Sun Paper’s New Dissolving Pulp Mill in Arkansas Could Start up in March 2020
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An update on the Sun Bio pulp mill was given to the Clark County Quorum Court, Arkansas, USA, earlier this week. According to Stephen Bell, president/CEO of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance and Area Chamber of Commerce, work on the pulp mill is moving at a "pretty good" pace.
"We’re still in the pre-engineering permitting stage," said Bell, who estimates that construction on the site is expected to begin in March 2018. "Some of the equipment will come from the manufacturers in Europe or China," Bell added.
A logistics company has been hired to explore strategies on how to transport the large equipment into the mill site.
"This will be an extremely large facility. It will take two years to build and will require 2,000 workers. It won’t be 2,000 at one time, but it will peak at 2,000 and then it will come back down," said Bell.
According to Bell, the pulp mill will consume 10,000 tons of wood fiber daily. "It’s about 400 trucks a day that will go into the site," Bell noted.
Due to the high volume of pulp material, Bell said approximately 81 MW of power will be generated. This electricity will be sold on the power grid.
According to Bell, Sun Bio will produce dissolving pulp. The material will be packaged in bales and loaded onto box cars. The product will be used to make rayon for clothing.
"What we are waiting on right now is the air permit. The air permit will allow the company to begin construction on the site," said Bell. The air permit is about a 180-day process and is expected to be issued by early September, he added.
Bell said work continues with the City of Arkadelphia to supply water to the mill from the Ouachita River. Sun Bio is eligible for $75-million in state bonds through the Arkansas Natural Resource Commission. The funds will allow Sun Bio to build the water and sewer portion of the project at a low rate.
More information is available online.
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