The Arauco Board of Directors approved the Dissolving Pulp project at the Valdivia Pulp plant, an initiative that considers an investment of US$ 185 million and will produce a variety of products such as textile fibers, cellophane paper and filters. This action, which during its construction will reach a peak of 1,400 workers, will enable the company to innovate with higher value-added products in the context of an increasingly competitive world pulp market.
This initiative will use the same process and current facilities in Arauco’s Valdivia Pulp Plant, located in Mariquina, Los Ríos Region. Thus, the project only introduces some adjustments that will allow the manufacture of dissolving pulp.
Also, the application of the technologies associated with the production of this new pulp will be done maintaining the strictest environmental parameters, which currently govern this plant. This innovation considers maintaining the actual authorized production levels of 550,000 ADt / pulp per year.
“This is a very good project, where dissolving pulp stands out for its natural and environmentally friendly process, which makes it an alternative to other fibers on the market,” said Charles Kimber, manager of Corporate and Commercial Affairs of Arauco.
In this same line, the executive explained that “the production of dissolving pulp will allow to diversify the type of products offered to the world pulp market. This type of pulp has different applications in the textile industry, obtaining fibers of greater softness, brightness and purity. It is also used in the food industry, cellophanes and flexible packaging, among many other industrial uses.”
On the other hand, this initiative brings good news about the electricity supply, since the project will inject more electrical energy to the Central Interconnected System (SIC), using forest biomass as the main input, which is classified as renewable energy according to the United Nations. Today Valdivia Plant generates a surplus to the SIC of 25 MW, and with the Dissolving Pulp Project it can reach a surplus of approximately 55 MW.
