SAO PAULO, Aug. 15, 2008 (Press Release) - Klabin is starting up its new ultrafiltration system which is a part of the Effluent Treatment Plant at the Monte Alegre mill, located in Telemaco Borba (PR).
As a result, the water which passes through the ultrafiltration system is returned to the Tibagi River with quality superior to the water originally taken out.
The ultrafiltration system is the biggest plant of its kind in the world in industry and the only one in the sector of integrated pulp and paper production.
"With this new system Klabin has become a world benchmark in ultrafiltration and has set itself up as paradigm to be copied", states Francisco Razzolini, director of Expansion Project MA-1100. For the industrial director of the Monte Alegre Plant, Arthur Canhisares, this new system signifies an important step in the fulfillment of Klabin's Sustainability Policy, which pursues ongoing reduction of environmental impacts. "Due to this, we have received requests from all over the world, particularly to visit the ultrafiltration plant", the director says.
According to biochemical analyses of oxygen already made by Klabin, the water returned by the Mill to the Tibagi River contains 1 milligram per liter of concentrated organic material (BOD). The average degree of concentration of organic material from the river is 3 milligrams per liter.
The water used by Klabin is also returned clearer to the river. The average color of the water of the Tibagi River is defined as being 400 ppm PT (particles per million, standard measure of coloration). Whereas the used water from Klabin is 200 ppm PT, or in other words much more transparent.
According to Klabin's corporate manager for the environment, Julio Nogueira, the next step to be taken with the ultrafiltration system is to re-use the used water. With this, Klabin will reduce the volume of effluents which return to the Tibagi River and will manage to make important savings in water.
Currently, 40% of the water used by Klabin in production at the Mont Alegre Plant passes through the ultrafiltration system. According to Nogueira, the total volumes of water which return to the Tibagi River present vastly superior levels of quality to those stipulated by Parana's environmental legislation.
The new ultrafiltration plant is a project of the Centroprojekt Company and custom-made for Klabin, who defined the specifications for the system. The plant is part of the expansion work on Monte Alegre mill's Effluent Treatment Plant to meet the demands from Klabin's Expansion Project MA-1100. Klabin is investing a total of R$ 70 million in the expansion of the ETP. The company's total investments in the area of environment for Project MA-1100 are in the range of R$ 300 million.
One of the targets achieved by Klabin with the expansion Project is a reduction of specific consumption of water to 30m³ per ton of paper produced, which ranks the company, once again, among those with best practices on the world market.
The investment in the ultrafiltration system also fits with Klabin's Sustainability Policy in which, among other goals, the company has pledged to pursue competitive quality and continually perfect its processes, products and services.
3rd Latin American Pulp & Paper Outlook Conference
Join industry colleagues and RISI economists at the 3rd Latin American Pulp and Paper Outlook Conference, October 8-10, 2008 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This event will explore "Globalization and Consolidation of the Latin American Pulp and Paper Industry" and features presentations from key industry executives, plus RISI's team of economists' two-year forecasts for each major grade of pulp and paper. Learn more
