Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013 by Annex Business Media

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CHEMICALS OUTLOOK BEST PRACTICES: RECRUITING WAY BEYOND TECH SUPPORT

CANADA

OVER 100 YEARS OF SERVING THE INDUSTRY

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013

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Asset management Mets채 Board uses the crane and sheeters from a closed paper machine to update a folding boxboard mill

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January/February 2013 Vol. 114, No. 1 A Business Information Group Publication PrINT eDITION IssN 0316-4004 ON-LINe eDITION IssN 1923-3515

CANADA

OVER 100 YEARS OF SERVING THE INDUSTRY

COVER STORY

16 Metsä Board: Building from within

Metsä Board adopts the crane and sheeters of a closed paper machine to update the folding boxboard mill at Äänekoski, Finland.

FEATURES

12 Selling a green dream

Pulp and paper companies are pursuing the younger generation of workers on their terms: selling sustainability through social media and outreach events.

14 Uncertainty clouds chemicals forecast

Some upward price pressure is expected, but supply and demand are generally in balance for 2013.

Modern iT – it ain’t what it used to be

The information technology department of a modern mill has the potential to contribute to strategic planning and mill operations – not just fix printers and laptops.

Technology trends from Finland

Savcor Forest, EV Group and ABB demonstrate that Finnish suppliers have some innovative ideas.

J-FOR FEATURED TECHNICAL PAPER

21 Application of carbon dioxide to reduce water-side lime scale in heat exchangers

By lowering the pH of the mill water at the MWV mill in Evadale, TX, the solubility of calcium carbonate in the water was substantially increased, effectively eliminating lime scale formation in the heat exchanger. By Peter W. Hart, Gary W. Colson, Jeffery Burris, MWV

11 14 16

IN EVERY ISSUE 4 6 8 9 10 27 29 30

editorial news Safest Mill update Opinion: FPaC Opinion: FPinnovations technology news Classified ads

Bio-economy update

miSSion StatEmEnt: To promote the pulp and paper industry in Canada by publishing news of its people and their innovations in research, technology, management and financing, as well as forecasts of future trends. Serving the industry since 1903.

For breaking news, visit www.pulpandpapercanada.com Cover image: Courtesy of Konecranes

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January/February 2013 PulP & PaPer Canada

Editorial

Get creative – a shrinking industry leaves assets available

ow that the industry has made its sweeping cuts to reduce capacity, we’re seeing some fine-tuning of assets occurring. Stories of grade conversions are crossing my desk, such as Atlantic Packaging’s alteration of its Whitby, Ont., newsprint mill to produce lightweight board for packaging (see Industry News, page 6). On a smaller scale, re-purposing of equipment is evident in the story about Metsä Board’s Äänekoski mill, on page 16. The company is using the space from a closed art paper mill to install sheeting lines, which themselves modified from their original purpose. They are paper sheeters adapted for cutting board. The automated roll storage facility was revamped as well, changing the gripper and roll layout to handle folding boxboard instead of art Cindy Macdonald paper. And one of the sheeters uses what the projEditor ect manager calls a “formerly unemployed” robot. These examples show us that not all innovation in the industry is happening on the cutting edge of the bio-economy. It’s also occurring right on the mill floor, when we choose to do new things with assets we already have. In Nova Scotia, for example, the government bought the Bowater Mersey site and is using the facility to support forest industry innovation and start-ups (see Industry News, page 6). This is not the same as making do with what you have. “Making do” is how we ended up with many of the old paper machines that have been shut down as demand for newsprint and printing papers has declined. What we’re seeing now is creative use of the assets left behind by a shrinking industry. Also in this issue, check out the first in series of articles by Mike Harwood of Zellstoff Celgar. Mike approached me with the idea, wanting to enlighten people throughout the industry about modern IT. He says today’s IT departments must be agile and autonomous, with a detailed understanding of mill processes in order to match business goals to appropriate technologies. I would like to extend my thanks to PPT Group of Finland, a group of Finnish companies involved in the pulp and paper industry, who organized and sponsored a trip to Finland last fall for several magazine editors, including myself. You’ll see some stories originating from that trip in this issue, and more in the March/April edition

Editor CINDY MACDONALD 416-510-6755 cindy@pulpandpapercanada.com Publisher Jim Bussiere 416-442-5600 ext. 3606 jim@pulpandpapercanada.com President, Business Information Group BRUCE CREIGHTON Vice President, Publishing ALEX PAPANOU Executive Publisher, Manufacturing Tim Dimopoulos

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Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

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Industry News

Atlantic Packaging refitting newsprint mill for high-performance lightweight paper Atlantic Packaging Products will open the first high-performance lightweight recycled paper mill in North America. The company plans to re-open its Whitby, Ont., mill in March of 2013. The former newsprint mill has been upgraded with technology that will allow Atlantic Packaging to produce 100% recycled lightweight paper used to manufacture high-performance corrugated packaging products.

According to Atlantic Packaging, recycled lightweight paper has available in Europe for many years. The paper is made using less fibre and is enhanced for strength. The result is a much lighter, stronger and more sustainable product. Dave Boles, president of Atlantic Packaging, says, “In North America, the term lightweight has been primarily used in reference to the basis weight of the paper, with little or no emphasis on strength. What we’re talking about is a disruptive technology that is capable of producing low basis weights (lighter

paper) with sustainability and strength characteristics unlike anything in corrugated packaging today.” Boles continues, “Sustainability objectives from large retailers are driving the industry forward, and soon Atlantic will be in a position to provide our customers with the most sustainable corrugated packaging option available in North America.” Atlantic Packaging Products is a vertically integrated packaging products company with interests in corrugated and flexible packaging, displays, and recycling.

Atlantic Packaging’s shuttered newsprint mill in Whitby, Ont., will re-open in March producing low basis weight paper with “strength characteristics unlike anything in corrugated packaging today.”

Canfor Northwood to upgrade turbines, sell energy to province BC Hydro and Canfor Pulp have announced a new agreement to generate bioenergy at the Northwood mill in Prince George. Canfor will invest $26 million to upgrade two turbo-generators at the mill. This will add 11 megawatts of capacity to the provincial grid and provide 97 gigawatt hours of electricity supply annually. In addition, Canfor’s investment will allow it to reduce its supply requirements from BC Hydro by 17 gigawatt hours per year. “With the previous resources provided by Natural Resources Canada and the BC Hydro Integrated Power Offer, this project is the next phase of our plan to demonstrate Canfor Pulp’s continued commitment to maximizing the energy efficiency at our operations and support incremental generation of clean, renewable power,” said 6

Brett Robinson, president, Canfor Pulp. The Northwood turbine upgrade project is expected to be in service by March 2014.

Minas Basin closed; cannot achieve long term sustainability Saying the mill cannot achieve long-term sustainability, the owners of Minas Basin Pulp and Power’s containerboard mill in Hantsport, N.S., closed the mill in December. In a memo to employees, Scotia Investments Limited stated: “With last year’s restructuring of operations and adjusting of the workforce, many have remained hopeful that, together with some recent improvement in pricing, the mill could be competitive. However, after several years of challenge, the board has concluded that it is time to recognize that the mill is at the end of its cycle. Long term sustainability cannot be achieved.”

Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

The company cites marketplace challenges, increased competition from newer, more efficient mills, and rising operating costs as reasons for the closure. It is not seeking support for the mill from the provincial government. The closure affects 135 employees, but Scotia Investments says about 40 will be offered employment at Minas Basin’s sister company, CKF Inc., which makes molded pulp products. CKF is also located in Hantsport. Scotia Investments also noted it “will be fulfilling all employment obligations, including the pension plan.” In a Canadian Press story published on Macleans.ca, Robert Patzelt, Scotia Investments’ vice-president of corporate development, said pouring more money into such a small mill just wouldn’t make sense. “The reality is that … additional money from the government (would be) inadewww.pulpandpapercanada.com

Industry News quate to overcome those structural and economic challenges,” he said in an interview. “In this instance, you would have to build a new mill and it would have to be huge and it would have to be located somewhere else.” Scotia Investments’ letter specifically thanked Scott Travers, former president of Minas Basin, for his contributions. The energy division of Minas Basin Pulp and Power will continue as a going concern, as will CKF.

Resolute idles kraft mill and PM5 at Fort Frances Resolute Forest Products cites challenging market conditions and the loss of a major customer as the reasons for the indefinite idling of the kraft mill and paper machine No. 5 (PM5) at its pulp and paper operation in Fort Frances, Ont. The closures will put approximately 239 people out of work. The kraft mill has an annual production capacity of approximately 200,000 tonnes of market pulp, while PM5 has an annual capacity of 105,000 tonnes of groundwood specialty printing papers. “The markets for these products are challenging and are expected to remain so. The kraft mill situation is particularly difficult given Fort Frances’ operating configuration and the recent decision by a key customer to stop consuming the pulp supplied by Resolute to its mill,” said Resolute’s president and CEO, Richard Garneau. “Our kraft mill’s drying capacity is limited to about 40% of its production capacity, making it impossible to continue operating the mill in a profitable manner.” The company is exploring alternative product possibilities for its Fort Frances pulp mill. The idling of PM5 is driven by the decrease in consumption as well as the high value of the Canadian dollar. Garneau noted that the company will monitor market conditions and work with stakeholders to improve the mill’s cost position.

NS buys Bowater Mersey assets, plans bioenergy centre The province of Nova Scotia has purchased the Bowater Mersey Paper Company and its assets with the intent of making the forest available for community and Mi’kmaq use, and turning the paper mill into a centre for clean energy, bioenergy www.pulpandpapercanada.com

and forestry innovation. Bowater Mersey is the former joint venture between Resolute Forest Products (51%) and The Washington Post Company (49%). Resolute operated the Mersey newsprint mill until it was indefinitely idled in June of 2012. A government release describing the deal with Resolute states that the Bowater Mersey Paper Company was acquired for $1, plus the assumption of certain liabilities. These include a pension shortfall of about $100 million, plus other employee costs ($18.4 million) and payment of a portion of company debt ($18 million). According the provincial government, the assets involved in the deal have a value of $150.4 million: lands ($117.7 million); Brooklyn Power ($25 million); paper mill site ($5 million); plus fibre inventory, cash and investment tax credits ($2.7 million). The Brooklyn Power 30-MW biomass generating station will be sold to Emera for $25 million. The government statement explaining the deal also notes, “The province could have chosen to expropriate the land, but that process often takes years and can cost considerably more.”

Newfoundland loses environmental clean-up case against Abitibi The Supreme Court has decided a case between the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Abitibi-Consolidated (now operating as Resolute Forest Products), in favor of the pulp and paper company. The case concerned environmental clean-up costs for the Windsor-Grand Falls mill in Newfoundland, which Abitibi closed in 2009. The Newfoundland government expropriated the mill and some other Abitibi assets in the province. Abitibi later entered CCAA creditor protection. The Supreme Court ruled in early November that the environmental protection orders issued by the province to Abitibi cannot be enforced as regulatory orders. The court found that the financial liability to clean up the sites can only be dealt with by the CCAA process, granting this liability the same status as other creditor claims. According to CBC News, “the justices wrote that full compliance with such cleanup orders that are found to be monetary in

Boiler problems have contributed to the closure of the sawdust pulp line at Domtar Kamloops. Photo courtesy Domtar

Domtar closes one line at Kamloops Domtar will permanently shut down one pulp machine at its Kamloops, B.C., facility, putting 125 employees out of work and curtailing Domtar’s annual pulp production by approximately 120,000 air-dried metric tons of sawdust softwood pulp. The pulp machine, known at the mill as the “A-Line”, is expected to be closed by the end of March 2013. “Prevailing economic conditions in the global pulp markets and the deteriorated competitiveness of this small pulp manufacturing line, coupled with unforeseen boiler repair costs, have forced us to rationalize this pulp production capacity. We will focus our energy and resources on optimizing the larger, more competitive, ‘B’ pulp manufacturing line which will continue to operate,” said Mike Edwards, senior vice-president, pulp and paper manufacturing. Domtar spokesperson Bonnie Skene told the Kamloops Daily News that problems with a key boiler for the A-line were discovered during the fall maintenance shutdown, and were a contributing factor in the closure. The mill’s B-line has an annual capacity of approximately 350,000 air-dried metric tons of softwood kraft pulp and employs approximately 300 people.

January/February 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

Industry News

SaFeSt Mill in Canada COnteSt

Total Recordable Incidents

Year to date, November 2012

Total Hours Worked

Mill Frequency

CateGOrY a – OVER 80,000 MANHOURS PER MONTH Domtar Inc., Windsor, QC

Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Boyle, AB

987,577 1.22

Catalyst Paper, Crofton, BC

1,078,942 5.56

1,369,874 0.73

Garneau, president and CEO of Resolute Forest Products. “We compete in a challenging marketplace and controlling rising energy costs is a critically important factor in achieving sustained profitability.”

instrumentation distributor opens alberta sales and service office

Resolute Forest Products, Alma, QC

741,562 0.81

Resolute Forest Products, Thunder Bay, ON

819,822 0.98

Resolute Forest Products, Fort Frances, ON

736,614 1.36

Resolute Forest Products, Baie-Comeau, QC

734,718 1.36

Resolute Forest Products, Laurentide, QC

669,185 1.49

CD Nova Instruments has opened a sales, service and calibration centre in Sherwood Park, Alta. The supplier of environmental monitoring systems is expanding into a new facility that will supply spare parts, sales, field service and calibration for both ambient and source (CEMS) level systems. The new location is 210-120 Pembina Road, Sherwood Park, Alta., T8H 0M2. Tel.: 780417-2616.

eurocon analyzer adopts name of its product: Pulpeye

CateGOrY B – 50,000 to 80,000 MANHOURS PER MONTH

CateGOrY C – LESS THAN 50,000 MANHOURS PER MONTH Weyerhaeuser Canada, Grande Prairie, AB

498,146 0.00

Resolute Forest Products, Kenogami, QC

351,244 0.00

Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp Inc., Meadow Lake, SK

338,412 0.00

Resolute Forest Products, Thorold, ON

269,515 0.00

Sonoco Canada Corporation, Brantford, ON

121,114 0.00

nature would shift the costs of remediation to third-party creditors.” They concluded that such a shift would deviate from the polluter-pay principle.

voith producing doctor blades in north america Voith Paper has formed a joint venture with Gulf Coast Manufacturing to produce and supply the Voith SkyLine doctor blade product line and doctoring accessories from the American company’s facility in Gulf Shores, Alabama. According to the company, Voith SkyLine doctor blades generate measurable added value in paper machine efficiency, cost savings and lifetime.

discounted electricity rate helps northern Ontario mills The Ontario government will continue a program to help large northern industrial companies improve energy efficiency, reduce costs, sustain jobs and maintain competitiveness. The province announced in December that it intends to extend and revise the Northern Industrial Electricity

Rate (NIER) program for three years. Current NIER participants could continue to receive a rebate of two cents per kilowatt-hour. Two pulp and paper companies operating in the region – Resolute Forest Products and Domtar – responded favorably to the announcement. “The extension of the NIER program is an important step forward,” said Richard

Eurocon Analyzer of Sweden, a provider of online measuring equipment to the pulp and paper industry, is changing its name to PulpEye AB, after its most well-known product, the PulpEye pulp analyzer. The company’s sales office in Canada becomes PulpEye Canada Inc. The company will continue its cooperation agreement with Eurocon control equipment, but, “since there is no ownership connection between Eurocon and PulpEye, it will be easier for customers to know who does what,” says Öjvind Sundvall, CEO of PulpEye AB. PulpEye Canada has also moved its Ontario office to 45 O’Connor St., Suite 1150, Ottawa, ON, K1P 1A4.

Quesnel river Pulp receives $250,000 for reducing natural gas Quesnel River Pulp, a division of West Fraser, has received $250,000 in funding from FortisBC to support its energy efficiency projects. “The incentive from FortisBC offers significant value to our operation. Our plant process uses a lot of energy, and this partnership with FortisBC has allowed us to make smart decisions with respect to equipment upgrades,” said Keith Carter, general manager of Quesnel River Pulp. “These upgrades reduce our dependence on fossil fuel energy sources and create savings which are critical to the competitiveness of our business.” One major efficiency upgrade was the replacement of heat exchangers with more efficient spiral-wound units, reports the company. The new units reduce the amount of natural gas required for drying the pulp. The pulp mill will save approximately 70,000 gigajoules (GJs) of natural gas annually. FortisBC is a regulated utility providing natural gas, electricity, propane and thermal energy solutions.

PulP & PaPer Canada January/February 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Opinion

Creating a Canadian advantage in the global bio-economy By Catherine Cobden, executive vice-president, Forest Products Association of Canada

he Canadian forest products industry is becoming a dynamic player in the growing bio-economy but it cannot produce a wide range of innovative biomaterials on its own. That’s why the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) started the Bio-pathways Partnership Network to explore new business-to-business ventures. It has brought together more than 250 organizations from various sectors: chemical, energy, pharmaceutical, auto, aerospace, plastics and more. FPAC has also joined with eight other industry groups to form the Bio-economy Network or BEN, a cross-sector forum bringing together the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, BIOTECanada, the Canadian Bioenergy Association, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, CropLife Canada, FPInnovations and the Sustainable Chemistry Alliance. BEN members share a strong belief that Canada can use its abundant renewable resources of forest and agriculture residues to produce the likes of medical applications, foods, energy, and chemicals. Canada should aim to get a healthy share of a global bio-market estimated at $200 billion by 2020.

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Key trading partners and competitors have already developed comprehensive bio-economy strategies. The Obama administration in the United States has released a National Bio-economy Blueprint and the European Union has its Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bioeconomy for Europe. In comparison, Canada has been moving forward, but in individual silos without an overall strategic frame. That’s where BEN comes in. Individual associations felt it was time to explore new business models and partnerships to enhance co-ordination, outreach and advocacy. BEN members intend to focus on investment climate, the regulatory environment (including standards), innovation, cross-sector collaborative partnerships, market diversification, and value added production. BEN also wants partners in the federal government to improve coordination across key departments. The key is to work together. Our goal is ambitious – to develop a comprehensive bio-economy framework and produce ground-breaking green products from Canada’s renewable resources. BEN invites other associations from mining to agriculture to the plastics industries to join the cause and turn Canada into a bio-economy powerhouse, creating solid jobs and growth from our wealth of natural resources.

January/February 2013 PulP & PaPer Canada

Opinion

Emerging trends in international standardization of forest-based products By Jennifer Ellson, senior communications specialist, fpinnovations

anada’s forest industry is in the process of transforming itself with a major market shift towards Asia and a move towards bioenergy and bioproducts. The flourishing Asian pulp and paper industry, combined with declining demand in North America and Europe, has created a significant market shift, particularly for Canadian market pulp producers. China is now the world’s largest producer and consumer of paper and board, with an annual growth rate of 5.5% for next 10 years. Canada holds one-third of the market share for Chinese imports of market pulp, representing 4 million tonnes annually, making China the largest market for Canadian market pulp producers. Moreover, this burgeoning Chinese industry has created a high demand not only for raw materials

and new technologies, but also for technical products and services. FPInnovations is at the forefront of this transformation and monitoring its impact on Canadian forest products. In a special report, “Emerging Trends and Issues in International Standardization of Forest-based Products: What Should Canada Watch For?”, FPInnovations scientists reviewed emerging issues and current concerns in standardization. Particular emphasis is placed on: • Paper, board and pulps • Solid biofuels • Cellulose nanomaterials • Sustainability Authored by Maurice Douek, Wayne Bichard, Lyne Cormier, Denis Cormier and Xuejun Zou, the report states that Canada is well represented and has strong credibility on the various ISO standard development

PulP & PaPer Canada January/February 2013

committees, and that strong participation in ISO activities has helped Canada in preventing potential barriers to its export markets. “Assuming a leadership role in the development of nanocellulose standards will be particularly important in showcasing Canada’s contribution to this important area,” the report explains. “However, with the expectations of tighter biomass trade regulations, Canada needs to be more vigilant than ever in ensuring that new standards and specifications on bioenergy do not discriminate against Canadian products and that it is well positioned to meet new regulations on biomass quality specifications and sustainability requirements.” According to the report, if these steps are taken proactively, international standards will be of benefit, rather than a deterrent, to Canada’s position and ability to compete effectively in the global marketplace.

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Pulp and paper companies are pursuing the younger generation of workers on their terms – selling a “green” and progressive culture, decent wages, and an outdoor lifestyle through social media and face-to-face interaction.

Selling a Green dreaM

By Peter Caulfield

he Canadian forest sector, including pulp and paper, is staring a severe labor shortage in the face. According to the Forest Products Sector Council (FPSC) Labor Market Intelligence Report, one of the biggest challenges for employers will be replacing all the baby-boomer workers who are expected to retire. The FPSC estimates that more than 50,000 workers, approximately one-third of the current workforce, will leave the sector in the next 10 years. When the number of new hires due to attrition are added to the projected number of workers needed as the economy recovers, anywhere from 40,000 to 120,000 new employees will be required in the coming decade. The forest industry has not been sitting on its hands, however; it has been busy developing new ways to attract the workers it will need. For example, the Forest Products Association of Canada’s (FPAC) Vision2020 leadership project has a goal of recruiting an additional 60,000 workers by the end of the decade, with an emphasis on women, new Canadians and Aboriginals. “We’re repositioning the forest sector to be more attractive to a new generation of 12

workers,” said FPAC President and CEO David Lindsay. “We have to, because we’re competing with all the other resource industries in Canada for the same pool of workers.” To attract indigenous youth to the forest industry, FPAC established a skills award. In September 2012, Baillie Redfern, an M.Sc graduate student in genome science and technology at the University of British Columbia, became the first winner of the annual Skills Award for Indigenous Youth. Redfern, a member of the Painted Feather Woodland Metis Tribe in Ontario, is studying how to use bio-ingredients from wood fibre to create bio-products such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The $2,500 award is targeted at youth from 18 to 25 who are enrolled in an apprenticeship program, college or university and who are First Nations, Métis or Inuit with a strong academic standing.

marketing and communications campaign to attract new workers and help re-brand the forest industry as a dynamic and innovative place to work. The project features Green Dream, in which up to eight internships will be offered with FPAC member companies. “Green Dream will challenge young applicants to submit a video on why they should get an internship in this futureoriented and environmentally progressive industry,” said FPAC’s Susan Murray. “The videos will be posted to YouTube and winning contestant will be expected to blog about their experience working for the forest industry.” PaperWeek Canada 2013 will also feature a job fair, for the first time in its 99-year history. PAPTAC executive director Gregoire Hay says he is expecting about a dozen employers and perhaps hundreds of students and other job-seekers at the fair.

FPaC pushes the green dream

Selling skilled trades to students

At PaperWeek Canada 2013, which takes place in Montreal in February, The Greenest Workforce (TGW) is being launched. A joint FPAC-FPSC initiative, TGW is a

On the other side of the country, in British Columbia, Rob Jarvis, manager of talent and employee development in the Prince George office of Canadian Forest Products

PulP & PaPer Canada January/February 2013

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Photo: Government of Nova Scotia

Trends

Trends Ltd., says his company is busy developing a recruitment and retention strategy for all of its mills. “We have1,000 salaried employees, of whom 25% are expected to retire by 2020, and 3,500 hourly employees, and 20% of them are expected to retire,” Jarvis said. Jarvis says Canfor’s recruitment efforts combine marketing and human resources (HR). The company is a sponsor of the Trades – It’s a Smart Move initiative, which was launched in September 2012. The campaign goes into schools in and around Prince George and tells students that trades provide a career path to high-paying jobs and mobility. In 2012, Canfor hosted information events at University of British Columbia, British Columbia Institute of Technology and the University of Northern British Columbia. “Between 10 and 12 Canfor employees, including senior executives, went out and talked to students,” Jarvis said. “It’s a way to get the face of the company in front of prospective employees.” Jarvis says the sessions were of great value and that Canfor plans to do at least as many in 2013. Canfor has also been attending trade fairs. “We went to about 20 in the last year, in B.C., Alberta, Ireland and California,” he said. On the digital front, Canfor updated its web site and hired a young social media expert who is working on branding the company in such social media as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. “We’re putting a lot of energy into getting our brand out,” Jarvis said.

Be a good corporate citizen Resolute Forest Products says that, as environmental and social concerns gain a higher profile, it has become important for companies to demonstrate good corporate citizenship in order to attract and retain the best talent. As a result, Resolute will continue to demonstrate its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices. Between 2012 and 2014, Resolute expects it will need to fill 2,500 positions – 25% of its workforce – primarily as a result of employee retirements. The company has launched a long-term strategy to revitalize its recruitment prowww.pulpandpapercanada.com

cesses. In 2011, Resolute conducted an HR survey to better understand how to improve recruitment at the local level. It also developed an HR strategy to retain and engage existing employees. Melissa Picard, HR initiatives advisor, cites herself as an example of Resolute’s commitment to employee growth and retention. “After working for a Montreal HR consultant, I started with the company 18 months ago as an HR coordinator,” Picard said. “Eight months later I became an HR advisor and took on new responsibilities, new projects and new things to do. Then I was promoted again and now I’m responsible for HR initiatives.” Linda Coates, vice-president, human resources and corporate affairs at Tembec Inc., says her company is transforming itself into one with “a very sustainable future.” “That appeals to people who want to make their marks,” Coates said. “We rebranded Tembec last year and our message is future-minded: Rooted in Tomorrow.” Coates says Tembec has about 3,700

employees. “We expect between 30% and 40% of our workforce will retire in the next seven to 10 years,” she said. “That is well over 1,000 retirements.” Coates says the forest industry is based on a renewable resource – the forest – which appeals to people who are concerned about the future. “Tembec is a leader in sustainable forest practices, with a deep commitment to resource stewardship, and that resonates with people today,” she said. “We manufacture our products in parts of the country where other people go for vacations, so the lifestyle is very attractive to people who like the outdoors and living in smaller communities.” Tembec is also investing heavily in its specialty cellulose business, which serves a number of growth industries, and in green electricity. “These are very steady businesses, which tend to offset the more cyclical sides of our business,” Coates said. “They also underline our long-term commitment to the business, which is important to people who want to build careers.”

tiPS FrOM tHe PrOS The importance

in Victoria, says employers need to communicate to potential employees from demographic groups the value of language and different they will bring to the company. communication “For example, tell women you value their collaborative work style and, at the It’s certainly critical for same time, what they will get from working forestry companies to have at your company, such as flexible working a good recruitment plan, but how they hours,” Lloyd said. “Your company needs to communicate it to the people they want be able to communicate with everybody in to reach is just as important. the different languages they speak.” Christian Codrington, senior manager of Anjana Moitra-Ohri, who owns Mori operations at the British Columbia Human Consulting Ltd. in Vancouver, says a comResources Management Association, says pany makes itself attractive as a place to the landing pages of many forestry com- work to different demographic groups by panies have “too many words, instead of providing different options and by answerimages of cool-looking people doing cool ing their different needs and wants. things.” “Your internal practices and marketing “The very things that have made some have to reflect a world where companies industries successful in the past, such as aren’t afraid to have a position on these employment segmentation and specializa- issues,” Moitra-Ohri said. “Communicate tion, may keep young people away today,” that position and describe how the issues Codrington said. “The mind-set of young are addressed. It’s a part of the selection people today is not specialization, but process and will result in organizations variety. So show them all the opportuni- getting employees that are a better fit ties there are in your company.” and most closely aligned to what they have Denise Lloyd, who owns Engaged HR Inc. to offer.”

January/February 2013 PulP & PaPer Canada

Industry outlook

Uncertainty clouds the forecast for chemicals Some upward price pressure expected, but supply and demand generally in balance for 2013

By Peter Caulfield

lthough market conditions for the manufacturers of industrial chemicals used in the Canadian pulp and paper industry were somewhat more stable in 2012 compared to the recent past, the outlook for 2013 appears uncertain and ambiguous. Like many other heavy industries, the chemical industry will continue to soldier on and hope that better days are, if not just around the corner, at least at the end of the tunnel.

demand mirrors paper production

Photo courtesy Evonik

Ted Kelly, vice-president, business management, paper chemicals at BASF Corporation, says the demand for paper coating and paper-making chemicals in 2012 was in line with production trends. “North American paper manufacturing in 2012, compared to 2011, was a mixed bag, depending on the paper grade,” Kelly said. “We saw a decline in the production of graphic paper versus 2011, by just over 3.5%, while the production of packaging paper grades and tissue grades were essentially flat compared to 2011. “However, an exception to this rule is the paperboard market, where the use of chemistry enables the manufacturer to reduce basis weight or substitute recycled fibre for virgin fibre, while maintaining strength. It also gives a second option to increase productivity on machines that are dryerlimited by improving drainage.” Kelly foresees a continuing decline in the production of graphic papers over the next five to eight years, driven mostly by the replacement of paper storage by electronic storage. “We expect to see production levels decline by about 2.5% per year in that time,” he said. “In the packaging segment, we expect a roughly flat production tonnage between now and 2020. And in the tissue area, the expectation is that tissue production will grow at a rate close to GDP. The chemical demand for those grades should parallel their production trends, but with some upside in the packaging segment related to packaging innovation.”

PulP & PaPer Canada January/February 2013

upward price pressure in 2013 Buckman’s Davor Mehes is cautiously optimistic about the North American chemical manufacturing sector in 2013, despite various projections to the contrary and the high degree of uncertainty in the market www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Industry outlook “We expect 2013 demand growth will exceed 2012 modestly, while overall supply and demand will remain balanced,” says Mehes, vice-president and general manager - sales of Buckman Canada. “We are preparing for 5% upward price pressure on overall chemical pricing in 2013. However, significant uncertainty remains about the future of the overall global economy and we remain positioned for exaggerated pricing or supply and demand movements in either direction.” Mehes says Buckman Canada continues to grow as it gains pulp, paper and tissue industry market share. “However, demand for our chemicals has dropped where pulp and paper production capacity has been curtailed,” he said. Mehes says overall growth of industrial chemical demand in 2012 was less than in 2011, but was roughly in line with the growth of North American gross domestic product. Swings in demand continued in 2012, but with less exaggerated movements and shorter up-down cycles compared to previous years. The chemical industry’s concerns can be summed up under the general heading of uncertainty, Mehes says. “The magnitude and general surprise of the financial collapse followed by the European sovereign debt and other crises have left a lasting impression on manufacturers”, he said. “This has resulted in a threshold shift down in overall business confidence and manufacturers are exercising an abundance of caution. Manufacturers of industrial chemicals are much more cognizant of the global events, systemic risks, geo-politics and the macroeconomic environment. In this regard, there is much unsettled business and risks remain elevated.”

Focus on engineered solutions Some chemical manufacturers are responding to these uncertain conditions with new initiatives to consolidate their operations or introduce new products they hope will win them greater market share. For example, AkzoNobel Pulp and Performance Chemicals (formerly Eka Chemicals) launched the EcoFill family of products in 2012. Lee Sampson, vicepresident sales and marketing for paper chemicals America, says EcoFill will be “a heavy focus” of the company in 2013. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

EcoFill is based on engineered cellulosic additive (ECA), which enhances paper strength and filler content. The company says EcoFill makes it possible for papermakers to significantly reduce costs and improve the sustainability of their operations, without having to compromise production efficiency. As part of a new business strategy and management team, Eka Chemicals changed its name in April 2012. Sampson says the move aligns Eka Chemicals more firmly with the AkzoNobel parent company. The name Eka will stay as a product brand for the pulp and paper industry. The company says the new strategic focus will broaden the scope of the business and accelerate expansion into new markets. “We are going to focus on innovative solutions for the future and we see a large potential in bleaching chemicals, silica technology, polymers and expandable microspheres, which are some of the key areas for growth in the long term,” said Ruud Joosten, managing director. Another chemical manufacturer on the restructuring path is Kemira Oyj, of Helsinki, Finland. According to senior manager of external communications Anna-Kaisa Säkkinen, Kemira has been busy restructuring its business over the last five years. “As a result, we have been able to consolidate our business in line with the endcustomer industry,” she said. Sales of chemicals from Kemira’s paper segment increased in every quarter between January and September 2012, but were still lower than in the comparable period of 2011. On a more positive note, Säkkinen says, prices strengthened to some extent in 2012. In March, Kemira’s paper segment announced price increases in all regions of 5 to 15% for polymers, dispersants and wet- and dry-strength products. In July, Kemira launched KemFlite. The company says KemFlite is a new concept to reduce paper and board machine problems that are caused by deposits due to the agglomeration of hydrophobic particles. KemFlite manages hydrophobic substances, particularly their size, before they form deposits. Chemical buyers can only hope that the global economy does not prompt major supply /demand inbalances in 2013, and that chemical suppliers continue to develop more effective but less costly solutions

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to pulp and paper process challenges.

2012 IN REVIEW

n May, KaMin LLC purchased a majority ownership position in CADAM SA., a Brazilian kaolin operator. In an announcement, KaMin president Harlan Archer said, “This acquisition represents our continued investment in kaolin products that deliver value to our customers. Our combined production and logistics capabilities allow us to improve our ability to address our customer’s technical needs and delivered cost expectations to all regions of the world.” In June, Tronox Limited closed its acquisition of Exxaro Resources Limited’s mineral sands business. The deal made Tronox the world’s largest fully integrated producer of titanium ore and titanium dioxide. In an announcement, Tronox chairman and CEO Tom Casey said, “We now have the ability to sell into a lucrative titanium feedstock market while assuring our titanium dioxide customers that we have the supply to deliver quality products at reasonable prices.” In October, Celanese Corporation announced a price increase in the Americas for acrylic emulsions. Effective November 15, 2012, pure acrylic and styrene acrylic emulsions increased by $0.05/wet pound and vinyl acrylic emulsions increased by $0.03/ wet pound. The price increase affects all applications, including paper and textiles. In November, KaMin LLC announced a price increase for paper-grade kaolin clays. Effective January 1, 2013, prices of kaolin clay products for the global paper industry increased between 4 and 6%. In December, BASF announced it was increasing kaolin prices globally for paper applications. The company said the amount of the increase will depend on the product, with increases up to 7% for hydrous and calcined products. BASF’s energy surcharge policy remains unchanged with the threshold at US$5 per mmbtu. Also in December, Ashland Water Technologies announced it will increase prices immediately, or as contracts allow, by up to 15% on select products in its portfolio of process and water treatment additives sold in North America. The price increase is being driven by higher raw material and other input costs.

January/ February 2013 PulP & PaPer Canada

Cover story

Building from within Metsä Board commissioned a rebuild on the board machine at Äänekoski to improve availability and service, while repurposing some equipment in the finishing section to bring more sheeting capacity in-house. By Cindy Macdonald, editor

etsä Board, Europe’s largest producer of folding boxbozrd, has re-focused in recent years, shedding some assets, and investing in others to increase capacity and improve availability for its board customers. By focusing on its core competency in paperboard, the company has been able to improve its performance and productivity. Metsä Board’s most recent investment program increased its total folding boxboard capacity by 150,000 tonnes to 935,000 t/y, and added sheeting capacity at several mills. “Demand for sustainable packaging made from fresh forest fibres continues to be strong, and we have responded by increasing the availability of our cartonboards,” says Pasi Piiparinen, vice-president cartonboard sales, Metsä Board. “Their purity and excellent sensory properties make them ideal for confectionery, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and beauty care products, and their superior printing surface allows perfect reproduction for high quality packaging.” Many of Metsä Board’s products also have lighter weight compared with boards of similar strength. Metsä Board undertook at EUR 120 million investment program at its Finnish mills in 2011-2012. Beginning in June 2011, the Simpele folding boxboard mill added capacity and increased its sheeting capability, then the Kemi mill, producing whitetop kraft liner, added a new coating station. In Nov. 2011, the Kyro folding boxboard mill added capacity and opened a biopower 16

plant a year later. The Äänekoski folding boxboard mill was the last to be upgraded, with 30,000 tonnes per year of additional capacity, and 70,000 tonnes per year of new sheeting capacity added in 2012. Metsa says the capacity upgrades will allow for better service, with shorter lead times on orders, and greater availability. The company’s investments since 2006 have resulted in a measureable increase in productivity. Capacity per employee in Metsä Board’s pulp, paper and board mills more than doubled from 2006 to 2012. It rose steadily from less than 600 tonnes/ year/person to more than 1200 t/y/person in 2012.

investments in headbox, coater and winder The board machine rebuild at Äänekoski took place in April 2012. It represented a total investment of EUR 21 million. There were no changes to the specifications of the two product lines, Carta Solida and Carta Integra. Mill manager and vice-president Jouko Wacklin notes that the Euro is strong right now, and the machine is not very wide, so “our value compared to some others is challenging.” The board machine benefitted from a new reverse ply headbox and a third coating unit for the top ply. A new rewinder and reel packaging line were added. With these changes, the maximum machine speed rose from 600 to 800 m/min. Metso performed the rebuild of the headbox, coating section and the winder.

PulP & PaPer Canada January/February 2013

SPEC SHEET • Äänekoski produces fully-coated BCTMP board, suitable for high-quality packaging and graphics • Board machine: 240,000 t/y • Trim width 3.6 m • Speed 800 m/min • Coating units 3 + 1 on backside • Grammage range 170 to 330 g/m2

The project included an automatic parent roll transfer system to the new winder. A new ValFlo headbox and new WinDrum two-drum winder will contribute to the capacity increase. Two new sheeting lines started up in September 2012. The closure of a paper machine the previous year provided space for the sheeting lines. Two sheet cutters were modified to accommodate folding boxboard, giving the Äänekoski mill 70,000 t/y of sheeting capacity. There is potential to increase the capacity to 100,000 t/y. “That’s my dream,” says Wacklin. The Äänekoski mill dates back to 1899. The board machine was built in 1960, and had previously received a shoe press upgrade from Voith in 2002. It produces folding boxboard, using kraft pulp from its integrated kraft pulp mill, with a middle layer of BCTMP to provide superior stiffwww.pulpandpapercanada.com

Photos courtesy of Metsä Board and Konecranes

Cover story

The roll handling crane was converted to mechanical lifters in 2012.

With recent upgrades, this 60-year-old board machine can produce 240,000 t/y of folding boxboard.

ness. The BCTMP is provided by Metsä’s mill in Joutseno, Finland. An older mill is the most challenging to modernize, says Wacklin. He hopes for “even more capacity improvement,” but for now, the upgrades in early 2012 have resulted in record production levels. And the converting plant has already exceeded its 200 t/d design capacity. The two sheet cutters started up in September. Both are conversions from cutters designed for paper, performed by Bielomatic Germany. Project cost was EUR 6 million.

The finishing touches Previously, the Äänekoski mill used an external supplier for sheet cutting. “Sheeting is the key for the future,” says Wacklin. “Bringing the sheeting in house helped us to control quality.” The mill still sends some material off-site for sheeting, and about 30% of its output sold in roll form. The new sheeters have automated flying splice capability, and automated pallet handling. On sheeter #7, an “unemployed” robot from elsewhere in the mill performs empty pallet handling. Project manager Tino Salo explains that the blade set-up is different for board than it is for paper. The middle BCTMP layer is “very fluffy”, he says. In the spring, prior to starting the new sheeters, Äänekoski staff tested angles for the cross-cutting knives, working with Metsä Board’s Simpele mill. All rolls at the mill go through the automated roll storage facility, which also received an upgrade in 2012. Supplied by Konecranes, the overhead crane can handle rolls up 2.1 m diameter. Metsä Äänekoski’s cooperation with Konecranes started in 1987 with the start-up of an automatic vacuum lifter crane system. At www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Having its own sheeting lines gives the Äänekoski mill better control over product quality.

that time the system was the first one in Scandinavia. The automated roll storage had been developed for Äänekoski’s now-defunct coated art paper machine, so it had to be modified to handle rolls of folding boxboard. The vacuum lifting unit was changed to a Mastergrip mechanical gripper, the software interface upgraded, and the storage area mapping was updated. The boxboard rolls are larger in both width and diameter, but are less dense than the art paper rolls. According to Konecranes, the mechanical gripper produces no deformation; in fact, it straightens the roll which has a slightly oval shape after handling by the lift truck clamp. Only one outer layer of paper is marked by the pads, so there is minimal wasted material.

Building strength within the group Metsä Board produces paperboard, paper and pulp at seven facilities in Europe. It is part of the Metsä Group, an integrated forest products company owned by 125,000 Finnish forest owners. The paperboard business has annual sales of about EUR 1.3 billion. The company has chosen to grow organically, by investing in its mills and maximizing capacity. Being a member of the Metsä Group, it draws all its pulp supply from its own or sister mills. January/ February 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

Operations

Meet 21st Century IT – It Ain’t What It Used to Be IT has the potential to evolve as an integral part of strategic business planning and mill operations.

This is the first of a series

By Mike Harwood, Zellstoff Celgar

nformation technology (IT) has long been an indispensrole of information able part of the modern corpotechnology in pulp and rate enterprise, but many work environments, and even IT paper mills, contributed departments themselves, conby Mike Harwood, the IT tinue to think of IT’s function as manager at a B.C. pulp mill. fixing printers and maintaining a technical status quo. Although IT started out this way several decades ago, the evolving role of IT departments in manufacturing must keep pace with – if not ahead of – the latest advancements in technological innovations that can revolutionize how business is done. IT has the potential to evolve as an integral part of strategic business planning and mill operations to reduce fixed costs while also improving efficiencies and increasing overall productivity and reliability. There are several key elements that will shape the IT department of the future. While not all departments will share all elements, they will have some commonalities. of articles on the changing

Strong IT leadership The ability for manufacturing IT departments to make the shift and realize full potential of technology hinges on the organization’s IT leadership. According to John Mahoney, vice-president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research, “We are witnessing the emergence of a new generation of CIOs, one that aims not so much to ‘run’ IT as to ensure that the business achieves strategic value from the use of technology.” This is the challenge for the new breed of CIO in the pulp and paper industry: to direct the corporate IT infrastructure to align itself with pulp and paper business goals of improving reliability, reducing fixed costs, and continually pursuing mill-wide efficiencies. The CIO must be an IT expert, an excellent communicator, and lifelong student of emerging business intelligence strategies. It is the CIO’s personality, vision, and ongoing pursuit of innovation that ultimately drives this new hybrid structure.

model describes a focus for IT and the way in which IT services are delivered. For manufacturing the “Everyone’s IT” model is of particular interest. The focus of this model is on information delivery, collaboration and aggressive innovation. It is a step away from a traditional IT model. Although some may view the step as reckless, the strong emphasis on innovation and research and development enables the exploration of the boundaries of technology. IT leadership is in control of the model used for an organization and it must fit within business parameters but the end goal is a clear understanding of the corporate direction of IT. The model drives IT decisions, budgets and even hiring practices. More information on the Garter Research IT models can be found at http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2229015.

Updated key performance indicators (KPIs) Finally, today’s CIOs and IT departments must redefine their KPIs to reflect the new roles of technology. Traditional IT departments have long since measured themselves by a standard key performance indicators (KPI), including one of the most common: availability. Availability is the measurement (in percentage) of the time that the network, servers, and key applications are available for use. Typical availability would be in the mid to high 90% range which equates to a few hours of unplanned downtime per year. Overtime systems are becoming increasingly robust and redundancy is built into everything IT does, leaving the quest for availability an almost assumed competence. This gives IT the ability to focus KPIs on quantifiable business contributions and successes. KPI measurement then becomes a pursuit of mill-wide efficiencies, streamlined processes, and reduced costs. Standard IT KPIs may still apply, but the increased scope of IT’s contribution is shown in measurable corporate-impact KPIs.

How to become more competitive With this new model for a more business-centred IT structure and mandate, the CIO and the IT departments can increase the competitive advantage of its mills in these three main ways:

Clear department focus

Get the right data to the right people at the right time

Gartner Research identifies four models for IT departments of the future: IT as a Global Service Provider, IT as the Engine Room, IT “is” the Business, and Everyone’s IT. Essentially, each

Pulp and paper mills produce a seemingly endless amount of data from various sources, including vibration analysis, employee demographics, oil analysis, pulp moisture, inventory, work order

Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

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Operations history, financial budgets, environmental reports and many more. Each department collects data and often stores it in disparate locations, such as Excel spreadsheets, small disconnected databases and in some cases Post-it notes. IT can use business intelligence (BI) and other tools to collate this data to create a correlative predicative analytic framework. Predicative analytics enable business-wide efficiencies by discovering patterns and trends within historical data and using this trending data as a proactive decision-making tool. There is no

question – getting the right data to the right people at the right time will contribute to a mill’s reliability, efficiency, and overall competitiveness.

Get the right technology to the right people at the right time In addition to getting the right data to the right people, it is equally important to get the right technology to the right people. Reliability teams, for example, need to have the right technology, mobile and otherwise, that enable them to interact with

their predictive and preventative environments most effectively. Each department may vary slightly in what it may need to enhance its own unique work environment, so knowing what technology is available and knowing your people has never been more essential.

Nurture authentic mill-wide relationships Finally, and perhaps most importantly, positive relationships throughout the mill are an integral part of IT success. IT is no longer represented by isolated nerds tucked away in server rooms. Effective IT personnel must augment technical skill with social skill and mix well in all areas of the mill. The development of strong, communicative relationships with workers in all locations, from the machine rooms, to chip screening, to stores and to the boardroom, allows IT to leverage relationships towards problem identification and ultimately to the best and most timely solutions. Any IT department that manages to do this will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the entire mill’s reliability, productivity and efficiency.

IT is moving away from traditional models

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Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

Traditional IT departments have owned and controlled the use of technology in a corporate environment. Their role was to provide a stable infrastructure and control access to that infrastructure at all costs. The incorporation of new technologies was often done at a glacial pace and the enduser experience and expectations were not always managed effectively. As a departmental entity, traditional IT departments found themselves reporting to the finance teams and often to the company controller. For today’s leading IT departments, these structures have been in a constant state of evolution moving away from traditional models. Today’s IT departments must evolve as an agile, self-regulatory, autonomous department that, with a detailed understanding of mill and business processes, match strategic corporate initiatives to appropriate technologies. Mike Harwood is the IT manager for Zellstoff Celgar and has written more than 22 technology related books and several articles for print and CBC Radio. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Featured J-FOR paper TRADITIONAL AREA CONTRIBUTIONS Published in:

APPLICATION OF CARBON DIOXIDE TO REDUCE WATER-SIDE LIME SCALE IN HEAT EXCHANGERS

www.paptac.ca

ABSTRACT

PETER W. HART*, GARY W. COLSON, JEFFERY BURRIS The MWV mill in Evadale, TX, has been experiencing significant lime-scale problems with its peroxide bleaching stage heat exchanger. Typically, the exchanger has had to be removed from service after 20 to 30 days of operation and cleaned (hydroblasted) to remove lime scale. Carbon dioxide was applied to the water side of the heat exchanger in an effort to buffer and to lower the water pH. By lowering the pH of the mill water from approximately 8.5 to less than 7.5, the solubility of calcium carbonate in the water was substantially increased, effectively eliminating lime scale formation in the heat exchanger.

INTRODUCTION The MWV pulp mill in Evadale, TX, has a long history of plugging heat exchangers with formation of lime scale. Excessive scale formation has resulted in significant capital, maintenance, and operating costs over the years. Complete plugging of tubes has resulted in equipment failure, which has forced pulp mill and bleach plant processes to operate at suboptimal temperature conditions. Multiple heat exchangers are currently operating with several hundred plugged tubes as a direct result of scale formation. Analysis has determined that the primary component of the plugging material is lime scale, a form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). In general, the formation of process scale within heating and cooling equipment would not be a noteworthy occurrence, except that these heat exchangers are plugging on the water side instead of on the process side of the tubes. The Evadale mill uses moderately hard ground water in its heating and cooling water systems. Typically, the pH of this water is approximately 8.3–8.5. The overall hardness of the water was determined to be 50.6 mg/L as CaCO3, with Ca+ contributing 39.5 mg/L as CaCO3 to the total.

J-FOR

Manganese made the next largest contribution to hardness, 11.1 mg/L as CaCO3. Scale build-up in piping systems, which often occurs in hard water areas or in alkaline processes and effluent streams, severely restricts flow, which increases head loss and necessitates piping replacement or off-line cleaning [1]. Both of these force process areas to operate in a suboptimal manner, which negatively impacts the economic performance of the mill. Water systems may be chemically treated either to discourage scale formation in naturally hard or oversaturated water or to encourage scale formation in naturally corrosive waters. Potable water systems typically treat water by controlling to a pH level

PETER W. HART

MWV Atlanta, GA USA *Contact: peter.hart@mwv.com

that allows only a small amount of scale to form in the distribution system to prevent pipe corrosion. In corrosive waters, treatment involves forcing scale formation by adding lime or caustic [2]. Methods to prevent scale formation from hard or oversaturated water tend to be more difficult and costly. Potential solutions

Water-side scale formation can be minimized by adding a strong mineral acid to the process water [3]. Another method is to add phosphate scale inhibitors to the water system [4]. Both methods are relatively problematic. The use of strong

GARY W. COLSON

MWV Evadale, TX USA

JEFFERY BURRIS

MWV Evadale, TX USA

Journal of Science & Technology for Forest Products and Processes: VOL.1, NO.2, 2011, published by PAPTAC (www.paptac.ca)

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

January/February 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

Featured J-FOR paper

mineral acids can result in large pH swings in the water system, resulting in significant increases in corrosion within the water distribution system or in process heat exchangers. Premature equipment failure may occur because of the increased corrosion levels resulting from pH swings. The addition of phosphate-based antiscales increases the operating cost of the system, resulting in economic difficulties. Other potential methods of controlling water hardness exist, for example, ion exchange systems, reverse osmosis systems, and ultrafiltration methods, but their capital and operating costs are prohibitive [5]. One potential method of controlling the pH of a water system to a level low enough to prevent scale formation without subjecting the system to the excessive pH swings associated with the use of strong mineral acids is the use of carbon dioxide [6]. Several successful laboratory and field tests have been performed by the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory [3]. These tests were conducted in locations with potable water of high hardness and low total dissolved solids content. More recently, carbon dioxide has been used as a method of lowering alkaline process wastewater pH [7]. CHEMISTRY OF THE SYSTEM

In a water system, as the pH of the system drops, the solubility of lime scale increases. Equation 1 shows the chemical equilibrium between CO2 and lime scale: CaCO3 (s) + CO2 (g) + H2O ↔ Ca2+ (aq) + 2 HCO3- (aq) (1) The concentration of HCO3- is highly pH-dependent and tends to be at its maximum at a pH of approximately 8.3, which is roughly the same pH as the mill water system. At a pH near 8.3, the mill water system is uniquely suited to force lime scale out of solution and to form scale. Using the solubility constant, KSP, of calcium carbonate and fixing the pH of the solution, it is possible to calculate the molar solubility of calcium carbonate in

J-FOR

Fig. 1 - Solubility of calcium carbonate (lime scale) in water as a function of pH.

water. Figure 1 shows the solubility of lime scale as a function of pH. As can be seen in Fig. 1, as the pH drops from around 8 to around 6, the solubility of lime scale in water increases 20-fold. The sudden increase in lime-scale solubility with a drop in pH from 8 to 6 suggests that a small decrease in the pH of the mill water system might be sufficient to minimize or eliminate the limescale problem in the mill heat exchangers. Equilibrium modeling was carried out to determine the amount of carbon dioxide that would be required to lower the pH of the mill water system sufficiently. Figure 2 shows the carbon dioxide dosage profile and the resulting pH of the mill water system. The addition of approximately 38 mg/L of carbon dioxide should be sufficient to lower the pH of the mill water from 8.5–8.6 to about 7.0. Only about 10 ppm of carbon dioxide would be required to lower the mill pH to about 7.5. Estimates from the solubility limits suggest that the vast majority of the lime-scale problems in the bleach plant heat exchangers should be minimized or eliminated at an operating pH of 7.5. With a 7.5 pH target, potential corrosion issues should be substantially reduced. MILL-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION

As a result of the favorable predictions

from theoretical understanding and modeling of the mill system, it was decided to attempt to use carbon dioxide in the mill water going into the heat exchanger in the peroxide stage of the pine bleach plant. This heat exchanger typically plugs with lime scale to the point that it has to be removed from service within 20–25 days of being put into service. The scale forms on the water side of the exchanger and starts forming near the exit. The mill started the trial by adding pure liquid CO2 to the water side of the exchanger. Three initial application concerns were identified: 1) the CO2 must be injected properly into the water so that it has time to mix and to drop the pH before the heat exchanger; 2) the CO2 must be uniformly diffused in the water. Otherwise, there is a risk of localized carbonic acid attack on mild steel; and 3) CO2 will gas out of the water where there is high agitation in the system, at which point the pH will return to its starting value, and scale formation will occur at or slightly after this location in the system. The CO2 injection system consists of CO2 storage, distribution piping, electric and pneumatic control panels, and a gas/liquid contactor. Carbon dioxide addition is controlled by means of a simple on/off or modulating proportional control system that uses a pH control signal to regulate the flow of CO2 by means of a control valve [8].

Journal of Science & Technology for Forest Products and Processes: VOL.1, NO.2, 2011, published by PAPTAC (www.paptac.ca)

Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Featured J-FOR paper TRADITIONAL AREA CONTRIBUTIONS connected from the system, and the weightof scale deposited can be determined gravimetrically. A rough rate of scale formation can then be predicted from these data. MILL PROCESS RESULTS

Fig. 2 - Impact of carbon dioxide dosage on mill water pH calculated at 180°F.

To ensure that the process experiences uniform CO2 mixing and that the rate of corrosion of the heat exchanger tubes is not increased, a coupon rack was installed in the mill water system to determine the corrosion rate. A scaling potential monitor was also installed to provide a better prediction of the impact of CO2 on scale formation. Initial mill-scale trials targeted a pH of approximately 7.1 to 7.2 instead of the 7.5 pH target that was determined by modeling to be a potential operating point. The lower pH target was initially used as a method of validating the process concept. A result of using the lower pH target was an approximate doubling of the amount of CO2 required to maintain the system target pH conditions. Future optimization will therefore be required.

scale deposition. Process fluid was taken as a slip stream and passed through the glass tubing over the heated rods. An effort was made to match the flow rate of the process fluid over the heated rod to that of the actual fluid passing through the heat exchanger tubes. Because calcium carbonate solubility is inversely proportional to temperature, lime scale will form preferentially on the heated steel rods before it forms in the heat exchanger. After a specified amount of time, the steel rods can be dis-

The mill operators routinely monitored the system pH, the pressure drop across the heat exchanger, and the resulting pH of the water system. The potential scaling rate was monitored and predicted by the scaling monitor. Under typical mill conditions, this heat exchanger would be by-passed after approximately 20–30 days of running time due to excessive pressure drop resulting from heavy lime scale buildup. After 29 days of operation, no increase in pressure drop was noted across the heat exchanger, which indicated that lime scale build-up was not occurring. To date, the scale monitoring probes have not predicted scale formation in this system. After more than 180 days of operation, the heat exchanger was taken out of service and inspected during a routine fibre-line shutdown. No process scale was observed. CONCLUSIONS

Typically, extreme scale formation on the water side of the heat exchanger has

SCALE MONITORING

An effort was made to monitor the amount of scale formation occurring in the process system. Side-stream scalingrate monitors, as shown in Fig. 3, were supplied and installed by Buckman. These monitors consisted of detachable steel rods inside glass tubes. The rods were electrically heated to enhance the rate of

J-FOR

Fig. 3 - Scaling-rate monitors in use.

Journal of Science & Technology for Forest Products and Processes: VOL.1, NO.2, 2011, published by PAPTAC (www.paptac.ca)

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

January/February 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

Featured J-FOR paper

forced mill personnel either to by-pass the heat exchanger or to shut it down and to remove the scale mechanically after as little as 25–30 days of operation. At the time of this writing, the mill has successfully operated the heat exchanger for more than 180 days with no indication of significant scale build-up. Pressure drop across the heat exchanger has not increased substantially, and the slip-stream scaling-rate monitors have not predicted a significant amount of potential scale formation. The system pH has been successfully maintained between 7.1 and 7.5 with the addition of approximately 27 ppm CO2 based on the water flow to the heat exchanger. The mill is still successfully controlling scale formation using CO2 application to the water side of the heat exchanger. The use of CO2 appears to be an excellent method for controlling scale build-up on the water side of heat exchangers. Pressure drop across the exchanger has been maintained at “just cleaned” levels even after several months of operation.

REFERENCES 1.

2. 3.

4. 5.

Thomas, G.L., Removal of Calcium Carbonate Scaling by Carbon Dioxide Injection, MS Thesis, Texas Tech University (1990). Montgomery, J.M., Water Treatment Principles and Design, John Wiley, New York (1985). Prakask, T.M., Neff, C.H., Scholze, R.H., Bandy, J.T., and Smith, E.D., Carbon Dioxide Treatment for Scale Removal and Control in Potable Water Systems, USA-CERL Technical Report n-87/16, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, IL (1987). Cowan, J.C. and Weintritt, D.J., Water-Formed Scale Deposits, Gulf Publishing, Houston, TX (1976). Rainwater, K.A. and Urban, L.V., Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Scale Control Techniques for Very Hard Waters, Report to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering

Research Laboratory Environmental Division, Contract No. DACW-8889-M-0412, Final (1990). Scholze, R.J., Prakash, M.T., Rainwater, K., and Harwood, J., Application of Carbon Dioxide Treatment to Manage Scale in a Building Potable Water System, USA-CERL Technical Report, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, IL (1989). Elkanzi, E.M., Using Carbon Dioxide for Alkaline Wastewater Treatment, One-day seminar presented to ARAMCO, Dhahram, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, January 2004. http://www.co2management.org/ proceedings/Elkanzi_ARAMCO_ CO2.pdf. Tech Topics: CO2 for pH Control, BOC publication obtained from EDMS, Approved Electronic Copy, February 19, 2009.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dan Courtney of Olsen Engineering monitored the scaling-rate monitors. The Evadale mill operators routinely monitored and recorded the pressure drop, CO2 flow rate, and system pH. Their help was instrumental in the development of this manuscript. The assistance of Chris Kohl of Buckman Laboratories with the implementation of the CO2 application system was greatly appreciated.

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Journal of Science & Technology for Forest Products and Processes: VOL.1, NO.2, 2011, published by PAPTAC (www.paptac.ca)

Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

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Technology News – Finland

echnology trends from Finland

In October 2012, PPT Group of Finland, an organization representing machinery and equipment manufacturers in Finland, invited a group of magazine editors to meet suppliers and tour facilities. The following news items arise from that visit. Several more will follow in the March/April issue.

Savcor Forest pushing the envelope in microbiology

avor Forest has branched off into many different areas of the pulp and paper process, building on its initial expertise in corrosion control. The latest acquisition of this entrepreneurial organization branches off in yet another direction: microbiology. Savcor’s newest acquisition is a Finnish company called QuantiFire, which possesses a technology that can be used to quickly and accurately determine the species and amount of microorganisms in a given sample. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology is DNA-based. It could be a game-changer for pulp and paper mills. Currently, mills must wait about three days for the results of microbiological testing, and the results are not very accurate, says CEO Jukka Rautiainen. With this new technology, mills can have answers in minutes. There are a couple of ways the technology could be introduced to mills. A mill could purchase the lab equipment to perform testing on-site, or companies could send samples for analysis to a centralized lab site. “Like every new invention, we have to push this thing forward,” says Ilkka Rautiainen, vice-president of business development. “We are the first and only forest supplier to have this technology. We are evaluating different applications for it.” Jukka Rautiainen notes that microbe situations in a mill are not stable, and the mills are increasing the frequency at which they draw samples for analysis. “It’s becoming a process-measurement type of information, so that mills can analyze how microbiological elements are affecting www.pulpandpapercanada.com

other parameters, such as runnability.” Microbiological measurement may also contribute to root cause diagnostics when paired with process diagnostic information. The qPCR technology may also have applications within Savcor’s forest information management systems, allowing companies to identify the source Savcor Forest is the first industry supplier to have qPRC of wood for chain-of- technology for microbiological testing. custody purposes. As well, some paper grades are very company learned about pulp and paper sensitive to residual bacteria content, processes, it began investing in software both species of bacteria and volume. With applications to analyze process data, and QuantiFire, a microbial analysis can be from there, evolved into a supplier of forperformed within hours, thus releasing est information management systems and product shipments sooner to customers. process diagnostics. “People are used to the three-day This past year, the emphasis has been turnaround, but now they are starting on interacting with clients, notes Jukka. to think of the possibilities,” notes Jukka “We’ve focused on how we can improve Rautiainen. the business of our clients.” Savcor Forest Typically, microbiological analysis only is expecting to see 30% growth when the measures the overall amount of bacteria, year-end numbers are in. Revenue in 2011 he explains. Often it is only a small amount was EUR 9 million. of these bacteria which are causing prob“Right now, no one has big money to lems. With this technology, users can pin- invest. Instead, everyone’s just looking to point which microbes they need to tackle. improve efficiency of equipment and its “We are going to take this technology lifetime,” says Jukka. out of the lab and move it into the producSavcor Forest has a subsidiary in Surtion environment,” states Ilkka. rey, B.C., as well as branches in Brazil, Savcor has a solid history on which Germany and Sweden. Jukka notes that to base its new venture. The company’s almost 20% of the company’s revenue origins are in electrochemical applica- comes from Canada. tions and anti-corrosion products. As the www.savcor.com/forest January/February 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

Technology News – Finland

EV Group’s runnability specialists focus on dryer section

to the drying section. The EV Group is a relatively small company, founded in 1992 by former employees of Valmet and Tampella. Germany is a very EV Group has been chosen by Sappi Stockpromising market for the stadt to renovate the drying section on PM 2 company, and will probably in the spring of 2013. This will be the third account for more than 50% paper machine rebuild project for Sappi and of their turnover in 2012, EV Group. according to Haverinen. EV Group is a team of Finnish specialists In North America the providing customized technology and services company has done some to optimize paper mill runnability and energy service work and analyses of efficiency, and improve the cleanliness of fabdryer sections. rics and cylinders. EV Group’s office in The objective of the Stockstadt project is EV Group employs proprietary equipment to optimize to renew and improve the drying capacity and web release between the upper cylinder and vacuum roll. Kotka, Finland, has small pilot machines and an R&D runnability of the drying section on this fine paper machine. It will involve EV’s EasyGo and EV EasyOne centre where the company carries out product development work. stabilizers. At the press section, Sappi will be installing an EVsp www.evgroup.fi stabilizer, which will eliminate the blowing problems. Timo Haverinen, CEO and sales director for EV Group, says the company also has web stabilizers installed on several machines in Louisiana. In North America, the company is represented RTS Alliance. In high-speed paper machines especially, the first single In a recently published study titled “CPM/MES Systems for Profelted drying groups are very sensitive to run, company lit- cess Industries Worldwide Outlook,” industry analyst firm ARC erature explains. Without support on web release between Advisory Group ranked ABB in the leading worldwide position upper cylinder and vacuum roll, the wet web tends to fol- for this expanding market. Collaborative production management low the upper cylinder, resulting in breaks and paper defects. (CPM) and manufacturing execution system (MES) software proThe EV EasyOne optimizes the web release between the upper vides visibility, execution, tracking, reporting and optimization of manufacturing processes to improve product quality, safety, and cylinder and vacuum roll. Traditionally, the draw difference between press and dry- overall productivity. ARC forecasts that industry dynamics will continue to drive ing section has been a tool to control runnability but this often causes problems in paper quality, the company states. With the market growth for CPM in process industries. The increased EV EasyOne, it is possible to improve the web release effec- use of new technologies such as tablets, smartphones and cloud tively with a special high vacuum area. This optimizes both computing as workplace tools have set new expectations for the drying section runnability and draws to improve paper quality. information access and capabilities provided by CPM solutions. “Collaborative production management allows our process EV EasyOne technology is typically combined with the EV EasyGo concept, combining web stabilizing and vacuum roll technologies. customers to extend the benefits that they get from the underlying The EV EasyGo concept is aimed at paper producers look- automation they already have in their plant,” explains Veli-Matti ing for the most profitable and cost-effective ways of improving Reinikkala, head of ABB’s Process Automation division. CPM systems can include customer orders, production tracking, the single-felted section performance. EV EasyGo is installed on top of the drilled vacuum rolls to support the sheet and create storage and logistics. CPM functions as the link between financial systems (such as ERP) and mill level monitoring systems such vacuum inside of the vacuum roll. EV EasyGo concept exhausts air through the holes of the QCS, web imaging, PLCs. In Western mills, notes Anders Gastgifvars, ABB’s IS manager, vacuum roll and blows air through the nozzles of the Web Stabilizer creating vacuum from opening nip to the closing nip. all production is based on customer orders. “You need planning The EV Web Stabilizer box does not have any mechanical contact to get orders out of the factory for the lowest cost.” ABB can also integrate energy monitoring with CPM. “It’s been or seal against the drying fabric. The stabilizers ensure stable sheet run and mini- possible for years, but only now is it really happening.” Gastgifvars says the trend today is for each mill to have KPIs. mize the risk of sheet flutter and paper wrinkles. They also create underpressure, which ensures that the “Now corporate offices want to standardize, and have the same sheet is constantly kept in connection with the fabric. reports coming in from each mill. So this has been keeping us Web stabilizers can be used to support the sheet in single and busy lately – data warehousing and analysis. We’re developing double felted areas of drying section, at free standing press specialized solutions for pulp and paper.” and between the press and drying section to transfer the sheet www.abb.com

Production management systems continue to gain steam

Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Technology News Reliable break detection in the toughest conditions KPM, a member of the ABB Group, recently introduced the KB2 Fibre-Optic Sheet Break Detector – a new generation sheet break detector with the latest RGB/IR LED technology. KPM states that many customers have already noticed the KB2’s reliable break detection in demanding applications, including open draws, against the felt or dryer can, in misty or foggy conditions and even in the press section of the paper

machine. The reliability is achieved with fibre optic technology which eliminates electronics and light source from the extremely hot environment inside the paper machine hood. The sensor has built-in redundancy and self-diagnostics to eliminate false breaks effectively. With both RGB and IR light sources it is suitable for all applications in paper and board machines. The builtin air purge system keeps the sensor head clean from dust and other impurities in the paper machine, and guarantees 100% accurate break detection. Lorentzen & Wettre Canada Inc. 514-694-4522, www.kpm.prokajaani.com or www.lorentzen-wettre.com

Online analyzer provides consistent quality for CTMP

Anionic surface sizing agent for linerboard

Stora Enso Skoghall has invested in a PulpEye online analyzer with DotEye module for quality control in a CTMP mill. The Skoghall Mill has chosen a PulpEye with fibre, shive, CSF and the new DotEye modules. PulpEye replaces three old PQM inline analyzers. The PulpEye analyzer will be used for advanced close loop control of the CTMP refiners. In the short time since its introduction, the DotEye module has been installed in several mills for pulp quality control. PulpEye is based on latest technology and automatically performs accurate measurements at high frequency, which is a necessity to monitor and control the key quality characteristics of the pulp. The result is lower production costs and a more consistent quality. PulpEye Canada 613-590-0222, www.pulpeye.com

Recently, research, development and application specialists at BASF jointly completed work on a new product in the polymeric surface sizing agents (PSA) family that allows papermakers to significantly improve on sizing costs. Traditionally, PSA for the liner segment used cationic polymers. This however limited the coloration to certain product ranges. With Basoplast® 450 P, BASF introduces a new and cost-efficient PSA for the packaging segment. The product is suited for linerboard grades. By replacing cationic PSA in packaging with Basoplast® 450 P, paper manufacturers now can adjust the desired coloration in the surface with direct dyes, which can provide a more cost-efficient solution than incumbent systems. In addition, BASF’s new anionic PSA Basoplast® 450 P agent shows no foaming tendency or sensitivity to pH or starch type and can be used in both size or film-press. It has received food contact approval. “With Basoplast® 450 P we offer the first anionic polymeric sizing agent able to compete against cationic polymeric surface sizing agents traditionally used in liner and board. We recently had various mill trials throughout Europe and in consequence are able to promptly launch the product in the market,” says Dr. Frank Höfer, vice-president, marketing, paper chemicals Europe. BASF Canada 289 360-1300, www.basf.com

Metso supplies award-winning biomass project The Nacogdoches Generating Facility in Sacul, Texas, was awarded the 2012 Project of the Year in the Biomass category by Power Engineering Magazine at the PowerGen international conference in December. The Nacogdoches Project includes a Metso-supplied boiler island with the world’s largest BFB boiler. The project also included Metso Automation flow control devices and a Metso DNA plant-wide distributed control system. This boiler is the largest HYBEX boiler in service, designed to produce 930,000 lbs/hr (117 kg/s) of steam and generate 100 megawatts of renewable electrical power. The plant is fuelled entirely by nonmerchantable wood biomass materials. Metso, www.metso.com/pulpandpaper www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Sulzer launches iPad app for customers An app for iPad is available from Sulzer Turbo Services, to gather customer support information in one place. The app includes

a library for videos and brochures as well as a picture gallery. The app is aimed at all industries and businesses that have service and repair needs for rotating mechanical and electromechanical equipment. Sulzer Turbo Services 780-577-9200, www.sulzer.com

R&D could lead to rapid characterization of high-yield pulp FITNIR Analyzers Inc. has signed a strategic research agreement with FPInnovations to jointly develop new measurement technologies, for both online and offline systems, focusing on spectroscopy solutions. “Strategically, we are very excited about our joint development agreement with FPInnovations,” said Thanh Trung, VP Technology. The initial joint development projects will be based on the success of a benchtop Near Infrared (NIR) device for the measurement of pulp properties, including oven-dry content and physical and mechanical properties of high yield pulp (HYP). With the capability to provide critical HYP properties within minutes, says FITNIR, pulp mills will have the ability to segregate their product by quality — a game changer for pulp producers. FITNIR Analyzers Inc. 604-221-2230, www.fitnir.com

Press felt with polymer layer offers superior dewatering Voith’s newly developed Revolution press felt is available for the production of board and packaging paper. Along with increased drying performance, Revolution ensures shorter start-up phases, energy savings and consistent quality characteristics over its

January/February 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

Technology News entire service life. The key innovation of Revolution is its structure, which has a special polymer layer. Revolution can thus control the flow of water before, during and after passage through the nip. For this reason, it dewaters better and contaminates less. The dry content is higher by up to 2% than with a conventional felt. The selfcleaning effect also helps to ensure the performance of the press felt remains the same over its entire service life. Paper produced with the aid of Revolution has especially good surface characteristics due to the larger contact surface with the paper or board web. It was confirmed in practical testing that this new press felt allows substantially shorter startup times. From the beginning, the level of nip dewatering is very high. Voith Paper Fabrics Canada 905-543-4122, www.voith.com

system (TurboFeed) for the continuous digester, an oxygen delignification stage with Drum Displacer washer and knot separation, screening modernization, and modification of the A-stage bleaching process. UPM’s Kymi mill produces bleached softwood and hardwood kraft pulp (total capacity 570,000 t/a), as well as coated and uncoated fine paper (830,000 t/a). Andritz 514-631-7700, www.andritz.com

Measure fibre quality more quickly, precisely

New Brunswick acquisition enhances Wajax’s repair and service capabilities

UPM’s Kymi mill modernizes fibreline equipment Andritz has successfully started up equipment for a fibreline modernization at UPM’s Kymi mill in Kouvola, Finland. This project is part of the mill’s program to minimize effluents and upgrade production capacity. Andritz’s scope of supply included a chip feeding

The fourth generation of the Fiber Quality Analyzer was launched in January. Over a decade ago the first FQA was developed jointly by FPInnovations, the University of British Columbia and OpTest. More than

Controller allows seamless legacy system modernization Honeywell’s next generation industrial process controller, Enhanced HighPerformance Process Manager (EHPM), allows 25 years of distributed control system installed base to seamlessly migrate to the Experion® Process Knowledge System. Cost of migration is significantly reduced by preserving control strategies and wiring. Honeywell’s EHPM solution streamlines plant modernization by significantly reducing risks associated with a legacy system upgrade and reducing plant downtime. “Honeywell’s commitment to continuous evolution allows plants to take what was once a legacy system and gradually, in a step-by-step fashion, move it forward such that it becomes part of a new, modern system while at the same time protecting the plant’s intellectual property,” says Jason Urso, vice-president and chief technology officer, Honeywell Process Solutions. “EHPM maintains a safe and reliable system while modernizing and evolving with the most advanced technologies,” said Urso. “It keeps established, reliable systems running longer, extends uptime, and preserves investment in wiring, control algorithms, and displays.” Honeywell, www.HoneywellProcess.com

160 units have been sold worldwide since then. The FQA-360 has many new features. It is more affordable, significantly faster, has greater automation, has an optional sixbeaker carousel, an increased fibre length range to 15 mm, and more. At the same time, FQA-360 retains all the advantages of the previous model. These include a non-plugging flow cell, measurement of fibres as well as shives and vessel elements, use of circular polarized light for the most precise fibre measurements. OpTest Equipment Inc. 613-632-5169, www.optest.com

Pulp & Paper Canada January/February 2013

Wajax Industrial Components has acquired Ace Hydraulic Ltd. of Bathurst, New Brunswick, in a transaction that will enhance Wajax’s hydraulic repair and service capabilities. The strategic acquisition will also augment Wajax’s ability to support mining, forestry and other industrial businesses throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebec’s North Shore. Wajax Industrial Components 866-546-3267, www.wajax-industrial-components.ca

Grade conversion from newsprint to lightweight coated grades Metso will supply Norske Skog with a grade conversion rebuild from newsprint to lightweight coated (LWC) grades of their PM 2 machine at their Boyer mill in Tasmania, Australia. The rebuilt production line will be fully operational after several phases of rebuild during the first quarter of 2014. The main target of the rebuild is to convert the newsprint machine into a competitive lightweight coated paper (LWC) production line, with capacity of 140,000 t/y. Metso’s delivery will include a rebuild of the existing machine calender and a new ValSizer sizing section, a coating preparation and supply system, a TurnDry Compact air dryer, an OptiLoad calender, a ValReel reeler, a WinBelt C winder and parent roll handling equipment. Metso, www.metso.com/pulpandpaper, www.metso.com/power

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careers PulP & PaPer Jobs Freeman Staffing, Inc. specializes in the placement of engineers (all disciplines), production type supervisors, managers, mill and/or plant managers and corporate executives in the pulp & paper industry, North America-wide. For specific current job searches call us or contact our web site. All resumes are treated with complete confidentiality.

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January/February 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

Bio-Economy

lignin has potential as a drop-in replacement for phenols

ignin could become the main renewable aromatic resource for the chemical industry in the future, according to an analysis by Frost & Sullivan. The first opportunity could emerge as early as 2015 from the direct substitution of phenol in most of its industrial applications: phenolic resins, surfactants, epoxy resins, adhesives or polyester, the study states. “The industry is just beginning to scratch the surface of lignin’s potential,” explains Frost & Sullivan consultant Nicolas Smolarski. “It is the only renew-

able source for industrial aromatics production and is de-correlated from the fluctuating price of oil.” Overall, the lignin business today represents roughly US$300 million. However, new, developing technologies now allow the extraction of highpurity lignin which can be converted in various high-value chemicals and products, among which are BTX (benzene, toluene, xylene), phenol, vanillin or carbon fibre. Smolarski explains that “one of lignin’s unique strength is that it can either

be used directly as a “drop in” to replace phenols in an existing petrochemical process, or it can be further processed to create polymer building blocks.” Inevitably, unlocking the potential of lignin involves taking down some barriers. “Limited technology maturity, weak links between R&D efforts and the industry, biofuel development draining government mandates and lack of funding options for biochemical biorefiners are some of the main challenges to the emergence of cost-competitive lignin applications,” adds Smolarski In its lignin study, Frost & Sullivan explores these challenges and their potential, and proposes a roadmap for the 10 years ahead.

vtt commercializing process for co-gen of bio-oil and heat

Multi-industry group to explore Canadian potential for bio-based products

A technique that enables the cost-effective cogeneration of heating energy and bio-oil in the same power plant has been developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, along with the energy company Fortum, engineering company Metso and forest products producer UPM. VTT’s technique is based on combining pyrolysis and fluidized bed technology. Combining the pyrolysis process with traditional fluidized bed boilers used in power plants brings a range of efficiency gains, VTT explains. Producing bio-oil with the new technique is cheaper than a separate pyrolysis process. The energy contained in the by-products of the pyrolysis process can be recovered in fluidized bed boilers. This is a significant improvement, because the by-products can contain as much as 40% of the original biomass’ energy. In turn, lost heat from the power plant can be used in the bio-oil production process. The technique is due to enter commercial production towards the end of 2013 when the energy company Fortum opens its new integrated bio-oil and heating plant in the city of Joensuu in Finland. According to VTT, there are currently about 200 power plants in Europe and North America that could be converted to include a bio-oil plant.

A group of Canadian industry associations is joining forces to form the Bio-economy Network (BEN) which will explore ways to take advantage of the significant emerging potential in the global marketplace for bio-based products. BEN represents about 800 member companies in sectors such as auto parts, biotech, chemical, agriculture and forest products. So far nine industry associations have joined. (More details about BEN are provided by FPAC on page 9.)

resolute enters pellet market with plant in thunder Bay to serve nearby power plant Resolute Forest Products has secured a contract to supply wood pellets to an Ontario electrical generating station, and will build an industrial wood pellet plant adjacent to the company’s sawmill in Thunder Bay, Ont., to do so. The move takes the forest products company in a new direction. “Wood pellets are a clean, renewable energy source, and together with other biofuel opportunities, a natural diversification target for Resolute,” said Richard Garneau, president and CEO. Construction of the $10-million pellet plant is scheduled for completion in 2014. It is expected to create 24 new jobs. 30

PulP & PaPer Canada January/February 2012

Price of forest carbon credits doubled in 2011 The price of forest carbon credits doubled in 2011, leading to a record market value of $237 million, according to Leveraging the Landscape: State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2012. The report, which aggregates data from 451 individual forest carbon projects historically, was published by Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace. The report examines a variety of strategies for injecting financial resources into projects that save or plant forests. Carbon offsets from these projects averaged $9.2 per tonne of sequestered carbon in 2011, up from $4.6 per tonne in 2010. Private-sector institutions seeking to offset emissions continue to be the dominant source of demand. The report can be downloaded at: http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/reports/forestcarbon2012

Bioenergy association says forest biomass is carbon-neutral The World Bioenergy Association released a fact sheet about the carbon neutrality of sustainable biomass from forests during the COP18 UN Climate Change Conference. The lengthy document examines the carbon cycle of forests in detail, and considers various aspects of global carbon balance and deforestation. The fact sheet is available from the association web site at http://www.worldbioenergy.org/content/wba-fact-sheets. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

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