Klabin builds first integrated sulfuric acid plant in Brazil, using gases recovered from the process

Klabin is building at the Puma II Project, together with the new packaging paper production line in Ortigueira, Paraná, the first ever sulfuric acid plant integrated to a pulp and paper mill in Brazil, which will make the unit self-sufficient in producing the acid. Supplied by Andritz, the plant will reuse the residual gases from the wood cooking process to transform them into sulfuric acid, which will be used during the production of pulp and paper at the mill.

Sulfuric acid is one of the main raw materials of a pulp mill. “Construction of such a plant means intelligently using the sub-products generated throughout the production chain as economically viable and ecologically sustainable products, thereby adding value to our production,” says Walter Oliveira, project manager at the Recovery & Utilities area in Klabin.

Sulfuric acid is used in several components of the production process, such as drying machines, the tall oil plant and fiber lines, among others. This new technology, besides being aligned with the sustainability that Klabin seeks to implement in all phases of the process using environmentally responsible technologies, also enables cost reduction through inhouse production of sulfuric acid and greater independence in sourcing the raw material. “Since the study phase, the Puma Unit and Puma II Project were designed using technologies capable of increasing the self-sufficiency of mills. This improves care for the environment, which is one of the Company’s premises, besides contributing to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” explains João Braga, General Manager of the Puma II Project.

RENEWABLE ENERGY AND REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS – Self-sufficiency in sulfuric acid is just one of the examples that make Klabin and the Puma II Project models in sustainability. For example, the Biomass Gasification Mill, with thermal load capacity of 51 MW, will supply renewable fuel to Lime Kiln 2, replacing the use of fossil fuel oil. The process will use biomass and thus reduce the mill’s carbon footprint. At the new unit, Klabin will also install Turbogenerator 3 (TG-3), which will transform thermal energy from steam generated by the recovery and strength boilers from biomass into electricity. The power generated by the three turbines at the Puma Unit will meet its own demand as well as demand from the new mill, still leaving a surplus that can meet the average consumption of 250,000 homes, which will be sold.

REDUCTION IN WATER USE – Another highlight is the volume of water saved, a practice already implemented in the Puma II Project. Ever since expansion work began at the Puma Unit, the pulp mill in Ortigueira, 42,252 m3 of treated water has been saved through the reuse of rainwater and treated effluents, which are used to clean the internal streets at the construction site. During the operation of the production unit, rainwater will continue to be reused in the Container Yard, which will have a system to collect water for reuse in cleaning the equipment, and the daily activity of using rainwater (stored in two rainwater ponds) to clean streets and external areas will be maintained.