Global pulp & paper makers invest in automation
26 Sep 2011
Recent major awards for Honeywell, Metso in South America and China
London — The global pulp & paper industry is continuing to provide major project opportunities for control and automation systems suppliers — as highlighted by recent awards to Honeywell and Metso in South America and China, respectively.
Honeywell is to provide the process control, quality control and process information systems - including warehouse management - for a new pulp mill in Uruguay. Located in Uruguay’s southern state of Colonia, the $1.9-billion facility will produce 1.3 million tonnes of plantation-based pulp annually once it becomes operational in the first half of 2013.
The Montes del Plata project is expected to become the country’s largest-ever privately executed investment. It will be owned and operated by a joint-venture between Finnish pulp and paper giant Stora Enso and Chile-based Arauco, a global leader in sustainable forest products.
“This mill will have a significant impact not only on the region’s pulp production capabilities, but also on the local economy. It will employ 6,000 people at the peak of the construction and 500 once in operation,” said Carlos Pastrana, project director at Montes del Plata.
The project will incorporate several of Honeywell Process Solutions’ technologies for the process manufacturing industries, including the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), which will be deployed across the entire mill to tie critical subsystems together.
This approach streamlines operations and gives operators the most-relevant information they need to make the best decisions in the control rooms and on the mill floor. Also included in the project scope is Honeywell’s newest quality control system, Experion MX.
Metso has recently received several orders for automation technology from Chinese papermakers. The Finnish group claims to have a 100% market share in kappa measurements in China.
The latest orders have been placed by the greenfield mill of Nanning Jindaxing Pulp Co. Ltd. and Shandong Tralin Paper Co. Ltd., one of China’s frontrunners in the use of recycled raw material.
Nanning Jindaxing Pulp Co., Ltd. has ordered a Metso DNA automation system for its fiber line, and a Metso MAP wet end analyzer and a Metso RM3 retention analyzer for its fine paper machine.
Additionally, Metso has signed an agreement with Nanning Design Institute of Light Industry for the delivery of analyzers and measurements, such as Metso Kappa Q, bleaching sensors, consistency transmitters and Kemotron sensors, to Nanning Jindaxing Pulp Co.
After the start-up, the greenfield mill will be the biggest pulp and paper producer in the Guangxi area with a capacity of 120,000 tpy of newsprint, 200,000 tpy of fine paper and 170,000 tpy of pulp.
Another Metso DNA automation system will be supplied to Shandong Tralin Paper Co. Ltd. in Gaotang City, Shandong Province. The company is one of the main manufacturers of straw pulp, fine paper, LWC, coated board and unbleached tissue in China. The investment in a new process control system is part of the mill’s modernisation and environmental protection project.
