St. Petersburg, Russia, 24 May 2011 — Ilim Group’s investment project on cooking pulp from larch  wood has entered it’s critical phase. On 24 May, pilot tests were held. Sulfite chemical-grade pulp from larch was cooked by steam prehydrolysis. Pilot tests were held at two boilers. On 25 May, the next stage of tests would begin – cooking of sulfate pulp from larch wood by preliminary water extraction for paper and board production.

For the project’s realization Bratsk construction site was chosen – the mill has all the needed technological support, such as batch cooking boiler.

The project of cooking pulp from larch wood was worked out by Ilim Group and St. Petersburg University of Plant Polymers. This project is a winner of a state contest for creation of science absorbing industry. Work on this two-year project was started in 2010.

“There is nearly 1 million cubic meters of larch wood in Irkutsk Oblast," said Sergey Pondar, managing director, technology and manufacturing services of Ilim Group. "We hope to find a way to use these resources in more efficient way and produce new sort of pulp."