Sweden. Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA

The loan is issued to finance the expansion of the production capacity of a bleached softwood kraft pulp at the SCA Östrand plant in the municipality of Timrå, Sweden. The project is substantially completed. When fully operating, the production capacity will have increased from the current 430,000 tonnes to 900,000 tonnes, making the Östrand plant one of the world’s largest production line for bleached kraft pulp.

The main components included in the project are the handling of wood, including automated wood measurement, two parallel railway tracks, a larger wood yard, a wood room with two parallel debarking drums, and two chipping lines.

The project also includes a fibre line designed for elementary chlorine-free and total chlorine-free bleaching, and an evaporation plant, including a system for hot liquor flash of black liquor. A pulp drying plant designed to use low-pressure steam from recovery boiler exhaust gases is also included, with an evaporation plant designed to utilise hot black liquor.

SCA has further developed the causticisation plant, with a higher capacity for white liquor.

Further development of the recovery boiler and turbines has also been made to boost capacity and meet the demands for higher production.

In addition, an extension has been made of the existing biological activated sludge plant, a new stage for effective chlorate reduction, and improved post sedimentation in the wastewater treatment plant.

Auxiliary systems required to supply the mill with water, steam, electricity, fibre net and other necessary infrastructure have been implemented.

The core of SCA’s business is the forest, Europe’s largest private forest holding. The forest products company offers paper for packaging and print, pulp, wood products, renewable energy, services for forest owners and transport solutions. In 2018, SCA had approximately 4,000 employees. SCA was founded in 1929 and has its headquarters in Sundsvall, Sweden.

The expansion will more than double softwood pulp production at the company’s Östrand facility. The use of labour inputs in the facility will remain almost the same, implying over a 100% increase in labour productivity of the facility, measured in output quantities.

The bi-products from the pulping process will increase significantly, annually yielding 17,000 tonnes of tall oil and turpentine e.g. for production of biofuels and about 500 GWh of power, steam and district heat for external use. 

The investment has notable implications for the forestry sector in Sweden and adds baseload energy to local district heating system and Nordic power markets.

The demand for pulp wood is increasing. Consequently, economic activities in the upstream of the Swedish forestry sector, where contractors conducting the majority of felling and silvicultural activities employing over 8,000 workers, will increase.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that addresses the project´s environmental impacts and necessary mitigations measures has been developed as part of the application for an environmental consent. The necessary consent has been granted.

The project is located with SCA´s existing industrial area. The relative discharges of pollutants and air emissions decreases, however the absolute load will increase due to increased production. Expected future discharges of wastewater and emissions to the air are however in line with what is considered achievable by applying best available techniques, and are below the requirements in the environmental consent.

The absolute generation, as well as the use of energy, heat, steam and electricity, will also increase, and the mill will be self-sufficient on energy, with some surplus mainly to be sold as electricity to the grid.

The indirect emissions of greenhouse gases will decrease due to the supply of renewable electricity.