INDUSTRY NEWS


INDUSTRY NEWS


Automation at biofuel plant


800xA automation. The system will handle a complex process with very high security requirements. The control includes two existing boilers rebuilt for the new type of fuel, a different fuel handling system and integration with adjacent process sections.


P


ower and automation technology group ABB has won an order for a System 800xA


automation solution from Swedish paper mill SCA Ortviken. This will be employed in its new


biofuel plant for handling and grinding pellets and combustion of wood powder in two biomass boilers, including equipment for cleaning fl ue gases. The new plant will also be able to deliver district heating to the local utility,


UPM sells more Finnish forests


It was announced on 28 June that UPM had sold forest estates in Finland to ZE. Metsä Oy. The purchase was made on the advice of Latifundium Management GmbH and covers 5,900 hectares of forest located in Kuhmo, Joensuu and Vieremä in Eastern Finland. In addition to the land deal, the parties have signed a long-term wood purchase and forest management agreement. Latifundium’s representative, Maximilian Graf von Maldeghem, stated: “Last year, we already signed an agreement with UPM on the purchase of 7,200 hectares of


forest area in Finland on behalf of a closed fund managed by us. We remain positive about Finland as a forest investment region and have therefore decided to increase our presence in the country with this transaction”.


Sauli Brander, Vice-President, UPM’s Forestry Business, confi rmed: “We are pleased to see that foreign investors are interested in buying forest properties from UPM in Finland. It is a sign that they have recognised the value of sustainably managed Finnish forests as a profi table investment”.


Sundsvalls Energi AB.


The automation solution from ABB will control and monitor the entire plant, including the safety systems. Existing wood, pulp and energy systems will be utilised and integrated with ABB’s System


By adding new features such as fuel handling and burner control to the existing system, operators will be working in a familiar environment that ensures a safe and smooth transition. Parts of the existing system will also be upgraded to 800xA. SCA’s investment in the Ortviken plant will contribute to increased district heating deliveries based on renewable fuels to Sundsvalls Energi’s district heating network from the plants in Östrand and Ortviken. The initiative involves a reduction in oil consumption of 25,000 cubic metres of oil per year, leading to reduced emissions of CO2.


Lignin conversion in Sweden


The Swedish Processum cluster, which brings together companies involved in biorefi nery matters, is now undertaking research into thermo-chemically converting lignin from black liquor to bio-oil. The project is run by the Swedish-Norwegian co-operation project ‘Biorefi nery Midscandinavia’ and the project partners are Processum Biorefi nery Initiative, PFI, Metsä Board Sweden, Viken Skog (a Norwegian forest owners association) and the University of Bergen.


EC aid for biorefi nery research


The European Commission has announced its approval for millions of Euros in aid for a biorefinery research programme. The Genesys programme will benefit from


2 2 July 2013


39.8 million Euros granted by the French government to PIVERT IEED, an institute working in the field of low carbon energy.


Genesys will aim to use


oilseed and lignocellulosic biomass to produce primarily heat and power, but also chemicals and food products. Joaquín Almunia, European Commissioner for Competition


Policy, is reported as saying: “The progress targeted in green chemistry constitutes an ambitious goal in the field of hydrocarbon substitution and reducing CO2 emissions”.


Lignin is an aromatic polymer, which is released in the pulp mills’ sulphate cooking sequence. This ends up in the black liquor, is burnt and transformed into heat energy in the recovery boilers.


When pulp mills are operated in an increasingly energy- effi cient way, there may be an energy surplus in the form of steam. This energy surplus makes it possible to remove some of the lignin from the process, thus relieving the recovery boiler.


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