Metsä Fibre, one of the leading bioproducts and energy producers globally, part of Metsä Group, and Linde have signed a preliminary agreement of an on-site oxygen supply to Metsä Fibre’s new bioproduct mill in Kemi.
The preliminary agreement includes construction of an on-site oxygen plant based on VPSA (Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption)technology, as well as operation and maintenance of the plant.
Linde’s oxygen plant in Kemi, Finland will be one of the world’s largest oxygen plants based on the VPSA technology and it delivers many benefits including oxygen on demand and adjustable, high energy efficient, and fully automated operation. It will be monitored and operated from Linde’s remote operation center in Avesta, Sweden.
“We have co-operated for a long time with Linde and are used to trust the technology of Linde, for example we have very positive experiences with Linde VPSA technology and on-site oxygen supply to our mill in Äänekoski with a high efficiency and operational reliability. Oxygen is an essential chemical in pulp production, and the uninterrupted supply is of primary importance to the production process, product quality and operational safety”, says Project Director Jari-Pekka Johansson from Metsä Fibre.
“We are proud to be selected as the partner of Metsä Fibre in this project and are looking forward to a continued good co-operation between the companies. Oxygen produced on-site is the most efficient way to deliver large quantities of gases for industrial processes, and our solution meets the high environmental, material and energy efficiency targets for the Kemi bioproduct mill”, says Marika Kärki, Regional On-Site Account Manager, Linde.
The total investment of the new bioproduct mill is estimated to 1.5 BEUR and it will produce some 1.5 million tons of softwood and hardwood pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts. The bioproduct mill will not use any fossil fuels at all, and its electricity self-sufficiency rate will be 250%.
“We’ve set high environmental, material, and energy efficiency targets for the Kemi bioproduct mill. We therefore also expect our partners to deliver both the technologically most reliable solutions and to know our production requirements well. Linde is the leading industrial gases and engineering company with full focus on improving their customers sustainability performance,” says Jari-Pekka Johansson, Project Director, bioproduct mill project, Metsä Fibre.
The Kemi bioproduct mill project is progressing as planned. In addition to equipment purchasing, the project is presently focused on environmental permit process, the financing negotiations and the logistics required by the new mill. The project detail engineering phase started at the beginning of August 2020. The investment decision is estimated to be made in late 2020 at the earliest when the environmental permit process is completed among other prerequisites are met.
Metsä Group
Metsä Group is a forerunner in sustainable bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsä Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards and tissue and greaseproof papers. In 2019, Metsä Group’s sales totalled EUR 5.5 billion, and it employs approximately 9,300 people. Metsäliitto Cooperative is the parent company of Metsä Group and is owned by approximately 100,000 Finnish forest owners.
Metsä Fibre
Metsä Fibre is a leading producer of bioproducts, biochemicals and bioenergy. Metsä Fibre is the world’s leading producer of bleached softwood pulp and a major producer of sawn timber. Currently employing approximately 1,300 people, the company’s sales in 2019 totalled EUR 2.2 billion. Metsä Fibre is part of Metsä Group.