Mill-Wide Transformation
Mill-Wide Transformation
Unlocking $20.2 Million in Value
In just 18months, we helped a leading pulp and paper mill unlock USD 20.2 million in measurable value by resolving long-standing production bottlenecks through advanced controls embedded directly into the mill’s existing DCS.
This case study shows how our Mill Transformation approach - focused on people, process, and sustainability - drove measurable results that significantly improved the operation's bottom line.
Across the project, each major initiative achieved an average payback of just 4.6 months, helping maintain internal momentum and executive support throughout the transformation.
A 900,000 Ton per year Pulp Mill
Operating for more than six decades, this flagship mill turns sustainably managed hardwood plantations into high-quality material, targeting 900,000 tonnes of pulp annually. Its output supports diversified industrial markets across the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas.
Hidden Bottlenecks & Fragmented Processes
Prior to tis project the client faced multiple challenges
- Electricity tariffs from the national utility increased by 80% in four years, threatening the mill’s cost competitiveness.
- The Global Hardwood Fiber Price Index rose ≈27% since pre-pandemic levels, undermining historical raw material cost advantages.
- Like others in the sector, the mill faces mounting pressure to reduce contact-water intensity by 10–25% and commit to a net-zero carbon pathway by 2050—all while growing output to meet demand.
The mill experienced unpredictable output and downtime in critical process areas like the recovery boiler, washing plant, and fiber line. Improvements in one area often just shifted constraints elsewhere, preventing sustainable benefit from being realised. Meanwhile, deficient and outdated process controls led to variability in product quality and unnecessary resource consumption.
Some of the client's key pain points were
- Inefficient combustion in the recovery boiler (leading to increased emissions and low fuel efficiency).
- Manual soot-blowing causing poor steam utilisation and frequent unplanned cleaning shuts.
- Erratic washing cycles and high water use, raising both environmental and cost concerns.
- Fragmented fiberline processes, leading to pulp quality inconsistency and throughput limitations.
Stepwise Improvements Embedded with the Mill Team
Working closely with mill personnel, we progressed through a three-step transformation — starting with diagnostics, moving into co-designed trials, and finishing with seamless integration into daily operations.
Implementation Process
Step 1: Identifying Hidden Constraints
Together with process engineers and operators, we assessed the mill’s key production areas—recovery boiler, evaporators, washing plant, and fiber line—using live operational data.
This analysis uncovered interactions and chronic bottlenecks that weren't visible through traditional monitoring: instability in liquor recovery, solids imbalance, and inconsistent digester performance.
Step 2: Designing and Trialling Smarter Controls
New control strategies were developed jointly with on-site teams
- Boiler air control and soot-blowing were tuned through safe field trials, with operator-defined safety margins.
- Evaporator solids control and liquor flow balancing were tested in low-risk windows.
- Digester and fiber line logic was stabilised through phased rollouts, refined with operator feedback after each shift.
Step 3: Embedding the Changes with Zero Disruption
All improvements were built into the existing DCS—no new instrumentation required. Control blocks, alerts, and dashboards were made available through familiar HMI views. Because the entire implementation used tools the operators already trusted, adoption was rapid—and results were sustained.
A $20.2 MUSD Impact
Through iterative improvements and a system-wide approach, the client achieved USD 20.2million in verified value over just 18 months. Key initiatives across the operation helped unlock this outcome by reducing bottlenecks, boosting efficiency, and improving consistency.
1. Recovery Boiler Optimisation
Challenge:
- High liquor density variability
- Manual soot-blowing cycles
- Inefficient combustion control
Solution:
- BISB (Beyond Intelligent Soot Blowing) automated lance sequencing using physics-enhanced machine learning
- Real-time air-to-fuel trim for dynamic combustion tuning
Outcomes:
- +9.2 tons/hour steam output
- +0.9% thermal efficiency
- +7.3% recovery boiler availability — reducing unplanned downtime and boosting energy self-sufficiency
2. Enhanced Solids Recovery
Challenge:
- Excessive water usage
- Unstable washing efficiency
- Erratic evaporator solids control
Solution:
- Liquor-balancing logic to stabilise solids loading
- Condition-based evaporator cleaning enabled by real-time analytics
Outcomes:
- +5% evaporator efficiency
- –7% total water use — supporting sustainability targets without new equipment
3. Fiberline Stability & Digester Control
Challenge:
- Manual interventions causing variability in pulp quality
- Gas-release handling limiting throughput
Solution:
- Advanced consistency controls across key fiber line tanks
- Automated digester gas-release and blow-sequencing logic
Outcomes:
- –6 minutes per digester batch, increasing total daily throughput
- 68% reduction in kappa number variability
- Improved SO₂ recovery and lower emissions
- Smoother fiber line operation, with fewer alarms and reduced operator intervention
Initiatives were sequenced to deliver rapid returns, with major projects averaging a4.6-month payback — sustaining internal momentum throughout the transformation.
Key Takeaways
1. Iterative Bottleneck Removal
A flexible, data-driven approach ensures each improvement uncovers the next area to optimise.
2. Operator-Friendly Integration
Embedding solutions into the existing DCS fosters trust, simplifies training, and secures long-term adoption.
3. Sustainability & Profitability
Aligning operational gains with environmental targets (water and energy use) not only boosted revenue but also secured a long-term license to operate.
4. Holistic View = Greater ROI
True transformation arises from viewing the mill as an interconnected system rather than a series of isolated fixes.
