Fibria Selects Veolia To Supply All Three Water Units For Pulp Mill Expansion In Brazil

Veolia, through its subsidiary Veolia Water Technologies Brazil, was awarded a contract to build three units for demineralized water production, raw water treatment and effluent treatment at Fibria’s new pulp production line located in Três Lagoas in Mato Grosso do Sul, a central western state of Brazil.

Fibria is a Brazilian forest-based company and world leader in eucalyptus pulp production. The 26-month EPC contract signed with Veolia is for Project Horizonte 2, which involves the construction, at the Três Lagoas Unit, of a second production line with annual pulp capacity of 1.75 million tons. After the expansion, whose start up is expected in the fourth quarter of 2017, the Mato Grosso do Sul unit will reach full annual production capacity of 3.05 million tons of pulp. As a result, Fibria’s total annual pulp production capacity, considering all of its units, will increase from the current 5.3 million tons to over 7 million tons. Fibria's total investment in the expansion of Três Lagoas is equivalent to about $ 2.5B.

Veolia will design and build the three water treatment units using cutting-edge, patented Veolia processes. The first unit will use reverse osmosis and condensate polishing to produce 16,600 m³ /d of demineralized water to supply the boilers. The second unit will feature the Actiflo® high rate clarification process combined with TGV filters to treat 185,000 m³ /d of raw water before it is used in the pulp production process. Finally, the effluents from the pulp plant will go to a third unit where the AnoxKaldnes BAS process will be used to treat 166,000 m3 /d of wastewater. This last unit will be designed by Veolia business unit Aquaflow who is specialized in effluent treatment for the pulp & paper industry.

The effluent treatment plant was designed to comply with the most stringent environmental standards enforced in Mato Grosso do Sul, ensuring that the discharged water meets the highest levels of quality. All three water treatment units are to be equipped with processes known for providing efficient, stable and robust treatment in a small footprint, reducing construction costs.

Ruddi De Souza, General Manager of Veolia Water Technologies’ design & build activities in Latin America, said: “All around the world, Veolia partners with industries in their search for improved environmental and economic performance. We are very proud to be involved in this project with Fibria, and to work with them towards expending their production in a cost-effective way while conforming with the state of Mato Grosso do Sul’s very strict environmental regulations”.

The opening of the three treatment units is schedule for the fourth quarter of 2017.

About Veolia
Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With over 179,000 employees* worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them. In 2014, the Veolia group supplied 96 million people with drinking water and 60 million people with wastewater service, produced 52 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 31 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €24.4B* in 2014. For more information, visit www.veolia.com. 

(*) 2014 pro-forma figures, including Dalkia International (100%) and excluding Dalkia France.