Bleaching Scrubber Replacement / Celulosa Arauco

A full equipment replacement resolved in the field, where every internal component was assessed to decide whether to replace it or recover it.

Lifting the intermediate section of the new scrubber.

Project fact sheet

Client: Celulosa Arauco
Industry: Pulp. Bleaching plant gas treatment.
Location and period: 2022.
Asset type: Bleaching plant scrubber, replacing the existing equipment.
Operational situation: The existing equipment showed advanced deterioration: severe wear of the interior chemical barrier and structural damage.
Service conditions: Bleaching plant gas scrubbing.
Invenio scope: Engineering, fabrication, and installation of a new FRP scrubber, with removal of the existing equipment, recovery of the reusable internals, rehabilitation of the base, and commissioning.
Construction system: FRP scrubber installed in sections, with internal components recovered by repairing their chemical and structural barriers.
Photographs: Photographic record of the removal, the recovery of the internals, and the field installation.
Confidentiality: Published case

Verification during execution

Each internal component was assessed before deciding whether to recover or replace it, with repair of its chemical and structural barriers documented during execution.

The Challenge

The bleaching plant scrubber had reached the end of its service life: the interior chemical barrier showed severe wear and the equipment had accumulated structural damage.

Replacing it meant removing and lifting a large piece of equipment inside an operating plant, with the risk that entails, and deciding component by component which internals could be recovered rather than replaced.

The Solution

Invenio developed the engineering, fabricated a new FRP scrubber, and carried out the full replacement: removal of the existing equipment, recovery of the internal components by repairing their chemical and structural barriers, repair of trays and supports, and rehabilitation of the base.

The final installation incorporated the recovered elements and covered the lifting operations, equipment alignment, nozzle installation, controlled torque application, and finishing work.

The Result

The scrubber was handed over as a fully operational system, and recovering the reusable internals reduced the fabrication scope of the project.

What Was Executed and What Was Controlled

The scope of the replacement, as executed in the field.

01Assessment of every internal component to determine which ones could be recovered.
02Fabrication of the new FRP scrubber.
03Removal and lifting of the existing equipment inside the plant.
04Repair of the chemical and structural barriers of the recovered internals, including trays and supports.
05Rehabilitation of the equipment base.
06Alignment, nozzle installation, and controlled torque application during final assembly.
07Finishing work and commissioning of the system.

What Comes After Commissioning

A scrubber is maintained by inspecting the continuity of the interior chemical barrier, which is consumed first, along with the condition of trays, supports, and flanged joints.

The inspection plan and the maintenance scope are defined for the service conditions of the equipment.

Replacement Record

Photographs of the removal, the recovery of the internals, and the installation of the new scrubber, plus the scheme of the equipment’s upper internal arrangement.