Paper Mill Cuts Maintenance Costs On Effluent By 60%

This mill produces 200 tpd of recycled medium to heavy weight clay-coated boxboard used for packaging products such as powdered detergents, hardware, and various dry and frozen foods. Approximately 500 thousand gallons per day of fresh water are used in this process and must undergo primary and secondary treatment onsite before being returned to the river. Strathcona is not permitted to discharge water with high levels of acid or salt and uses online pH and conductivity measurements to verify that the operation is continuously within regulatory limits. The original sensors used for these online measurements required periodic cleaning and calibration, which was problematic because travel time to their location was about 45 minutes each way. Jim Hearns, responsible for maintaining those sensors, wanted to save both time and money by using sensors that needed less cleaning, lasted longer, and calibrated easier.