From Open Sedimentation Tank to Sealed White Water Tower: Yuxin Paper's Green Investment Delivers Double Gains in Output and Quality

[China Packaging Network news] Another green-upgrade case has emerged upstream of paper-based packaging. Zhejiang Shengzhou Yuxin Paper Co., Ltd. has been directing capital into new papermaking lines in recent years, lifting annual output above its former level and delivering simultaneous gains in volume and quality. The mill has also obtained ISO 9001 international quality management system certification and ISO 14001 environmental management system certification, passed cleaner production audit acceptance, and been recognized as a credit-rated enterprise for consecutive years.

Formerly Shengzhou Carton Packaging Materials Factory, Shengzhou Yuxin Paper Co., Ltd. specializes in manufacturing and selling high-strength corrugated base paper. Its plant sits in the papermaking industrial zone of Xibao Village, Xianyan Town, Shengzhou City — a well-positioned site with convenient transport links — and its total site area and total building area are both of a substantial scale. The workforce includes a number of engineers and technicians, and the mill supplies high-strength corrugated base paper to the market each year.

That steady operating performance has placed the company among Shengzhou's industrial enterprises and among the city's top 20 taxpayers.

With the added papermaking lines in place, annual output has continued to climb from its earlier level. The plant runs modern production lines and complete product-testing equipment, with quality governed by a full and scientific quality management system. Advances in technology, modernized business management and a broad range of product specifications have kept the company moving steadily forward in a competitive market. It has secured ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification, cleared cleaner production audit acceptance, and retained its credit-rated enterprise status year after year.

Papermaking has long been an emissions-intensive business. So how has Yuxin Paper expanded production while keeping its discharge under control? A reporter put the question to General Manager Wang of Shengzhou Yuxin Paper Co., Ltd.

GM Wang explained that the move grew out of the plant's own circumstances and from long-term environmental, resource-saving and safety considerations. The primary sedimentation tank required maintenance and cleaning during long-term operation, and adding a cover would have created serious safety hazards when the tank bottom was cleaned later. After extensive investigation and verification, the company began investing early in the year in an additional white water tower, decommissioning the previous open sedimentation tank to address the odour problem at its root. Following the environmental authority's timetable, the company tightened project supervision and pressed ahead with the schedule, completing the sedimentation tank retrofit on time and to standard: the tank has now been fully emptied and the white water tower is in normal operation. The white water tower is sealed with a cover and works in combination with two deep dissolved air flotation (DAF) towers. All wastewater from the production floor first enters the white water tower for deep settling, then passes through DAF treatment, after which it can basically be reused directly in production. The tower's water level is designed to stay balanced with the pulp tower, and white water inside can be fully recirculated through level adjustment — doubling the number of water circulation cycles across the production system compared with before. This removes the old problem of shallow sedimentation tanks holding white water for long periods, allowing paper fibres to rot and generate odour. Exhaust gas from the white water tower is captured and sent to a biological treatment pond for oxidation, fully resolving the odour issue associated with the primary sedimentation tank.

Looking ahead, GM Wang said the company will earnestly implement national environmental laws, regulations and policies, act on the scientific assertion that clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver, and press on with environmental protection, cleaner production and energy saving and emission reduction. It will keep improving its production processes and pollution-control performance to safeguard ecological security and support sustainable development. Environmental awareness and in-house environmental management will be raised further, with a long-term environmental management mechanism and stronger management, on-site inspection, equipment service and maintenance to keep all pollution-control facilities running properly, ensuring stable, compliant discharge of wastewater and waste gas.

This article is republished from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-351135.html