OREANDA-NEWS. January 15, 2010. Mondi Syktyvkar mill in Russia has started up its new lime kiln, which is a part of the mill's development project, Step. The completion and start up of the new lime kiln took place in December.

Mondi Syktyvkar started reconstruction of the white liquor plant in the spring 2008. Erection of the lime kiln with a daily production capacity over 700 tons of lime started in the autumn 2008.

The scope of the executed work was extensive: a 105-meters long kiln was delivered to the Mondi site in twelve shell rings, each of them weighing approximately 60 tons. It was then erected into a single structure which was aligned, welded and installed on the foundation supports. Finally it was lined up inside with refractory bricks. Buildings for the feed-end and the discharge-end, as well as a building for white liquor filtrate were constructed around the kiln. This was followed by the process- and electrical equipment and the installation of the cyclone.

The new white liquor plant will start operating fully during the spring, when the thick liquor filter is put into operation.

Currently the Step project, valued at Euro 525 million, is 67% completed. Its completion is scheduled for the second half of this year and entails the reconstruction of all the main production process capacity, replacement of outdated equipment, introduction of new high-technology facilities and improvement of the mill’s environmental performance.

The main goals of the Step project are cost reduction through an increase in production process efficiency. Increased energy output will partially be sold to the electrical grid. Total paper and board production will amount to nearly one million tons, which is a 20% increase. In addition, improvements to the mill’s safety performance are also expected.