Espoo, Finland 03 July 2014 -- Metsä Fibre’s Joutseno mill in Finland was restarted at the beginning of July after an annual maintenance shutdown of more than three weeks. The shutdown’s exceptional length was due to extensive upgrades that were geared towards improving the mill's environmental performance.

During the shutdown, the base and air system of the recovery boiler were replaced. This will improve the boiler's combustion management and, therefore, will lead to a reduction in NOx emissions (nitrogen oxides).

In addition, the chip silo and chip heating systems were upgraded according to the mill's current capacity. This investment significantly reduces any odour emissions from the chip silo. Chips are heated in the silo using pure steam that is generated using secondary heat from the boiler. Exhaust gases from the silo are burned off after processing.