Global demand for dissolving pulp triggers mammoth expansion and upgrade project

UPGRADED and expanded, Sappi’s Saiccor Mill is responsible for more than 60% of the company’s annual global production capacity of dissolving pulp (DP), used in the production of Lyocell, the ‘fibre of the future’ for which there is growing global demand.

The R7.7billion project at Umkomaas, 50 km south of Durban was completed in December 2021 and officially opened by President Ramaphosa on Tuesday 13 September 2022.
Explaining the motivation for Sappi’s investment in the production of DP, Steve Binnie, CEO of Sappi Limited said: “Global demand continues to grow for renewable textiles derived from sustainable wood fibre. Sappi supplies over 50% of the world’s Lyocell demand, the next generation textile material made from cellulosic fibres.

“This expansion project not only meets customer demand for greater DP production and in particular Lyocell, but also significantly reduces the mill’s environmental footprint and supports Sappi’s decarbonization journey, whilst also generating an additional ZAR1 billion per annum in direct benefit to the KwaZulu-Natal economy,” he said.

Globally Competitive

Delivering the keynote address at the official opening, President Ramaphosa congratulated Sappi for delivering on its commitment made at the first South Africa Investment Conference in 2018.

Recognising Sappi’s achievement, he said: “We are witnessing an investment in infrastructure, people, innovation, technology and sustainability.

“It is an investment in community development, in the local economy, in our export capacity and in the industrialisation of our economy,” the President added.

Acknowledging South Africa’s ‘inherent global competitiveness,’ the President also recognised that “to realise that potential, we need to remove the constraints that are hampering the overall competitiveness of our manufacturing industries”.

“Investments in port and related infrastructure to improve efficiencies will improve the competitiveness of locally manufactured products in global markets,” the President added.

Rail and port efficiencies are critical for the mill as DP is exported from Durban in rolls or sheets to key markets including China, India, the United States, other African countries and the European Union. Sappi Southern Africa is one of the biggest container exporters, with approximately 205 TEU equivalent containers per day moving out of Durban Port under normal circumstances.

Planet-friendly products and processes

“By using renewable and sustainably sourced wood to produce circular, innovative biobased products, Sappi continues to have a positive impact on society and the planet by reducing and replacing the need for fossil-based products. In doing this, we are realising our purpose of building a thriving world,” said Binnie.

The Saiccor mill, acquired by Sappi in 1989, established Sappi’s global reach into the lucrative international DP markets. Since then, the mill has undergone three expansion projects to keep pace with global demand. Branded as ‘Verve’, almost all of the DP produced at the mill is sold globally into the Viscose Staple Fibres (VSF) markets for use in textiles and clothing for leading brands.

With regards to Sappi’s decarbonisation journey, Alex Thiel, CEO of Sappi Southern Africa indicated: “The installation of the largest sulphite recovery boiler in the world and the conversion of the calcium cooking line to the more sustainable magnesium bisulphite technology, reduces the need for coal-based power generation at the mill, leading to a significant reduction in fossil fuel energy requirements and increasing the mill’s renewable energy usage, additionally realising considerable variable cost savings.”

An overview of the upgrade and expansion

The Sappi Saiccor Mill upgrade and expansion project increases the capacity and global competitiveness of the Sappi Saiccor Mill, by increasing the mill’s production of DP from 780,000 tons per annum to 890,000 tons per annum (110,000 tpa increase). The project significantly reduces the environmental footprint of the operation, through equipment and process upgrades and improvements employing Best Available Technology (BAT).

It also opens the way for the many forestry value chain participants, from the increased need for timber supply from rural and emerging timber growers to emerging suppliers and service providers who support these activities.

Work first commenced on the expansion project in 2018, construction ceased in 2020 for a period due to Covid-19 and hot commissioning was completed in Mid-December 2021.
Some 3,000 contractor positions were created over the lifetime of the project, with over 2,500 local community members being employed. A permanent community skills centre was established at the mill and some R150 million has been invested in local enterprise and supplier development opportunities. The project has also seen a 9% increase in permanent staff at the mill.

The expansion and upgrades include a new evaporator, recovery boiler, screening and washing plant, as well as upgrades to the bleach plant and pulp machines, improved recovery circuits and additional magnesium digesters.

New technology employed incorporates improved washing technology to optimise water and energy efficiency, optimised cooking technology for improved pulp quality control, the application of robotics to facilitate debottlenecking and shop-floor digitisation for improved commissioning, control and operational efficiency.

Upgrades to the woodyard to enable smooth logistics supply chain operation include the installation of offloading equipment, side-arm rail carriage chargers and new chipper lines.

Technical Fast Facts

• Installation of the largest sulphite recovery boiler in the world, with the capacity to process up to 1,500 tons of dry solids per day.
• 110 km of cabling equivalent to the distance from Durban to Howick.
• 56 km of piping equivalent to the distance from Durban to Cato Ridge.
• More than 2,000 trucks of concrete were used (about 30,000 tons).
• An amount equivalent to half the amount of steel that went into building the Eiffel Tower in Paris was used in construction.
• Pipe bridge modularisation was a first for Sappi SA – to Sappi’s knowledge, this was the largest undertaken in South Africa.

Environmental Fast Facts

• There are several best available technology (BAT) improvements which will lead to substantial environmental benefits.
• Fossil fuel CO2 emissions, SO2 emissions, water consumption and waste to landfill will significantly reduce and specific water use efficiency is expected to improve.
• The project will help Sappi achieve its target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 18% by 2025.
• A key milestone for ambitious decarbonisation plans and Sappi’s science-based target, approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions by 41.5% by 2030.

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