Apex means the highest point, level, or degree of something. And that is where the ANDRITZ A-ConApex continuous cooking technology for fines, rejects, textile waste and non-wood materials is – at the very top. Utilizing this technology, a mill can produce pulp from essentially all cellulose-containing fibrous material it receives. Cost-effective and highly versatile, it handles almost all materials with ease, and produces results that are hard to beat – whether used in conjunction with the cooking plant in a typical kraft pulp mill or as a stand-alone cooking plant in a non-wood fiberline.
The A-ConApex process technology seems very simple: there is only a conveyor, a bin for materials, a reactor tower, steam feed, a mixer, two pumps – and some chemicals added to the mix. However, behind this simplicity are decades of solid ANDRITZ process expertise combined with dedicated laboratory and simulator trials.
The work carried out at the ANDRITZ technology laboratory and the co-operation with the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (XAMK) Fiber Laboratory have been highly important parts of the process that has been essential in developing the technology to the point where it is today – simple, economical, and effective.
A-ConApex™ installation at Altri Group's Celbi mill in Leirosa, Portugal.
With this technology, the mill can fully utilize all the cellulose-containing material that is not typically utilized for pulp production, such as fines from the wood yard and screen room rejects. This results in higher total mill production – an increase of up to 2.5% – and significantly reduces waste when the cooking system is installed alongside a kraft pulp digester.
The low initial investment costs, easy operation and reduced maintenance make the A-ConApex technology an evolutionary step over the M&D digester, batch digesters or screw-type digesters. This makes using cellulose-containing fibrous materials – such as sawdust, straw, bagasse, agricultural waste, and other non-wood raw materials – for pulp production a very cost-effective proposition for stand-alone installations.
