BillerudKorsnäs Contracts Valmet to Upgrade Evaporator Train at Gruvön Mill


Valmet, Finland, will supply an upgrade of the evaporation plant at BillerudKorsnäs Gruvön pulp and paper mill in Sweden. The evaporation plant in a mill concentrates black liquor from the pulp cooking process. The installation of the new equipment is scheduled for spring 2018.  

The value of the order was not disclosed. However, Valmet noted that a project of this type and scope is typically valued below EUR 15 million. 

In this project, the existing evaporation train will be converted, from using medium-pressure steam as today's heating media, to become essentially low-pressure steam driven. This will optimize the overall steam balance at the Gruvön mill by making medium pressure steam available for the mill's new liquid board machine that will be installed at the mill. 

"Valmet delivered the original evaporator train in 2001 and we are happy to cooperate with BillerudKorsnäs Gruvön also for this important plant modification. This upgrade will be beneficial in many ways for the Gruvön mill. Besides ensuring medium pressure steam for the new board machine, we are adding washable heating surfaces to improve the availability and flexibility of the upgraded evaporation plant," said Thomas Norrgård, product sales manager EVAPS at Valmet.
 
 

From the evaporation plant, the evaporated water is brought back to the pulp process to minimize the mill's water consumption. After evaporation, the concentrated black liquor is fired in the recovery boiler for steam generation and recovery of cooking chemicals. 

New equipment to be installed includes a TUBEL evaporator, two Tube Evaporators, two liquor preheaters, and Valmet's patented LP-steam boosting system. A substantial upgrade of the piping system will also be performed as part of the plant upgrade.

BillerudKorsnäs produces renewable packaging materials. Together with its partners, the company creates smart packaging solutions. It has about 4,200 employees and seven production units, one of which is the Gruvön mill. BillerudKorsnäs’ head office is located in Solna, Sweden.

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