Andritz has successfully started up an environmentally friendly production plant for dissolving pulp at Bracell's "STAR" project in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil.

In April 2022, one of the two flexible hardwood fiberlines that were started up successfully in September 2021 was switched from kraft to dissolving pulp production. High capacity with premium quality was reached within a few days of the switch.

For this trendsetting project, Andritz is using its self-developed A-ConFlex continuous kraft and dissolving pulping technology. It enables full flexibility in production, switching between high-quality dissolving pulp and kraft pulp in a very short time to meet the market demand.

The world's largest EvoDry pulp drying system from Andritz, with two energy-efficient pulp drying lines enabling efficient and very fast switches between dissolving pulp and kraft pulp production, was also supplied to the mill.

The STAR project is one of the largest and most sustainable pulp mills in the world, complying with the highest environmental standards. It features two flexible, environmentally friendly hardwood fiberlines for a total capacity of 2.6 to 2.8 million tons/year of bleached kraft pulp or 1.5 million tons/year of dissolving pulp made from sustainably cultivated eucalyptus.

The Andritz scope of supply includes:
- a complete high-capacity wood processing plant, enhanced with state-of-the-art autonomous wood processing solutions from Andritz to ensure optimum chip quality,
- two flexible fiberlines with DD-Washer technology ensuring low operating costs, low emissions, extremely high washing efficiency, and excellent fiber quality,
- the world's largest EvoDryTM pulp drying system equipped with the Metris DryQ smart pulp drying solution,
- the largest HERB recovery boiler in the world from Andritz, with a capacity of 13,000 tons per day,
- a non-condensable gas (NCG) treatment system.

Andritz Pulp & Paper provides sustainable technology, automation, and service solutions for the production of all types of pulp, paper, board and tissue.