The former Ripasa Americana mill adds a new pulp dryer as part of its modernization
October 2007
By Graeme Rodden, Editor, Pulp & Paper
With a new ownership structure and investments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars poured into the mill recently, Conpacel (fomerly known as Ripasa Americana) in Limeira, Brazil, is well prepared to retain its status as a highly regarded pulp and paper vendor to customers in more than 60 countries.
In August 2007, Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approved the plans of Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) and Suzano Papel e Celulose to form a consortium to operate the mill. The two companies acquired Ripasa's operations in 2004 and had been awaiting CADE's approval.
Built in 1959 as a pulp mill, the Americana unit was once the largest of Ripasa's four mills. Of the other mills, earlier this year Limeira and Cubatao were sold to MD Papeis while Embu is now totally owned by Suzano.
The pulp mill has grown substantially over the years and can now produce 550,000 tonnes/yr of bleached hardwood (eucalyptus) kraft pulp. At startup, the mill used batch digesters to produce its pulp; these have been shut down.
Recently, the mill installed a new pulp dryer from Metso Paper. In an interesting turn of events, Metso was asked to upgrade the dryer before it had been installed. The additional delivery included a Symformer MB, suction roll and lump breaker on the wet end as well as six new drying decks.
At the baling end, additional equipment included a Roboapplyer sheet wrapper and Robotyer.
Capacity is now just over 1,000 tonnes/day, up from the original design of 760 tonnes/day. Trim width of the dryer is 3.9 m and design speed is 220 m/min.
The new dryer was installed because previously the mill operated two wet lap pulp lines and at 500 tonnes/day, capacity was too small. The mill could not export any pulp. Also, dryness was only 45%. The wet lap lines were scheduled for closure in 2007 when a switch to elemental-chlorine free (ECF) bleaching was made.
A new Metso oxygen delignification line was installed in 2005 as part of the original dryer line project.
The mill uses a 100%-eucalyptus furnish with eight of its "farms" supplying the mill's wood, the farthest of which is only 200 km from the mill. The company has planted almost 100 million trees in the eight forest parks with an area of 83,000 ha, 20,000 ha of which are dedicated environmental protection areas. All of the wood is debarked in the forest.
The company is also working to increase the amount of FSC-certified wood it uses. By the end of this year, it hopes to reach 70% and by 2009, 80%. There are also projects underway with various Brazilian universities on a eucalyptus genome process to map the trees' genetic codes.
On the pulp side, a new continuous digester from Kvaerner (now Metso Paper) was installed in April 2002.
The bleach plant has two lines: one ECF, and one that uses chlorine. However, the mill aims to switch to all ECF bleaching this year. The sequence will be ODEOPD for each line. Extra oxygen delignification capacity was needed to prepare for this move. In the future, the mill hopes to push pulp capacity to 1,800 tonnes/day.
Papermaking at Conpacel
The mill's first paper machine was installed in 1977, while PM 1 went online in 1991. Both are from Voith as is the coater. Paper production (printing and writing grades: offset, cut-size) is 370,000 tonnes/yr of which some 80,000 tonnes/yr is coated. There are three sheeters: one 10-pocket and one 6-pocket from ECH Will and a 6-pocket sheeter from Bielomatic.
Filler use varies. Imerys has a production plant on site for PCC. In cut-size, filler content averages 20%, for offset papers 15%, and for coated paper about 30%.
Over the past few years, the two paper machines have been rebuilt. For PM 1, Metso Paper supplied a complete color coating preparation, ultrafiltration and supply system for the SpeedCoater.
On PM 2, Metso Automation recently supplied new wet end management and freeness controls, helping to reduce variability in whitewater consistency, improve fiber treatment and machine runnability. These measures helped reduce paper defects and sheet breaks and helped the mill increase PM 2's speed.
Along with its record in the forest, the mill is proud of its effluent treatment system. The company believes the quality of the water it returns to the river is better than what it takes in. There is a primary clarifier followed by two oxygenated lagoons with biological treatment. Total retention time is 10 days.
The mill's water use for the total operation averages 22 m3/tonne. Power use is about 1,300 MWh/day; 50% is generated onsite, the other half purchased.
With all the investment done in the past five years, mill officials are pleased with what has been accomplished. The mill is well balanced with only a slight limitation in the evaporation system, but there is a project underway to improve this.
Along with its forest practices and environmental actions, the mill also points proudly to its social record. It employs almost 1,200 people (8-hr shifts, five teams). Just as important as the business of making pulp and paper, the mill likes to highlight its programs for the population of the region. For example, 6,000-7,000 children participate in various educational and recreational programs.
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