Building Reliability in Pulp and Paper Mills: Mechanical Integrity of Fixed Equipment
Building Reliability in Pulp and Paper Mills: Mechanical Integrity of Fixed Equipment
Virtual Event
Friday, March 13, 2026 to Friday, March 13, 2026
12PM - 1PM (ET)
Description:
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Co-sponsored by the Project Management/Project Engineering Committee and the Young Professionals Division, this four-part series delivers a practical, integrated approach to improving safety, reliability, and performance in pulp and paper mills. The sessions progress from effective capital project execution, to maintaining mechanical integrity of fixed equipment, to applying Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) principles, and conclude with a panel discussion that connects these disciplines into a unified reliability program. Together, the series equips attendees with actionable strategies to enhance asset availability, mitigate risk, and optimize lifecycle costs. Mechanical integrity ensures that fixed equipment—such as tanks, pressure vessels, and boilers—is designed, operated, and maintained to contain process materials and prevent releases safely. This session examines corrosion as the primary damage mechanism influencing material selection in pulp and paper mills, highlighting common materials and situations where stainless steel limitations are exceeded. Attendees will learn about inspection methods, fitness-for-service evaluations, and both short- and long-term repair strategies to support safe and reliable operations. Keywords: Damage Mechanism, Inspection, Weld Repair, Fitness-For-Service, Fixed Equipment, Corrosion, Material Selection Learning Outcomes: Upon satisfactory completion of this seminar, participants should be able to: 1) Understand that the primary damage mechanism for pulp and paper fixed equipment is corrosion which dictates material selection. There are a wide variety of chemical environments in the mill and even though stainless steel is resistant to most, it has limits that if exceeded can result in rapid corrosion. 2) Understand that fixed equipment mechanical integrity depends on knowing the associated damage mechanisms and inspection programs should be tailored to find this damage. That the inspection results need to be analyzed to determine if any repairs are required and when to schedule the next inspection. Analytical evaluations are useful in planning repairs that have the least impact on mill outages. |
Moderator: Elisha Ewing
Elisha is a recent graduate from Western Michigan University's Paper Engineering program. She is a process engineer at Smurfit Westrock's Mahrt Mill in Cottonton, AL and is currently working in the Chemical Recovery department. Outside of her mill life, she enjoys reading, meeting new friends, and making many trips back to Michigan to visit friends and family. Before you ask - no, she does not miss the cold, but she does miss the snow at Christmastime!
Speaker: Margaret Gorog
Originally from the Vancouver area in Canada, Margaret received a Bachelor of Applied Science in metallurgical engineering from the University of British Columbia. She is now with Houghton Cascade Holdings, LLC and is based in Lynden, WA. She has worked in the pulp and paper industry for 35 years in corrosion control, materials selection, inspection, and failure analysis. Margaret is very active in TAPPI and advanced through all the positions in the Corrosion & Materials Committee and Engineering Division. She is a TAPPI Fellow and is now the TIP Coordinator for the Plant Engineering and Project Management Committee. She is a coach for Girls on the Run, a national program that provides an opportunity for 3rd to 5th grade girls to complete a 5k run.
