Austin, TX—The Fieldbus Foundation announced Nov. 29 that Celulosa Arauco y Constitucion S.A. (Santiago, Chile) has selected FOUNDATION fieldbus to help automate its new pulp mill near the city of Valdivia, Chile.
Austin, TX— The Fieldbus Foundation
Arauco is a world-leading forestry company in terms of plantation size, lumber processing, and production of market kraft pulp. The new mill, which will be one of the largest in the world when it’s completed, will employ a FOUNDATION fieldbus-based digital control architecture and more than 3,500 fieldbus instruments. Project design and execution services will be provided by Emerson Process Management (Austin, TX).
Arauco reports that it selected FOUNDATION technology based on its design requirements. These included low investment cost; use of proven process technology and equipment; freedom to choose from a wide range of best-in-class products; power to integrate subsystems for efficient consumption of wood, energy, and water; and low air and water emissions in compliance with environmental regulations.
Richard Timoney, FF’s president and ceo, says the Arauco project is further evidence that FOUNDATION technology is gaining worldwide acceptance among end-users seeking a sound, long-term capital investment strategy for plant automation and a lower total cost of ownership. ”FOUNDATION fieldbus has moved beyond the early adopter stage and is now appearing as a standard in pre-bid specifications,” says Mr. Timoney. ”FOUNDATION fieldbus is a key enabler of improved plant performance and business results, and we’re excited about this major installation at Arauco, a leading producer of pulp and paper products.
”Fieldbus users benefit from reduced life-cycle costs through improved operations and maintenance, and increased profits due to decreased commissioning time. With FOUNDATION fieldbus, new facilities can be up and running and into production much faster than with tra-ditional control technology.”
Located 500 miles south of Santiago, Arauco’s new mill will produce 600,000 tons of bleached softwood and hardwood market pulp per year from pine and eucalyptus logs beginning in late 2004. Excess electricity generated at the mill will be sold to the Chilean national power grid. Arauco expects the entire project to cost $1.2 billion. A similar pulp mill to be built near Itata, Chile is in the planning phase.
Control Engineering Daily
Jim Montague, news editor
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