Waggeryd Cell Leaves LPG, Invests SEK 60 million in Biomass Boiler

Waggeryd Cell, Sweden, is investing SEK 60 million in a biomass boiler to replace LPG with bioenergy as the energy source for its flash dryer. The ground work is just about to start. The mounting of the boiler will begin during March 2016 and startup is scheduled for September of next year. The mill’s emission of fossil carbon dioxide will be reduced by 85%.

Waggeryd Cell produces bleached CTMP (chemi-thermomechanical pulp) and since startup in 1989 its entire production has been flash dried using LPG as the heat source. When the new boiler has started in September 2016, LPG will be totally replaced by bioenergy. The new biomass unit is a grate boiler with an effect of about 12 MW. The supplier is Urbas, an Austrian company specializing in systems designed to extract energy from wet and coarse wood fuels from sawmills, woodworking factories, and general forestry thinning.  It is a turnkey project and Urbas is responsible for the whole delivery, including projecting, mounting, and startup.

"This is yet another of the environmental investments we have done since we began modernising the mill 15 years ago," said Ulf Karlsson, MD Waggeryd Cell. "By replacing LPG for our flash dryer with heat from the new biomass boiler, we will reduce our emissions of fossil carbon dioxide by 85% at the same time as we reduce our costs. The boiler will be fuelled by sawdust, oversized wood chips, and fiber residuals from our process, as well as bark and fuel wood mainly supplied from our owner ATA Group’s sawmills.

"So far we have invested about SEK 500 million, out of which about SEK 95 million is environmentally related, in the mill. It has raised our production level up to 150,000 metric tpy of bleached CTMP pulp made from spruce and pine sawmill chips. Last year we scored yet another production record and increased the production by 6,000 metric tons of pulp. The investment in a biomass boiler will contribute to a long-term profitable and sustainable Waggeryd Cell," Karlsson added.

Urbas, with its head office in Austrian Völkermarkt, has been designing, building, and pioneering energy systems for use of biomass fuels for more than 20 years. The company has realized and established more than 1,000 plants throughout Europe with power ratings ranging from 500 kW to 25 MW.