ANDRITZ worked in partnership with Shandong Huatai to achieve several goals through a number of unique solutions on this landmark project. The numbers tell a powerful story.
The BCTMP line rebuild increased the 20-year-old line’s capacity from 100,000 t/a to 300,000 t/a while at the same time reducing the line’s energy consumption per ton of pulp by a substantial 20%. Pulp yield and quality also increased significantly, with shive content down from 0.3% before the upgrading to below 0.03%, with the lowest recorded being 0.01%, and brightness from around 73% to more than 78%. Freeness, bulk, and tensile index have all been beyond expectations.
WEI LIJUN
General Manager, Huatai Holding Ltd.
The rebuild is part of Huatai Group’s 14th five-year plan to develop ecological forestry alongside profitable, environmentally friendly pulp- and papermaking. This includes raising pulp production by one million tons per year within a new pulp and paper industrial park, to which the Shandong Huatai rebuild is a strong contributor. The rebuild project has been synchronized with the upgrade of the original newsprint line and supporting wastewater treatment plant.
“Since the start-up of the rebuilt BCTMP line, the quality of the pulp has been quite outstanding, which has significantly reduced the proportion of imported chemi-mechanical pulp (CMP). This, in turn, has contributed strongly to reducing raw material costs and improving paper quality,” said Li Jianqiang, General Manager, Dongying mill, Shandong Huatai Paper.
LI LIANQIANG
General Manager, Dongying mill,
Shandong Huatai Paper
Partial view of mechanical pulping workshop
High quality pulp from the mechanical pulping line upgraded by ANDRITZ
in front of TwinFlo LC refiner
ZHENG XINGSHAN
Vice Project Manager, Huatai Holding Ltd.
Vice Project Manager, Huatai Holding Ltd., Zheng Xingshan, adds, “The ANDRITZ on-site
team understood our actual production needs very well, by having the newly configured systems and equipment installed and commissioned before the shutdown, and then concentrating on renovating and updating of the equipment and systems after the shutdown.”
On the project execution itself, Mr. Zheng elaborates, “During the scheduled shutdown for upgrading, initially planned to last for three months, the actual project duration was only 69 days, from the shutdown of the old line to the start-up of the upgraded line, including the dismantling of old equipment, reconstruction of foundations, installation, and commissioning of new equipment. ANDRITZ's on-site supervision and commissioning experts worked proactively alongside our Huatai staff day and night, showing full commitment to the project. All were united in a shared goal of ensuring safety and quality, and achieving production efficiency as soon as possible. The celebration on completion was loud!”
The scope of supply included the rebuild of two high-consistency (HC) refiners, plus screw presses, disc filters, and screens, along with new equipment for other process stages.
PrimeMSD Impressafiner
TwinFlo LC refiner
PrimeScreen X
Final paper for printing & writing in Huatai Dongying mill
The latest QUANTUM refiner plates have ensured a more even distribution of pulp in the refining zone, thus improving the refining efficiency. QUANTUM refiner plates feature a patented graduated geometry that perfectly models the changes to the fiber as refining energy is applied - coarse at the inlet and fine at the periphery. This pattern results in stable and consistent refining without pinch points, lower energy consumption for a desired fiber strength, and reduced shives.
The renewal of the HC refiner control system Hydraulic Commander, ANDRITZ’s state-of-the-art control system, has also allowed the mill to have a more flexible and diversified selection of refining plates without limitations. The upgrade has reduced the need for special gap sensors, thereby lowering the cost of using refining plates. Moreover, the operation is simpler and more flexible, which minimizes downtime.
ANDRITZ PrimeMSD Impressafiner
ANDRITZ has the experience of more than 60 chemical/mechanical pulp projects, which has included previous collaborations with Huatai. “What impressed me deeply was the ANDRITZ team's customer-first service and fearless and exploratory spirit. They put the customer first, maximize use of resources, and have saved us a significant amount of commissioning time,” says Wei Lijun, General Manager, Huatai Holding Ltd.
So what is next for Shandong Huatai? Mr. Wei hints at the future, “Under our integrated strategy of forest, pulp, and paper, I believe that there will be more and more opportunities for cooperation with ANDRITZ. For instance, the 700,000-ton chemical pulp project we are currently promoting includes ANDRITZ technology. ANDRITZ's continuous innovation in energy saving, consumption reduction, and digital technology will undoubtedly create more opportunities for cooperation between us.”
A final word from ANDRITZ Project Manager Ji Haihong, “ANDRITZ is honored to contribute its globally accumulated expertise in CMP technology to
this project. We have provided Huatai with the optimal upgrade solution, encompassing a stateof-the-art process from chip washing to final pulp production, including significant new equipment for profitable production.
“When they faced problems. Huatai always proceeded with the principle of ‘results first’ to drive the project forward. This spirit greatly inspired the ANDRITZ team members, who, as always, followed the principle of ‘customer first’, and by timely increases in personnel allocation, adding shifts for commissioning staff, working overtime, optimizing the commissioning process management, actively engaging in feedback and communication, and quickly resolving unexpected issues, we significantly shortened the project timeline and secured precious time for Huatai.”
