Alier case study

Magcat eliminated chemical dosing at Alier Papel, delivering payback in under five months.

Client: Alier
Region: Spain
Application: Vacuum pump seals and recycled process water
Sector: Paper manufacturing
Product: Magcat water conditioner

Alier Papel, founded in 1833, is one of Spain’s oldest paper manufacturers. Producing 170,000 tonnes of paper annually, the company relies heavily on recycled process water. Sixteen vacuum pumps, divided into two groups, use treated wastewater for their liquid seals; however, the water’s high hardness was causing persistent scale problems.

The challenge

Heavy scale deposits were forming in pump bleed pipes, a critical point in the process

To limit scale, Alier was dosing 3,000 kg of CO₂ daily (over three tonnes)

Despite this, pump breakdowns still occurred

Ongoing costs included purchasing and handling CO₂, unplanned downtime, and maintenance labour

The solution

After consultation with Fluid Dynamics, a 6” Magcat was installed in the main feed line carrying 180 m³/h of recycled water. This single unit treated the entire flow used for the vacuum pump seals.

Results

CO₂ dosing was gradually reduced and completely eliminated within three weeks

Years later, inspections confirmed no scale formation in pump bleed pipes

No breakdowns occurred, improving uptime and reliability of the pulp drying process

Cost savings from eliminating CO₂ dosing alone gave a payback period of less than five months

Additional benefits included avoided maintenance costs, uninterrupted production, and reduced environmental impact from no longer venting CO₂ to the atmosphere

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