In an October 21 announcement, Finnish supplier Valmet said it would deliver key process technology to Century Sunshine’s new pulp mill in Rizhao, Shandong, China. This was not a newly booked October order: the supplier says it was included in its orders received in the second quarter of 2026. The mill is expected to start up in June 2028. An equipment order, completed construction and commercial pulp production are different milestones.
Two fiberlines and a recovery island
Valmet’s scope includes cooking and fiberlines, evaporation, a recovery boiler, ash treatment and white-liquor equipment. The company describes two parallel lines: one able to switch between hardwood and softwood pulp, and a second softwood line aimed at fluff and dissolving grades. Its announced design capacities are 1.2 million tonnes and 400,000 tonnes a year, respectively. Before startup, these design figures cannot be treated as measured production or committed pulp available to buyers.
Evaporation, the recovery boiler and white-liquor systems form part of a chemical pulp mill’s chemical and energy cycle. The existence of a supply contract, however, does not measure energy savings or emissions reductions. Valmet identifies design features including an electrostatic precipitator for dust reduction. Actual environmental performance will require later commissioning and steady-state data considered alongside permit conditions.
Century Sunshine links the project to its three-phase “Paper-for-Plastic” investment program. The announcement’s 2.65 million-tonne annual paper-production target describes that broader program—not realized output from this pulp mill or verified plastic substitution. Potential pulp buyers should look for subsequent commissioning results, grade specifications, certification and commercial-supply notices after the planned startup.
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PackingMaster edits PaperPackLog, covering market developments, products and technical considerations in paper packaging.
References
- Valmet, key technology delivery to Century Sunshine’s Rizhao pulp mill, October 21, 2026 — supply scope, design capacity, Q2 order booking and expected June 2028 startup.
Photo credits
- Cover: Quintin Soloviev, wood-chip yard at Canada’s Irving Pulp and Paper mill, CC BY 4.0. Resized and JPEG re-encoded.
- First inline photo: Raj6644, chemical recovery boiler at India’s TNPL mill, CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized and re-encoded.
- Second inline photo: David Stanley, NBSK pulp at Canada’s Harmac Pacific mill, CC BY 2.0. Resized and re-encoded. None depicts the Century Sunshine project.
