N.Z.F.P., Tasman buy new alkali plants

Press, 21 October 1980, Page 30

N.Z.F.P., Tasman buy new alkali plants

PA Auckland Tasman Pulp and Paper Company, Ltd, • and NX Forest Products, Ltd, have placed orders worth nearly $2O million with a Japaneese company for plants that make chlorind and caustic soda.

Both companies announced (they were buying new I “chlor-alkali” machines from Asahi Chemical Industry Company, Ltd—Tasman at a cost of about $l3 million! and N.Z.F.P. at about $5.3 i million.

The benefits of the plant conversions were numerous: (—greater capacity (N.Z.F.P. (will increase production of [chlorine and caustic soda 92 ;per cent and 115 per cent re-i spectively, and Tasman’s; production of the two products will rise 114 per cent);—savings in energy (although no figures were available, both companies eported that significant reductions in demand of steam and electricity would result from conversion); no pollution of environment (N.Z.F.P. mer-cury-based plant previously attracted much unfavourable

comment about the amount of mercury escaping the plant);—more efficient (the existing Tasman plant requires the caustic soda produced to be treated twice, because, after the initial process it is not “pure”). The two chemical products! (are used to bleach the pulp las it moves through the mill, i By-products such as jsodium hypochlorite and [hydrochloric acid would result from the manufacture of !chlorine and caustic soda—and those would be sold to 1 domestic users.

! Substantial import savings ; would be made through the pant conversions because [much of the bleaching products were previously bought overseas—principally from Australia.

The plant now operated by Tasman and N.Z.F.P. was purchased in the early 1950 s and was becoming obsolete. The N.Z.F.P. machine was to be dismantled and written off

. . . the same was thought to happen at Tasman. N.Z.F.P.’s new plant would be supplied in two stages, the first early next year.