Fibria concludes assembling of the pulp production line at Três Lagoas

Called by engineers as the “drum” or “boiler drum”, this is considered one of the most essential pieces of equipment for the project as it concentrates all the steam generated in the recovery boiler and transfers it to the unit’s power generation equipment. The steam is then distributed to other areas of the plant that use it, such as the digester, evaporation and pulp dyers. The “drum” of the recovery boiler is also one of the heaviest parts of the project, weighing approximately 200 tons. A crane with capacity to lift 800 tons was used to hoist the drum.

“We concluded a very important part of the Horizonte 2 Project. The boiler is the heart of a pulp mill. We are very happy to have concluded yet another stage, which shows that works remain on schedule, thanks to the excellent joint efforts by our teams, partners and suppliers,” said Marcelo Castelli, CEO of Fibria.

“Andritz is very proud to be the supplier of process equipment for Fibria’s Horizonte 2 Project, which makes Três Lagoas one of the largest pulp producing centers in the world. We thank Fibria for their confidence in us and for the constructive cooperation during the execution of this project, in which we are celebrating the hoisting of the boiler’s steam drum, which is a milestone in this project. We will do our best to make the Horizonte 2 Project a huge success and a new benchmark for the pulp industry,” said Wolfgang Leitner, CEO of Andritz, the Austrian company that supplied the recovery boiler and other components of the project, who came to Brazil specially for the ceremony.

With the entire 4,000 ton metal structure concluded and the “drum” in place, the next phase begins, namely the assembly of internal equipment of the recovery boiler, such as pipelines, combustion chambers and gas scrubbers. The recovery boiler is an essential part of the pulp mill.

Its function is to recover the chemicals used in the production process and generate steam, which is converted into electricity.

Júlio Cunha about the Installation of the boiler drum

“Installation of the boiler drum is fundamental for consolidating a competitive project in which we seek to combine energy savings through the best use of resources, as well as cleaner and more efficient production processes,” said Júlio Cunha, the chief engineering officer of the Horizonte 2 Project.

All the energy consumed at Fibria is generated by the mill itself through biomass obtained from eucalyptus bark and the liquid biomass resulting from the industrial process. Apart from consuming the electricity generated by itself, the new industrial unit at Três Lagoas will generate 130 MWH of surplus energy, which will be sold to Brazil’s electricity grid, whose energy matrix will benefit from the increased share of renewable sources.

54% of the physical implementation of the Horizonte 2 Project has already been completed. Fibria expects the project to be concluded by the start of the fourth quarter of 2017. With investments of US$2.3 billion (R$7.7 billion), the Horizonte 2 Project will have the capacity to produce 1.95 million tons of pulp a year. Summing the production of the new line and the existing mill, the Três Lagoas Unit will expand its pulp production capacity by 150% to 3.25 million tons/year, further consolidating Fibria’s leadership and competitive edge in the global hardwood pulp market.