Solenis Recognizes Mercer Rosenthal’s Increased Water and Energy Efficiencies with Brown Stock Washing Defoamer Program

Andreas Dietzsch and Jenny Fischer receive the award at Mercer’s Rosenthal facility.

WILMINGTON, Del. (USA) – Solenis LLC, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, is proud to announce that Mercer’s Rosenthal facility in Rosenthal am Rennsteig, Germany, is among the winners of a 2023 Solenis Sustainability Award. The cutting-edge kraft pulp facility produces approximately 360,000 tons of softwood kraft pulp annually. It is being recognized for adopting an innovative defoamer solution to improve the mill’s brown stock washing operation. The program allows Mercer Rosenthal to save an average of 25 cubic meters per hour of wash water and in addition to the extraction of CO2-free electrical energy (Mehrausspeisung CO2 freier Elektroenergie) of 4371125 kWh/a. Furthermore, this also lead to a saving of approximately 108,000 cubic meters of fresh water per year.

Mercer, a global producer of market pulp and solid wood products, has ambitious sustainability goals, including reducing water consumption by 10% and CO2e emissions by 35% by 2030. Improving the efficiency of brown stock washing is one step toward realizing these goals. Defoamers are necessary to improve washing performance, product quality, production rates and equipment efficiency. Optimized brown stock washing decreases the load on the evaporation plant and reduces the need for bleaching chemicals, contributing to cleaner effluent.

Technical experts from Solenis collaborated with the Mercer Rosenthal operations team on the defoamer initiative. According to Georg Heming, Area Manager for Tissue & Pulp at Solenis Germany, adopting Advantage™ defoamers to improve the mill’s brown stock washing operation was the result of a close partnership. “Optimizing the washing process can significantly improve pulp mill efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It is critical to control foaming and to use the right defoamer at the right dose. We collaborated closely with the team at Mercer Rosenthal to implement a customized plan to meet their needs and make the operation as efficient as possible.”

To implement the Advantage defoaming program at Mercer Rosenthal, the Solenis technical team first conducted an in-depth process evaluation and lab testing to evaluate the facility’s unique challenges and opportunities for improvement. The team then recommended using Advantage™ CS6109 and designed an optimal dosing regimen.

André Groth, Fiberline Manager and his team are proud of the results and credits the collaboration with Solenis. “Working together with the Solenis team was critical to optimizing our brown stock washing operation, and we are thrilled to see the very real impact in improved efficiency and sustainability. We hope to continue our partnership with Solenis and appreciate their dedication to sustainability, as it aligns with our own values,” Growth said.

Solenis established the Sustainability Awards in 2020 to recognize projects that deliver reduced water use, reduced energy consumption, decreased greenhouse gas emissions, optimized raw material utilization or reduced waste. Read more about the awards and winning projects on Solenis.com.