The investment will help expand and optimise the plant and construct an advanced lime kiln and gas treatment system, which will have a production capacity of 120 tonnes of lime per day and provide environmental benefits
Smurfit Kappa announces investment of €27m in new facility at Spanish paper mill. (Credit: Smurfit Kappa)
Ireland-based Smurfit Kappa has announced an investment of €27m in a new advanced waste management and recovery facility at its Nervión paper mill in Iurreta, Spain.
The investment will help expand and optimise the plant and construct an advanced lime kiln and gas treatment system.
With a daily output capacity of 120 tonnes of lime, the lime kiln and gas treatment system is expected to improve the environment, the company said.
According to the firm, the new circular system will allow the calcium carbonate waste to be converted into lime and then used as a raw material again. The calcium carbonate waste is produced during the mill’s manufacturing process.
This move will reduce the mill’s carbon footprint by keeping 75,000 tonnes of garbage out of the landfill and avoiding about 450,000km annually in road transport.
With the investment, the mill will implement a fully circular production process for a landfill reduction project. The project will assist the firm to fulfil its 2025 sustainability targets.
Smurfit said that the initiative has been developed in partnership between Smurfit Kappa Nervión and several other technology firms.
Smurfit Kappa Paper & Board Europe COO Javier Rivas said: “We are delighted about the installation of this industry-leading system which will help our mill to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
“At Smurfit Kappa, we care deeply about new ways in which we can embed circularity into our business, particularly when we are talking about the production process.
“With this new lime kiln and gas treatment system, we will be able to recover and reuse more of our materials. We look forward to seeing the new system up and running later this year.”
The gas treatment system complies with European Parliament Directive 2010/75/EU. It will be connected to the automated monitoring system already in place for the mill’s other facilities.
The packaging firm said that the project is almost complete and is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.