The Swedish Energy Agency has granted 3,44MSEK (€400k) through its R&D and innovation in the energy sector program to HEAD Engineering for industrial trials of its black liquor clarification and black liquor soap concentration technology, Pinola Bliss. The technology provides sulfate (kraft) pulp mills with increased plant efficiencies in the mills chemical recovery loop which directly results in energy savings in the evaporators and recovery boiler as well as increasing their crude tall oil production, a valuable renewable fuel.
The grant will enable the construction and operation of a demonstration plant which will be built at Billerud’s Gruvön pulp and paper mill in Sweden. Billerud has expressed interest in the technology and is providing access to their black liquor stream and plant personnel. The other supporter of the trial is Alfa Laval who will be providing their high speed centrifugal separators which is the main equipment behind the technology.
