MM Board & Paper has brought a new continuous pulp digester into operation at its integrated Kwidzyn mill in Poland, replacing the previous batch cooking system.
The modernization is designed to reduce wood and energy consumption, improve production efficiency and lower the mill's CO₂ emissions.
The company confirmed the startup on October 29, in line with the fourth-quarter schedule announced by ANDRITZ in January.
“Continuous cooking technology is an important investment in the future of MM Kwidzyn,” said Filip Drofiak, Managing Director of MM Kwidzyn.
MM Kwidzyn’s new continuous pulp digester.
From batch to continuous cooking
Unlike batch cooking, where wood chips are processed in separate cycles, continuous cooking maintains a steady flow of material through the digester. This approach is designed to provide more consistent operating conditions while improving resource and energy efficiency.
According to ANDRITZ, the LoSolids installation includes a single-vessel digester, a TurboFeed chip feeding system with a Diamondback chip bin to improve chip presteaming, and a vapour reboiler for heat recovery and the reduction of odorous gas emissions.
The new system can switch between softwood and hardwood pulp production, providing additional flexibility for the integrated mill.
MM Kwidzyn produces virgin fibre cartonboard, packaging kraft paper, uncoated fine paper, moulded pulp and northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) market pulp.
Wood savings and lower production emissions
MM expects the new digester to reduce annual wood consumption by approximately 50,000 cubic metres while maintaining the same production output.
Combined with accompanying energy-efficiency measures, the investment is projected to reduce annual CO₂ emissions by approximately 100,000 tonnes, equivalent to around one-third of the integrated mill's emissions.
These figures remain company projections, rather than savings already measured under normal operating conditions.
Evolving CO₂ estimates
When MM first announced the investment in November 2025, it projected a reduction of approximately two-thirds in the mill's annual CO₂ emissions, alongside an increase in the share of green energy to more than 70%.
However, MM's annual results published in March 2026 already projected a reduction of around one-third, as Paper Advance reported at the time.
The October startup announcement maintains that estimate, without explaining the difference from the initial projection.
