Thursday, June 22, 2023 1:00 pm
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To continuously improve resource efficiency, Mercer International installed new debarking system to reduce wood losses. This system was installed during the mill's annual maintenance shutdown in September 2022 by a Finnish supplier. The new system controls the debarking process so that as little bark as necessary is removed from the log.
The chipping plant at Mercer Rosenthal processes about 650,000 m3 of industrial roundwood into chips annually. Most of the incoming roundwood is delivered by truck, but also by rail.
Since the start-up in October 2022, the system has been running steadily. The wood losses have been significantly reduced since then - from 10% to less than 2%.
The valuable resource wood is now better conserved thanks to a higher proportion of it being used as raw material for pulp and other wood bioproducts. In addition to reducing waste, the more efficient use of the resource also results in an economic advantage, as it reduces raw material costs for roundwood due to the lesser amounts needed from the forest to produce the same amount of pulp.
Mercer International Inc. is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the USA and Canada.