BIOPRODUCT MILL INDUSTRY NEWS
the mill started in August, 2015, and Valmet was chosen to supply some of the key technology islands to the new mill.
Metsä Group went through a traditional tendering process for the various key technology islands of the mill. “We have a long history of co-operating with Valmet at our pulp mills in Finland. Valmet has been a good and innovative partner for us. Valmet stood out from the competition by offering us the best technology within our budget, so it was a natural choice to partner with them when building the world-class bioproduct mill in Äänekoski,” said Timo Merikallio, Project Director, Metsä Group.
Key technologies
Metsä Group’s decision to choose suppliers for the mill’s key technologies was a deal for two. Valmet was chosen to deliver the recovery boiler, pulp drying line, gasification plant, lime kiln, sulfuric acid plant and mill-wide automation system – all of it the latest technology and highly energy-efficient. The gasification plant produces biogas from bark, which replaces fossil fuels in the lime kiln. The pulp drying machine includes several new features that improve efficiency and usability. The largest part of the
delivery was the recovery boiler with new high-power features. The boiler has a capacity of 7,200 t/ds and has an electricity production capacity of 250 MW. As a result, the mill can produce up to 1.4 times more electricity than it uses.
“The mill is a prime example of a contemporary bioproduct mill. In addition to high quality Northern softwood and hardwood pulp, it produces other bioproducts. In addition, it doesn’t use any fossil fuels and it supplements Finland’s total share of renewable energy by more than two percentage points,” said Bertel Karlstedt, President of the Energy and Pulp business at Valmet.
Mutual trust
Metsä Group and Valmet agreed that the technology deliveries would be made using a tailored open book working model. It meant that Valmet and Metsä Group practically sat on the same side of the table. Metsä Group bought the equipment and made subcontracting agreements, and Valmet steered and managed the operations at the site. “The project was the largest I have ever headed. It was big, international and divided into hundreds of smaller contractor agreements. Our co-operation with the open book project model worked well. Valmet’s ability to meet our requirements during the project was on a good level,” agreed Merikallio.
”Mutual understanding and joint project goals are essential. Metsä Group had really experienced project personnel. Even though we had some challenges during the project, at no point did they question our
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