Following on from having received the original order for valves at LignoTech SA, which opened in March 1999, Valve and Automation's Ron Nel is delighted that NAF's reputation has again won the day. The company recently received orders for Sappi Saiccor's new digester 24 and displacement washing upgrade. The valves ordered are NAF Duball control and on/off ball valves with solid stellite balls and seats.
Ken Toward, a divisional instrument engineer at Sappi Saiccor says that the installation of an extra digester is required, as the cooking cycles will be extended due to more liquor extraction from the additional displacement washing phase. The displacement washing upgrade will improve the quality of both Saiccor's pulp and the effluent flow will consequently contain less percentage of lignin. The liquor from this digester displacement will be sent to the LignoTech plant to produce lignosulphonate. Lignosulphonate is used as a dispersing agent in concrete, textile dyes pesticides and ceramics and as a binding agent in briquetting, animal feed and dust suppression.
LignoTech South Africa's 50% joint owners, Borregaard and Sappi Saiccor first announced their intention to expand production capacity, a year ago this month. The announcement made then was that the lignosulphonate plant situated alongside the Sappi Saiccor 600 000 tonne sulphite pulp mill would bump production up from its current 55 000 tonnes to 150-200 000 tonnes of ligno products and that the expansions cost would amount to $20-30 million. The Saiccor displacement washing project while related, does not form part of this projected cost.
For more information: Ron Nel, Valve & Automation, 031 579 2593, [email protected]
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