What is Aracruz pulp production process?
The production of pulp basically consists of transforming eucalyptus wood into a fibrous material known as paste, pulp or industrial cellulose. The process begins in the wood patio where the raw material is delivered by trucks carrying an average load of 36 tons of wood each. Aracruz also uses a ocean-going wood transportation system that is a groundbreaking program in Brazil, using barges pushed by tugboats that carry eucalyptus logs from the extreme south of Bahia to Portocel in the north of Esprito Santo. The logs, which arrive with the bark still in place, are unloaded and cut in half. Later, they are debarked in rotary drums and sent through chopping machines to be transformed into chips. The chips are stacked in piles and transported on conveyor belts to the mill’s digestors, where the cooking process begins. Cooking consists of exposing the chips to a chemical action in order to remove the lignin that binds the fiber to the wood. After washing and purifying, the pulp – now free
