Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, Munich, Germany, reports that it will construct ECOVAR standard on-site nitrogen and oxygen production plants for CP Kelco and Metsä Fibre, respectively, in Äänekoski, Finland. The long-term on-site gas supply agreements include plant installation, operation, and maintenance. Both plants will be constructed by Linde’s Engineering Division. 

The nitrogen production installation at CP Kelco will incorporate Linde’s ECOVAR ADSOSS-N gas generation plant, which separates nitrogen from air employing the adsorption-based PSA (pressure swing adsorption) process. The customer uses nitrogen for inerting processes in the production of CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose) to control the level of oxygen content.

The uninterrupted supply of nitrogen is of primary importance to the production process, product quality, and operational safety. To guarantee CP Kelco a continuous supply of nitrogen under all conditions, a back-up system based on vaporization of liquid nitrogen will also be installed. Implementation of the ECOVAR plant is underway, with operations beginning in early 2016. 

Linde has also agreed with Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, long-term deliveries of oxygen based on a similar ECOVAR supply concept, this time incorporating an ADSOSS-O oxygen plant. The plant will extract oxygen by means of adsorption. ADSOSS-O gas generation plants are typically designed with two cyclically operated adsorber vessels to extract oxygen continuously, known as vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) technology.