Abercrombie, Nova Scotia, Canada 11 June 2014 -- Northern Pulp Nova Scotia will proceed this year with a $21-million project to install a new precipitator at the Abercrombie Point, N.S., NBSK pulp mill. It is part of an undertaking to become more fuel efficient and to reduce the mill’s environmental footprint, David MacKenzie, a Northern Pulp spokesman, told a local newspaper, the Chronicle Herald.

MacKenzie expects the new equipment to be operational in the spring of 2015.

Planning for the new precipitator began when Paper Excellence acquired Northern Pulp in 2011, according to the Herald.

Clyde Bergemann Power Group Americas of New Jersey was awarded the turnkey contract for design, fabrication and installation of the system.

“The existing precipitator has reached its limit for dust removal and this new precipitator is being built to replace it,” said a Northern Pulp news release. “The new precipitator will lead to a vast reduction of dust in air emissions and enhance environmental performance significantly.”

The Herald reports that part of the cost of the precipitator will be paid from a $17.2-million loan announced last year by the former NDP Nova Scotia government.