A Valmet supplied high consistency bleaching system started up at Rottneros pulp mill in Sweden

Valmet Oyj's trade press release on October 26, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. EET

A new high consistency bleaching system was started up according to plan at Rottneros pulp mill in Sweden on September 19, 2016. The start-up was smooth and the 48 hours test run was approved.

The bleaching system is the first step in a larger rebuild project, called Agenda 500, at the mill. The long term goal is to increase both availability and the total production volume of Rottneros two pulp mills to reach a capacity of 500,000 ton per year.

"The check-out and start-up of the plant went beyond expectation, as you want it to do, and we have already been able to lower the peroxide charge. We are very satisfied with the equipment we have bought and it looks promising for the future. We will now continue to ramp up production," says Jan Viper, Project Manager at Rottneros mill.

"This has been a great project, well organized by Rottneros. Having all instruments and surrounding connections prepared made a fast start-up possible. Commissioning took only three days. When we started the project, the time table was very tight, but in the end we were actually ahead of schedule. This is the first installation of the FKC screw presses in Europe, so this is a good reference case for us," says Lars-Olof Larsson, Project Manager at Valmet.

A part of Valmet's team during start-up in front of the screw presses. From left: Zhi Ping, Technical Sales Manager, Lars Spjuth, Start-up Manager and Kim Rökman, Service Engineer showing pulp samples before and after the new bleaching tower.

About Valmet's bleaching system for mechanical pulp

Bleaching is part of the pulp production process. In bleaching the brightness of the pulp in a mechanical pulping line is increased by peroxide. The new bleaching system consists of a chemical mixer and a bleaching tower, two washing stages with screw presses, and medium consistency pumps. Before the bleaching tower the pulp is washed and pressed to a high consistency. Bleaching in high consistency gives an effective bleaching reaction and less chemicals are needed.

About the customer Rottneros

Rottneros produces market pulp and has an annual production capacity of just under 350,000 tonnes of pulp, produced at two mills in Sweden. In 2014 Rottneros employed around 250 people, the majority in Sweden and had sales amounting to approximately SEK 1.5 billion. Rottneros' shares have been listed on what is now Nasdaq Nordic, Stockholm since November 1987.

VALMET
Corporate Communications

For further information, please contact:
Lars-Olof Larsson, Project Manager, Pulp & Energy Business Line, Valmet tel. +46 70 311 7062

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. We aim to become the global champion in serving our customers.

Valmet's strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bioenergy production. Our advanced services and automation solutions improve the reliability and performance of our customers' processes and enhance the effective utilization of raw materials and energy.

Valmet's net sales in 2015 were approximately EUR 2.9 billion. Our 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.