Mercer halts Rosenthal pulp mill restart after Saale River discolouration
Mercer International has suspended the restart of its Rosenthal kraft pulp mill in Germany after discolouration was detected near its wastewater discharge point into the Saale River, following a roughly four-week scheduled maintenance shutdown. The Saale-Orla District Office has imposed a precautionary swimming ban in part of the Bleiloch Reservoir while an investigation continues, and the mill is holding wastewater in buffer tanks.
Why this mattersAn unplanned halt at a 360,000 tonne mill tightens kraft pulp supply to German and Italian paper and tissue buyers while regulators investigate the discharge.
- Rosenthal mill has 360,000 tonnes per year of kraft pulp capacity
- Restart followed a scheduled maintenance shutdown of about four weeks
- Discolouration was found near the wastewater discharge point into the Saale River
- Saale-Orla District Office imposed a precautionary swimming ban in the southern Bleiloch Reservoir
- Wastewater is being held in buffer tanks pending investigation
- The Rosenthal site also operates a biomass power plant of 413 MW thermal and 57 MW electrical capacity