CMPC Maule: Going from strength to strength

ANDRITZ has been working hand in hand with CMPC Biopackaging – Boxboard at Maule for a number of years. Beginning with an RMP process with primary and secondary refining in 1998, the first TMP line ANDRITZ delivered to the mill was in 2002 and was based on the ANDRITZ RTS technology. The system had a capacity of 24 t/h of bleached thermo-mechanical pulp. The delivery also included a high-consistency peroxide bleach plant, and a wet-lap system, including a twin wire press, cutter layboy, and baling line.

“At this mill we only like to have the top technology available, and we know that ANDRITZ is the leader when it comes to mechanical pulping and bleaching,” says Juan Constabel, Operation Manager, CMPC Biopackaging – Boxboard. “That’s why we have always worked closely together for all our mechanical pulping demands.”

During the mill’s progressive capacity expansion, CMPC chose ANDRITZ again to carry out several line upgrades. In 2007, capacity of the RTS TMP line was upgraded from 24 to 36 t/h and the capacity of the bleach plant from 24 to 27 t/h.

In 2012, the mill embarked upon a major production upgrade to 44 t/h and bleached pulp at a rate of 30 t/h. The target of this project, the “BTMP 44”, included increased capacity, but also an important target was the reduction of energy. After the rebuild, the mill had two almost identical parallel TMP lines that produced 22 t/h each. Also added during this upgrade were two new ANDRITZ LC refiners.

MULTIPLE CHALLENGES

The latest rebuild and upgrade ANDRITZ conducted at the mill provided many challenges: A bleaching system upgrade to increase BTMP production from 30 to 37 t/h, at the same time as maintaining pulp properties and chemical consumption to the same levels as before the project. Also, a reduction in energy use was requested.

The key equipment delivered as part of the rebuild and upgrade for the project included a machine rebuild of the existing screw press feeding to the HC-mixer, a screw conveyor system linked to the high-consistency bleach tower, a new high-consistency bleach tower with medium-consistency (MC) discharge, and a new pulp screw press.

Marcelo Ribeiro, Senior Technical and Commercial Manager, ANDRITZ Paper, Fiber and Recycling Division, says, “There were a lot of challenges with this project, but we already had a head start as we have a great relationship with the mill people here – our association with the mill goes back a long way.

The bleaching system upgrade at CMPC Biopackaging – Boxboard carried out by ANDRITZ has resulted in a 20% increase in BTMP production at the same time as maintaining pulp properties and chemical consumption to what it was before. Specific energy consumption per tonne of pulp has reduced due to the installation of the new bleach tower discharge system, the MC pump, as well as the removal of several conveyors and pumps.

Constabel adds, “All these expansions we have had are not just about increasing capacity; it’s about cost leadership. We started out with a board machine making 130,000 tonnes a year, and now we have one three times that size – but we didn’t pay three times the cost. We also have the latest in BTMP technology to produce the pulp.”

OPTIMIZING BY MEASURING AND MANAGING

As part of its cost-leadership initiatives, the mill benefits from the Metris OPP (Optimization of Process Performance) contract for measuring and managing production data from bleaching plant and refining – and it is already showing significant returns when it comes to chemical savings.

CMPC Biopackaging – Boxboard has also embarked on one of the first ANDRITZ Synergy agreements, which ensures the operational continuity of equipment and processes in the levels of efficiency required by the woodyard and the mechanical pulp plant, thereby maintaining the quality of the fiber obtained.

Constabel concludes, “At the outset during the creation of this mill, we asked for the very best in technology, but you don’t buy just technology or equipment, you buy the concepts. Here we are, decades later, still using ANDRITZ, and that is because, in my opinion, the company has the best technology concepts; good, strong equipment and products; and excellent optimization services. These have all contributed to our own success.”

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