (pine), part of which will be converted into fluff pulp.
ABB’s power distribution system features technology such as the Is-limiter, the world’s fastest power switching device, and cabinet modularity. The new plant’s power system will allow the mill to generate excess electricity for sale back into the grid. Engineering for the system is now underway. Implementation and commissioning will take place in the second quarter of 2015.
The mill in Ortigueira will be self-sufficient in electrical power, generating 270 MWh of energy. Of this total, 120 MWh will be used for its own consumption and a surplus of around 150 MWh—enough energy to supply a city of half a million inhabitants—will be delivered to the market. All of the energy produced by Klabin will be clean, coming from renewable sources, without burning fossil fuels.
