Reference FSDPs
(EC-ASEAN COGEN Programme Phase II)
Efficient combustion for a MDF factory (Malaysia)
BACKGROUND
 Guthrie MDF Sdn. Bhd., is involved in the production and sales of medium density fibre board (MDF). Faced with the collection and disposal problems of wood residues, while maintaining a high consciousness for an environment-friendly and energy efficient plant, the management decided to utilise all the rubberwood wastes produced by the MDF plant as fuel for their energy needs.
LOCATION
The plant is located in Kulim, Kedah, 100 km from Penang (Malaysia).
SOME ECONOMICS
Excluding piling works, the total equipment cost amounts to ECU 4,265,297 (USD5,502,233). By utilising all the rubberwood wastes from the mills to provide the heat energy required, the project can generate savings in fuel cost of ECU 1,894,305 (USD 2,443,654) per year. The expected pay-back period of the plant is 2 1/2 years after commissioning.
TECHNOLOGY
The plant consists of:
- sawdust/sanderdust extraction & transport systems;
- fuel storage, metering & transport systems;
- a thermal oil heater with a total capacity of 22 Gcal/hr;
- a steam generator producing 10 tonnes of steam/hr; and
- a flue gas heat recovery system for the driers.
CONTACTS
Customer |
European Supplier |
Guthrie MDF Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)
Tel: (604) 4852763; Fax: (604) 4852643 |
Sunds Defibrator AB (Sweden)
c/o Pittsoon Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia)
Tel: (603) 2429301; Fax: (603) 2485840 |
CUSTOMER'S VIEW POINT
 Originally, Guthrie Group’s core business was palm oil and rubber plantations, explains WONG Poh Weng, Director, Manufacturing and Engineering, Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd.
“However through the years, the group has developed further downstream activities, such as this MDF plant using rubberwood as raw material. We selected Sunds Defibrator from Sweden as our energy plant supplier because of their strong reputation in the wood panel industry and because of the high efficiency of their energy plant. All our process heat energy needs are covered by the use of our residues only. We do not need any fossil fuel as supplementary fuel. It makes our plant much cheaper to operate and much more environmentally friendly than our competitors who are using less efficient systems. We are pleased to be part of the COGEN Programme as our plant will be advertised as a model for the MDF industry," concludes WONG Poh Weng.
The plant has to be very efficient because three “customers” must be served at the same time," pursues TAN Yu Hwa, General Manager, Guthrie MDF Sdn. Bhd. "These three customers are the chip preheater, the fibre drier and the hot press. They all use different heating media, i.e. steam, flue gas, and hot oil, respectively."
SUPPLIER'S VIEW POINT
 "We are a world leader in the supply of fibre processing technologies, offering the most comprehensive product range in the industry," explains Lars Näsman, President, Sunds Defibrator AB. "The global push to clean up the environment, coupled with increased environmental awareness among MDF producers, is continuing to result in higher levels of investment in environmentally friendly technologies all around the world."
"Pittsoon Sdn. Bhd. has been Sunds Defibrator's agent in Malaysia since 1991," says LIEW Poi Fatt, Project Manager. "MDF plants have high energy requirements but the quantities of residues that can be used as fuel are very limited. The main advantage of this system is that it can burn all waste (such as sander dust, bark, and sawdust) with very high efficiency in the same combustion chamber. By doing so, the energy plant can cover all the heat requirements of the process." Back to Reference FSDP List | To top |
