ANDRITZ to supply gasification plant to Metsä-Botnia’s Joutseno mill

Graz, Austria, Feb 21, 2011 - International technology Group ANDRITZ has been selected to provide a gasification plant to Metsä-Botnia’s Joutseno mill, Finland. The 48 MW plant will generate green fuel gas from local biomass, thus making the mill independent of fossil fuels.

After completion scheduled for September 2012, the mill will solely use renewable fuels as energy sources and fully replace all fossil fuels in the mill’s lime kiln during normal operations. ANDRITZ’s scope of supply includes engineering, equipment, erection, start-up, and optimization of the entire gasification process.

The gasification plant is based on the Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology of ANDRITZ. Upon start-up of the plant, energy generation at the Joutseno mill will become carbon dioxide neutral during its standard production. Special attention has been paid to availability of the mill and environmental factors. The fuel handling system includes an innovative dryer which utilizes the mill’s excess heat for bark drying. The gas produced is finally burned in the lime kiln with a burner developed by ANDRITZ.

The ANDRITZ GROUP

The ANDRITZ GROUP is a globally leading supplier of plants and services for the hydropower, pulp and paper, metals, and other specialized industries (solid/liquid separation, feed and biofuel). The Group is headquartered in Graz, Austria, and has a staff of approximately 14,300 employees worldwide. ANDRITZ operates over 120 production sites, service and sales companies all around the world.

ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER

ANDRITZ PULP & PAPER is one of the leading global suppliers of turnkey systems and services for the production of all types of pulp, paper, tissue paper, board, fiber-board (MDF), nonwovens, as well as of biomass boilers and gasifiers for energy production and of systems for the production of plastic films. The technologies available are employed for the processing of logs and annual fibers, the production of chemical and mechanical pulps as well as recycled paper fibers, recovery and reuse of chemicals, generation of energy from biomass, preparation of paper machine furnish from virgin or recycled fibers, production of paper, tissue paper and board, calendering and coating of paper, and the handling of reject materials and sludges. Services include complete mill maintenance, equipment upgrades and rebuilds, engineered wear products, and spare parts.

Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab

Known on the market as Botnia, Oy Metsä-Botnia Ab was founded in 1973 and is one of the world’s principal suppliers of market pulp. The company operates four mills in Finland: Joutseno, Kemi, Rauma, and Äänekoski. The Joutseno mill specializes in manufacturing pulp for wood-fiber printing papers and for high-quality coated printing and specialty papers. The production capacity is 650,000 tonnes per annum and the mill employs 160 skilled professionals. Botnia strives for optimal application of technologies, processes, and operating policies that minimize environmental loading. The wood used in pulp manufacturing is a renewable raw material sourced from certified forests. Nearly half of its energy content is eventually extracted as biofuel.