Valmet and Metsä Board have signed an agreement for the supply of key technology for the planned renewal of the Husum pulp mill in Sweden. The supply covers a new recovery boiler and an upgrade of the existing evaporator with a new super concentrator. The contract is conditional for Metsä Board making the final investment decision after receiving the environmental permit, which is estimated for the second quarter of 2020, at the earliest.

The order is included in Valmet's orders received of the fourth quarter 2019. The value of the order will not be disclosed. An order with this scope of supply is usually valued in the range of EUR 100-150 million. The equipment is scheduled to be in operation by the end of 2021.

"The planned investment in the recovery boiler will reduce the energy costs of the mill, improve the reliability of production and decrease the duration of the annual maintenance shutdown. Own electricity generation, entirely based on renewable biomass, will double and increase the self-sufficiency in electricity of the integrate to over 80 percent. The investment would be a substantial step to take us towards our target of 100% fossil free mills. Valmet was chosen to deliver the recovery boiler and enhancement to the evaporation plant due to the good experiences we have had with them during the years," says Ari Kiviranta, Senior Vice President, Development, Metsä Board Oyj.

"We have good references for recovery boiler and evaporation technology as well as for our project execution capabilities with our latest similar projects. We were able to meet Metsä Board's need of better energy efficiency and reliability with our high-power recovery boiler and super concentrator technologies as well as supporting Industrial Internet solutions," says Jussi Mäntyniemi, Vice President, Recovery Business unit, Valmet.

Valmet's delivery includes a new high-power recovery boiler with a capacity of 4,300 tDS/d (tonnes dry solids a day) replacing two old recovery boilers. The recovery boiler has multiple high-power features, including high steam parameters and patented heat recovery from flue gas to combustion air.

The boiler is designed to fulfill tight emission regulations with multilevel air system to optimize the combustion​ to reach low NOx levels and the dust emissions are removed with Valmet's own electrostatic precipitator (ESP) technology​. Valmet will supply all auxiliary equipment for the recovery boiler including electrification and instrumentation.

The upgrade of the existing evaporators with a TUBEL Super Concentrator will increase the final dry solids of the black liquor and by this increase the steam production in the recovery boiler. The open design of the Valmet TUBEL technology eliminates tube plugging and provides the highest mechanical reliability. ​

In addition, the delivery includes Valmet Industrial Internet platform for connectivity for Performance Center services and to enable future use of value adding applications.

Metsä Board is a leading European producer of premium fresh fiber paperboards including folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. In 2018, the company's sales totaled EUR 1.9 billion, and it has approximately 2,400 employees. Metsä Board is part of Metsä Group.

Metsä Board Husum is an integrated board and pulp mill producing fresh fiber folding boxboard, white kraftliner as well as bleached market pulp. The production facilities are located in Husum, Sweden. In April 2019, Metsä Board announced its plans to invest in the renewal of the Husum pulp mill.