CMPC Starts up New Valmet Pulp Line at Guaíba Mill in Brazil

 

After two years of work, the new pulp line of CMPC Celulose Riograndense Ltda in Brazil has been started up according to schedule on May 3. The delivery agreement of the key technology for the new pulp line was signed by CMPC and Valmet (Finland) in June 2013.

 

The new pulp line is an expansion to the existing Guaíba pulp mill in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. The new line has a capacity of 1.3 million metric tpy and can be upgraded to reach 1.5 million metric tpy with minor investments. This is an addition to the existing capacity of the mill of 500,000 metric tpy.

 

 

"Valmet's commitment was to deliver to CMPC sustainable technologies to create a world reference in efficiency and low environmental emissions. The mill is located very close to the city of Guaíba and one of the most important prerequisites was to minimize all possible impacts to the community. The project execution was a great success. This showcase demonstrates our capacity and competence to deliver a complete pulp plant in the right time and quality," said Celso Tacla, Valmet's area president for South America.

 

Valmet's delivery covered the main process islands of the pulp line, from the cooking plant to the bales that are shipped to final users, including the complete fiberline, pulp drying and baling, evaporation, recovery boiler, causticizing, lime kiln, and an integrated automation solution and operator training simulator for all mill process areas. In addition, Valmet has also delivered a state-of-the-art non-condensable gas treatment system.

 

Valmet's solutions for the Guaíba project were based on the best technologies available. The capacity of the evaporation plant is the largest in operation in the world. The stationary cooler of the lime kiln brings significant savings in fuel oil. The recovery boiler is designed for high power generation. The fiberline features industry-leading operational costs, combining high pulping yield, low chemical consumption, and reduced water consumption with low effluent levels. The pulp dryer utilizes the most reliable technology to provide low steam consumption, and is equipped with high-speed baling lines.

"We are pleased with the outstanding results in Health and Safety during the project. This sets a new benchmark for the industry. In the peak of construction, Valmet had more than 4,000 employees and contractor workers at the site. Since we had such a large amount of people on site and a tight time schedule, safety was a top priority during the whole construction phase," said Francisco Gervasoni, Valmet's manager for Guaíba expansion project.

CMPC Celulose Riograndense Ltda is part of the Chilean group, CMPC Celulosa, one of the largest forestry-based companies in Latin America. Its mills in Chile and Brazil produce some 2.8 million metric tpy of pulp. The new line will add 1.3 million metric tpy to the company's capacity.