New Uruguayan Pulp Mill Contracts Praxair for Oxygen Supply

Praxair Uruguay, a subsidiary of Praxair Inc., Danbury, Conn., USA, has signed a 15-yr contract to supply oxygen to a new pulp mill complex being built in Punta Pereira, in the department of Colonia, Uruguay. The new complex will be operated by Montes del Plata, a 50-50 joint venture between Arauco of Chile and StoraEnso of Finland.

Praxair will build, own, and operate a non-cryogenic vacuum-pressure-swing-adsorption (VPSA) plant with a capacity of 126 tpd of gaseous oxygen. The plant is scheduled to startup in early 2013.

The pulp mill will be the largest-ever privately executed investment in Uruguay. The joint venture is investing $1.9 billion in the construction of a state-of-the-art pulp mill, a power generation unit based on renewable sources, and deepwater port facilities. The complex is expected to produce 1.3 million tons of cellulose pulp annually beginning in early 2013.

TAPPI
http://www.tappi.org/