Author: Shelley Cargo
Cardboard boxes, paper cups, toilet paper and hygiene products are a few common products, produced by the pulp and paper industry, that we rely on in our daily lives. However, forest products are also used to create: fabric, medical masks, bath towels, ping pong balls and LCD screens. The pulp & paper industry in Canada is an invaluable part of our modern lives and continues to evolve as technology and our world advances.
Since the early 1800s when the first pulp mill was built in Canada, the pulp & paper industry has been adaptable and has developed with the changing times. Today, pulp mills are highly automated, digitally connected facilities that produce environmentally sustainable products.
Spartan Controls has been working with the pulp & paper industry in Western Canada for over 50 years. From ground level control valves and measurement devices, which are the foundation of the process, to control systems, process optimization and cloud based analytics, we provide reliable, quality equipment and services to the pulp & paper industry to maintain operations and sustain long term growth.
Today, pulp mills are highly automated, digitally connected facilities producing environmentally sustainable products.
The pulp mills in Western Canada produce in demand, high quality pulp product. Most mills also produce steam and green energy used in the pulping process or sold to the grid. Spartan has solutions developed specifically for the pulp and energy industries that improve reliability, streamline production and reduce operating costs. Reliability can be improved by applying the right products and practices to tough applications, production can be increased through debottlenecking, and operating costs can be reduced by optimizing chemical and steam usage. Our advanced process control programs alone have saved individual pulp mills in Western Canada millions of dollars in chemical and energy efficiency improvements.
Pulp mills continue to strive to obtain more value from the pulping process with a priority on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. Projects are implemented to extract and find innovative uses for by-products such as lignin that can been substituted in for the glue in plywood. Pulp mills are also investigating projects that would use pulp biomass to produce a renewable biocrude, which can possibly be converted to diesel. Another possible project includes using alternative fiber sources, such as waste straw, to produce pulp and lignin, which can be used for the same purposes as traditional wood pulp.
Spartan Controls is proud to support the pulp & paper industry in Western Canada. We will continue to work along with the evolving pulp and paper industry providing solutions, to stay competitive and environmentally conscious, long into the future.
Pulp mills continue to strive to obtain more value from the pulping process with a priority on ESG initiatives.
