Stora Celbi Starts Up New Valmet Bleach Plant

Published Dec 28, 1999 00.00.00 +2 GMT

Stora Enso has successfully started up the new TwinRollTM press-based bleach plant at its Celbi mill in Portugal.

The new 4-stage bleach plant supplied by Valmet Chemical Pulping (former Sunds Defibrator) is suitable for both ECF and TCF bleaching and is based entirely on TwinRoll™ press washing. It replaces the old filter-based bleach plant and is one step in a major modernization and expansion program to increase capacity and reduce environmental impact at Celbi.

The new bleach plant is designed for about 1,100 tons per day of fully bleached eucalyptus, and the TwinRoll press technology was chosen because of the favorable experience from presses in the oxygen-delignifaction stage and the possibilities presses provide to reduce the effluent volumes.

The project included a turnkey supply, except civil works and electrical equipment. Key machinery are the two TwinRoll-B and the two TwinRoll-W type presses.

The new bleach plant started up in September 1999. The mill shut-down schedule was only 12 days. During this time all the existing filters were replaced and new piping and instrumentation installed. Despite the very short stop period for the turnkey installation, the mill had reached normal running capacity and quality soon after start-up.

This was achieved as a result of good planning and coordination between Valmet and the Celbi production and project teams.

Valmet, the Fiber and Paper Technology business area within Metso, a world leading supplier of technologies, systems and equipment for the pulp, paper and panelboard industry was formed following the recent merger of Sunds Defibrator and Valmet Paper Machinery.

Metso Corporation was created through the merger of Valmet and Rauma on July 1, 1999 and comprises three business areas – Fiber and Paper Technology, Automation and Control Technology and Machinery. In 1998, the pro forma net sales of Metso amounted to EUR 3.7 billion (FIM 22 billion). The combined number of employees was approximately 23,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.

For further information, please contact:

Lars Sjödin Vice President & General Manager Chemical Pulping Sundsvall, Sweden

Thore Englund Vice President Corporate Communications