Celulosa Arauco has selected Veolia Water Technologies’ HPD® CRP/ECRP™ technology to be able to benefit from the chloride and potassium removal in a recovery cycle at the Valdivia Mill in Chile, as part of a dissolving pulp project. The ECRP™ process is a new patented technology by Veolia, developed to allow mills with a high potassium input to achieve high removal rates of chloride and potassium while minimizing sodium losses, as the company says in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
Arauco’s dissolving pulp project for Valdivia pulp mill in Chile is a $185 million investment to produce a range of products such as textile fiber, cellophane paper and filters. At a global level, the textile fiber market represents about 80 million tons. Dissolving pulp, which has experienced a rising trend in recent years, accounts for about 6% of total production.
Veolia’s HPD® technology enables Arauco to uphold the natural and environmentally friendly process of production of dissolving pulp. The project will involve treatment of a portion of the precipitator ash from the recovery boiler to remove chloride and potassium without significant loss of sodium or sulfate from the system. In this manner, chloride and potassium levels in the recovery cycle can be controlled to minimize fouling of the recovery boiler and the associated operating costs.
Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion SA is an integrated forest company. The Company manages forests and the production of sawn timber, bleached and unbleached pulp, and other wood products such as plywood and fiberboard.
