BTG partners with Chuetsu, Japan

Chuetsu Pulp & Paper, one of the largest pulp & paper producer in Japan has selected BTG to support its journey to improve the bleaching process in two of its bleaching lines by implementing MACSbleach project to optimize the bleaching chemicals usage.

Thanks to BTG expertise and close customer interaction, the bleaching chemical costs have been reduced by 1015% - twice the target at the beginning of the project. In parallel, the variability of the pulp brightness reduced by 20-50%, which in turn has helped stabilize overall bleached pulp quality inspite of incoming raw material and process disturbances.

This project was conceived early in 2019 with a target to improve pulp quality stability and to lower the bleaching costs at two of its hardwood pulp mills at Takaoka and Sendai. BTG solution involved combination of unique bleach plant measurements (e.g. Total Kappa, Lignin & HexA Kappa, Brightness) and model predictive controls MACSbleach to automate the process to be able to automatically respond to incoming variabilities and yet maintain a more stable pulp quality. Very close cooperation and proactive interaction between the BTG and Chuetsu project teams resulted in completing the implementation of the project in a record time and yet achieving all KPI’s. 

A key success factor was the user friendliness of BTG MACSbleach interface which allowed operators to clearly visualize what happens in the different parts of the process in real time and transparent manner through dataPARC platform. BTG application experts provided due assistance through off-site and on-site interaction with the operators to constantly optimize the process. 

“Thanks to their strong expertise in unique bleach plant measurements, advance process controls and application expertise combined with their unique customer interaction, BTG delivered solid benefits in bleaching process optimization project, which allows us to operate more efficiently and enhances our competitiveness. We look forward to co-operating further with BTG to introduce MACS to other process areas” says Mr Takado, General Manager, Chuetsu HQ.

“BTG were honored to be selected by Chuetsu Pulp to execute Advanced Process Control projects at their Takaoka and Sendai fibrelines. The collaborative approach taken by the Chuetsu and BTG teams was key to delivering the projects on time and meeting performance guarantees. This project is the continuation of a long-term partnership with Chuetsu and we look forward to working with this valued customer in delivering future process improvement initiatives” shares Keith Waters, General Manager, BTG Group, ASPAC.