Sarah Sybert
KBR has been awarded a technology contract by Valmet AB for the engineering and supply of an Ash Re-Crystallization plant for LD Cellulose S.A.’s 500K-ton per year pulp mill project located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, KBR reported on Tuesday.
"KBR together with Valmet offers its proprietary Ecoplanning technology for ash-crystallization for the pulp and paper industry with a specific edge in recovery of useful chemicals and lowering operating costs," said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology Solutions.
Under the contract, KBR will provide the license, engineering design and proprietary equipment using its leading Ecoplanning crystallization technology for the new mill. The start-up of this mill is projected for 2022.
KBR has more than 70 years of experience in inorganics, including processes and technology solutions for crystallization, evaporation and the concentration and purification of strong inorganic acids. "I am proud to announce this contract that further expands KBR's strategic partnership with Valmet," added Kelly.
Valmet has reported that the company’s use of chlorine and potassium has caused corrosion, cracking and plugging problems mainly in the recovery boiler. These issues have previously been solved by purging recovery boiler ash.
To control the chlorine and potassium levels Valmet has offered two different ash treatment technologies: ash leaching and ash crystallizing. Ash crystallisation has been reported to better efficiency compared to ash leaching plants.Â
"We have long experience in ash treatment chemistry in pulp mills… we made the strategic choice to design our crystallization process together with KBR, who has extensive experience with their Ecoplanning crystallization technology and many references from other industries," said Hanna Karlsson, manager for the Ash and Bio Technology team at Valmet.
About KBR, Inc.
KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Solutions and Energy sectors. KBR employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses: Government Solutions, Technology Solutions, Energy Solutions.
