China-based Sun Paper has delayed construction of its new bioproduct/pulp mill in Gum Springs, Clark County, Arkansas, near Arkadelphia, until at least the third quarter of 2017. Construction was originally scheduled to begin early next year. The company attributes the delay to ongoing pre-engineering and feasibility studies, as well as the permitting process. Construction of the mill will take 2.5 to 3.0 years, which means that startup will now occur in mid- to late-2020. 

Also, the company reportedly is considering reducing or dropping the planned production of fluff pulp and focusing mainly on dissolving pulp (also known as specialty cellulose) as its main product. However, decisions about the mill’s product mix have not yet been finalized.

The new $1.36 billion mill (final investment could be closer to $1 billion, depending on final product mix) will create some 250 direct new jobs at an average salary of $52,000 a year, and 1,000 or so indirect jobs. It will be one of the largest private investments in Arkansas’ history. 

According to Sun Paper, the Arkansas facility, the first for Sun Paper in North America, will be one of the world’s most environmentally focused pulp mills, or as Sun Paper’s President, General Manager, and Chairman Hongxin Li describes it—"advanced biorefinery." In addition to pulp, it will produce several key bioproducts, such as food additives, from wood sugars in the pulp cooking hydrolysate. Initially, lignin will be burned in the chemical recovery boiler, but later on it will be extracted and converted into a valuable bioproduct.

The mill will feature high efficiency energy consumption. According to the company’s feasibility studies, it will be able to supply significant amounts of excess energy generation to the local power grid. It will use a combination of chemical recovery and combination power boilers to produce steam to drive the power turbines, Chairman Li told TAPPI during a special meeting in late April. We will not only be energy self-sufficient, but will be able to supply excess power out to the local grid, he emphasized.

Sun Paper, as Chairman Li noted, has not yet decided on specific production systems and equipment for the new mill, but its goal is to use the latest, state-of-the art technologies, with a strong focus on sustainability and environmental performance.

The mill will be built approximately 65 miles southwest of Little Rock, Ark., about 10 miles south of Hot Springs. It will be located off of Interstate 30, offering connections further southwest as well as east when connecting with Interstate 40 towards Memphis, Tenn.

Privately-owned Sun Paper will ship all of the pulp produced at Arkadelphia back to China for sell to third party converters, who will use it to produce a variety of products such as rayon textiles from dissolving pulp.   

Based in Shandong Province, Sun Paper employs 10,000 people worldwide and is China’s largest privately owned papermaking enterprise. It produces packaging grades of paper and board, dissolving pulp, tissue, and printing and writing papers. The company currently makes 1 million metric tpy of coated paper, 1.5 million metric tpy of coated boxboard, 420,000 metric tons of tissue grades, and a half million metric tons of dissolving pulp.