Empresas – Pulp Plant

Major Pulp Plant Slashes Maintenance Costs and Downtime

Every facility shutdown for maintenance is a major investment of time and resources.  However, new tools on the market can be used to optimize improvement of maintenance practices. This is especially true with valve maintenance. Metso is a valuable partner with specialized shutdown services that can identify which valves need attention, eliminating unnecessary maintenance work.

Putting experience into practice

Empresas CMPC S.A. is a Chilean integrated forest industry company and the world’s fifth largest producer of pulp. The company’s Santa Fe mill produces bleached eucalyptus on two fiber lines. When preparing for a general plant shutdown of fiber line 2, the mill asked Metso for help identifying which of the many valves in the mill needed service. The mill entered into a predictive maintenance contract with Metso’s local service center.

Intelligent devices and FieldCare

On Santa Fe’s fiber line 2, 74 control valves were identified as critical. With the help of Metso FieldCare, Metso Valve Manager^TM DTM and the Metso’s Smart Device Check service, Metso service team collected data on the valve’s performance.

Metso FieldCare is a stand-alone condition monitoring software for the configuration and diagnostics of any FDT/DTM capable intelligent device. All the selected valves had been equipped with Neles ND9000 intelligent valve controllers when the line was built. The ND9000 is a FDT/DTM enabled smart, reliable and future-proof positioner that supports the HART Communication Protocol.

Metso’s Smart Device Check, based on diagnostic data collected by Metso’s intelligent valve controllers and Metso expertise, reveals the condition of valves and focuses maintenance actions on those with the worst performance. This service is available for all valves equipped with Metso’s controllers.

Only 10% of the valves needed extensive work

Of the 74 valves, Smart Device Check analysis showed that just seven needed to be taken out for maintenance and nine more required only minor servicing. Afterwards, Metso helped to develop the list of spare parts needed for shutdown so delivery could be quick, which further helped to reduce costs.

Good return on investment

Correct spare parts were ordered well in time for the shutdowns, and predictive maintenance costs were slashed by reducing the number of valves taken out of the process. The small number of valves removed from the piping also decreased incidents related to safety and environmental aspects. Additionally, Santa Fe reported savings by reducing the spare part stock and reducing the purchasing administrative time.

Javier Gonzalez, Electrical & Instrumentation Superintendent, comments: “The optimization of costs related to maintaining the control valves, based on the information delivered by a predictive maintenance philosophy, allows us to allocate resources to other important activities in the mill. The best was that this service was carried out during normal mill operation time without disturbing the process.”

The following year, Metso analyzed information from 146 intelligent valve controllers. During shutdown, 27 valves were taken out for maintenance on site, based on information gathered through Metso FieldCare, Metso Valve Manager^TM DTM to Smart Device Check service.