Paraná, July 24, 2019 – This year, Klabin continued a series of system improvements at the Monte Alegre Unit in Telêmaco Borba, Paraná, with the objective of modernizing the mill and further reducing the impacts of its operations, thereby benefitting the surrounding communities. During the recently concluded 2019 Maintenance Shutdown, some of the services were completed and others had made significant progress. Approximately R$36 million will be invested in the entire operation, which will include improvements to gas capture and treatment systems, industrial silencers in some mills and implementation of a modern “Weather Station,” which will give special support to the new gas treatment system and other operations in the mill related to the atmosphere.

 

The community will perceive the positive results of these implementations, since key gains include a considerable reduction in noise and odors. “This is a broad-ranging initiative that follows Klabin’s Sustainability Policy guidelines and is aimed at constantly improving our production processes, which prioritize the wellbeing of surrounding communities, as well as the conservation of natural resources and the environment,” said Júlio Nogueira, Sustainability and Environment manager at Klabin. Noise reduction in mill operations has already reached 20% in tests conducted after the installation of silencers, and the odor typical of pulp and paper mills, generated during the wood cooking process, will be reduced further and, gradually, less perceived by the human nose.

 

Gas treatment: less odor

 

To improve the gas treatment system, the Monte Alegre Unit started building a new incinerator, which is a type of kiln with a chimney, both of industrial proportions, that captures and treats non-condensable gases (NCG), whether they are “diluted” (DNCG) or “concentrated” (CNCG) gases. Work on installation of the equipment started in the second quarter and should be concluded in the first quarter of 2020. As soon as this equipment is installed, the Unit’s first incinerator will be deactivated. The improvements package also includes an overall refurbishment of the Unit’s second incinerator to enhance its burning capacity.

 

The new incinerator has a 60-meter tall chimney, which helps to disperse the treated gases into the atmosphere. Another significant benefit brought by the new incinerator and the refurbishment of the existing one is that the Unit now has three support machines as backup: the two incinerators that treat the two types of gases (GNCD and GNCC) and the lime kiln. If any of the incinerators fails, the other one quickly takes over the treatment process, since both will work 24/7 with the total load divided, using only half the capacity of each incinerator. As such, the load passage from one to the other is automatic and quick, because the equipment is already warmed up enough to operate at the necessary levels to take over the entire treatment process. The lime kiln at the mill, which treats the lime sludge resulting from pulp production, serves as a third backup for the two incinerators. In other words, there are many layers of prevention, already planned in the improvements package, which will make sure that the odors do not reach the community.

 

Silencers: noise reduction

 

Another project for the resumption of operations at the Monte Alegre Unit after the Maintenance Shutdown is the installation of industrial silencers in the steam outlet valves of paper machines at the mill. Silencers were installed in Paper Machines 6 and 7 and in Power Boiler 6, responsible for generating electricity. One more silencer is scheduled to be installed in the first half of next year, in Paper Machine 9. Since the start of implementations, Klabin has been conducting tests constantly to check the performance and functioning of silencers by measuring the reach of noises, and records indicate a gradual reduction. According to Ricardo Cardoso, Industrial manager at the Monte Alegre Unit, “we seek to apply state-of-the-art technologies and the most efficient and modern engineering solutions from specialized partners for the Unit improvement plans.

 

Weather Station

 

During the Maintenance Shutdown, Klabin also set up at the Monte Alegre Unit a “Weather Station,” which checks the atmosphere in the region where the mill is located. Equipped with sensors that identify atmospheric conditions in real time, the Station will help to evaluate air dispersion, rainfall, as well as wind direction and speed. Accessed through a cell phone app, the Station’s software simulates and creates an atmospheric plume, like a guided cloud, which maintains updated records online and in real time, enabling the company to evaluate the scope of its air emissions.

 

It is yet another preventive action by the company to further reduce the likelihood of odor perception by the community, since monitoring the atmospheric condition brings greater precision to decision-making as it helps to identify the most appropriate moment to start certain equipment, such as incinerators and boilers. Moreover, the Weather Station becomes an important source for mapping possible incidents in the region involving odor emanating from the mill, which commonly occurs during the cooking wood process to produce pulp and paper. 

 

About Klabin

 
Klabin is Brazil’s largest producer and exporter of packaging paper, the leader in the corrugated board and industrial bag packaging segments, and the only company in the country offering one-stop shop solutions in hardwood, softwood and fluff pulp. Founded in 1899, Klabin has 17 industrial units in Brazil and one in Argentina. In Paraná alone, Klabin has generated over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in more than 25 cities close to its operations, especially in the Campos Gerais region.

Klabin pioneered the adoption of mosaic-based forest stewardship, which consists of planted forests interspersed with preserved native forests, forming ecological corridors that help to maintain the biodiversity.  Klabin’s forest area in Paraná totals 342,000 hectares, 142,000 of which are native forests. Klabin also maintains an Ecological Park in the Monte Alegre Farm in Telêmaco Borba for research and conservation purposes, which provides shelter and rehabilitates wild animals that are the victims of accidents or abuse, thus supporting the efforts of environmental authorities. It also helps to preserve the region’s flora and fauna, including endangered species.

 

Klabin’s management is entirely guided by Sustainable Development. Klabin has implemented most of its social and environmental programs in the Campos Gerais region, notably Social Forests – Planning Sustainable Properties, Legal Forests, Solid Waste Project, Growing Up Reading, Caiubi Program, Força Verde Mirim and Environmental Protectors.

 

Klabin also supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and the Brazilian Pact to Eradicate Slave Labor, and seeks suppliers and business partners that share its values of ethics, transparency and respect for sustainability principles.

 

Media relations – Klabin

 

In Press Porter Novelli

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Alcione Cavalcante – (11) 4871-1473 – alcione.cavalcante@inpresspni.com.br 

Giovana Battiferro – (11) 3330-3806 – giovana.battiferro@inpresspni.com.br