R. W. Schroder, PE, B.S.
Bachelor of Science (Chemical Engineering), University of Washington, 1977
Specialties: bleaching, chemical pulping, trouble shooting, start-ups, resource conservation.

Experience summary

Randy Schroder has over 22 years experience in the pulp and paper industry. His experience encompasses process engineering, research and development and plant operations with particular emphasis on pulping, pulp bleaching and bleach plant effluent issues. He has led the process design of projects up to 500 million dollars in scope as well as providing expertise for day-to-day troubleshooting in existing mills. His range of involvement has been to work with clients from inception of a plant through lab trials, mill design and start-up. In operations, he has experience as a start-up engineer and as a bleach plant operator.

Professional Career

1997 to Present Self Employed
Snohomish, Washington		 Consulting Engineer
1997 Jacobs Engineering Group
Greenville, South Carolina		 Project Manager
1987 - 1996 NLK Consultants Inc.
Seattle, Washington & Vancouver, BC		 Senior Process Engineer
1985 - 1987 Self Employed
Snohomish, Washington		 Consulting Engineer
1981 - 1985 EKONO Consulting Engineers
Bellevue, Washington		 Project Engineer
1978 - 1979 Weyerhaeuser Company
Plymouth, North Carolina		 Start-up Project Engineer
1976 - 1979 Weyerhaeuser Company
Tacoma, Washington		 Research Engineer

 

Project experience

Georgia Pacific Corporation
Bellingham, Washington		 Oxygen Delignification Project. Developed the detail design of an oxygen reactor, wash press installation, and bleach tower.
Asian Development Bank / Peoples Bank of China
Jinggu, China PRC		 Financial Benchmarking Study for the construction of a Bleached Softwood Kraft pulp mill in Yunnan Province. Provided technical analysis of pulp mill design.
Stone Consolidated
Steilacoom , Washington		 Simulation Training. Provided training to mill technical staff on WinGEMS model of white water systems.
Kimberly Clark Corporation
Everett, Washington		 Responsible for the estimating, engineering and construction of various major maintenance projects for an integrated sulfite pulp and tissue mill.
Sacks, Montgomery
New York, New York		 Expert Witness. Provided legal testimony as an expert in the design and operation of kraft bleach plants during a major lawsuit.
Multi-Client Project
 Developed the COMPETE in Market Pulp database program for benchmark comparisons of market pulp mills.
Boise Cascade Corporation
St. Helens, Oregon

Wallula, Washington

 Cluster Rule Compliance Studies. Developed capital improvement plans for environmental regulation compliance in two integrated bleach kraft pulp mills. Developed preliminary design drawings, project schedules, detailed scope and cost estimates.
Stone-Consolidated
Steilacoom, Washington		 Whitewater reconfiguration project. Developed the scope and cost estimate for white water segregation improvements for two Newsprint machines.
Crestbrook Forest Industries
Skookumchuck, B.C.		 Bleach plant improvement study. Performed field survey of existing bleaching operations and recommended long term capital improvements.
Potlatch Corporation
Lewiston, Idaho		 Washer replacement project. Participated in the Potlatch selection team that evaluated options to replace seven kraft brownstock and bleach washers.
EKA Nobel
Gothenberg, Sweden		 Chemical market study. Developed a five year prediction of pulping and bleaching chemical demand in North America.
Fletcher Challenge Corporation
MacKenzie, British Columbia		 New pulping, washing and screening line. Prepared the feasibility scope and estimate for a new pulping line; Assisted the client in selecting and purchasing major process equipment.
Northwood Pulp & Timber Ltd.
Prince George, British Columbia		 Oxygen delignification and washer modernization project. Developed the detail design of an oxygen reactor, pressure diffuser installation, wash press installation, and conversion of a bleach tower from low to medium consistency.
Eurocan
Kitimat, British Columbia		 New pulping, refining, washing and screening line. Developed the preliminary design and appropriation estimate for a new kraft pulping line.
Millar Western
Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan		 Heat balance study. Performed a millwide energy balance and developed recommendations and cost estimates for alleviating a heat buildup problem in a closed-cycle bleached chemi-mechanical pulp mill.
Eurocan
Kitimat, British Columbia		 Environmental compliance program. Provided expert opinion on the mill’s capability of complying with requirements of the environmental permit and performance of recent process improvements.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Vancouver, British Columbia		 New recovery boiler, cogeneration plant, effluent treatment and pulp mill modernization in a bleached kraft mill. Identified kraft mill production bottlenecks, environmental compliance requirements and prepared design criteria for bidders on new equipment.
Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd.
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan		 Advanced digester process controls. Performed field survey of instrumentation and developed a design package for a supervisory continuous digester control system.
Daishowa
Peace River, Alberta		 Brownstock washing controls. Examined performance of existing washer line and developed process control design for supervisory control of a preoxygen atmospheric diffusion washer.
Proctor & Gamble Cellulose Ltd.
Grande Prairie, Alberta		 Bleach plant process control system. Analyzed bleach plant performance and developed a justification package for a bleach plant distributed control system.
Potlatch Corporation
Lewiston, Idaho		 Bleach plant start-up planning. Developed a priority plan for piping construction and start-up of a new kraft bleach plant.
Northwood Pulp & Timber Ltd.
Prince George, British Columbia		 AOX reduction study and detail process design of a wash press installation. Assisted mill personnel in developing a long term plan for AOX reduction in two bleached kraft market pulping lines. Designed a wash press installation in conjunction with future oxygen delignification.
Ingersoll Rand
Nashua, New Hampshire		 Authored technical paper on the process technology alternatives for AOX and dioxin reduction in kraft pulp mills.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Longview, Washington		 Process Group Leader. Greenfield bleached kraft fiber line. Developed the preliminary design of a 1200 tpd pulp mill and bleach plant. Responsible for major process equipment selection and capital estimate.
Potlatch Corporation
Lewiston, Idaho		 Process Group Leader. Greenfield bleached kraft washers, oxygen delignification, bleach plant and chlorine dioxide plant. Responsible for developing design criteria, equipment selection, process layout, tank and piping design, and process control of an 1100 tpd fiber line.
WTD Industries
Portland, Oregon		 Process Group Leader. Greenfield bleached kraft market pulp mill. Responsible for developing design criteria, process layout, equipment selection and capital cost estimate for a 1000 tpd bleached kraft market pulp mill. Co-authored Environmental Impact Statement and response to public concerns on mill effluent.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Cosmopolis, Washington		 Washer design. Responsible for design of piping and filtrate tank modifications to existing washers in conjunction with an oxygen delignification stage in a dissolving magnesium sulfite pulp mill.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Columbus, Mississippi		 Greenfield bleached kraft market pulp mill. Assisted client in equipment selection and calculated process balances and developed capital cost estimates for a 1200 tpd pulp mill and bleach plant. Developed sizing criteria for a turbine generator.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Longview, Washington		 Kraft bleach plant study. Performed process optimization study for three existing kraft bleach plants. Recommended minor equipment replacements and operational improvements.
James River Corporation
Wauna, Oregon		 Process Group Leader. Debottlenecking study. Performed a process study to determine methods to increase pulping capacity of two pulping and bleaching lines of a kraft mill. Recommended a long term capital improvement plan with preliminary design and cost estimates of improvements.
Boise Cascade Corporation
St. Helens, Oregon		 Process control system. Responsible for the detailed engineering of a kraft bleach plant distributed control system, including specifying field instrument replacement, developing design drawings and control functional descriptions.
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Crossett, Arkansas		 Debottlenecking study. Responsible for a feasibility study to expand pulping, washing and bleaching capacity by 20 percent. Developed process alternatives, material balances and cost estimates of proposed options.
Procter & Gamble Cellulose Ltd.
Grande Prairie, Alberta		 Bleach plant modernization study. Performed a process study to identify options for improving product quality and reducing operating costs with emphasis on distributed control and improved mixing equipment.
Prince Albert Pulp Co. Ltd.
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan		 Powerhouse steam capacity study. Determined the impacts of the construction of a new fine paper mill within a bleached kraft market pulp mill on steam generation capacity.
Domtar Inc.
Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec		 Millwide process control study and process improvement study. Evaluated process efficiency for all departments of a kraft market pulp mill and identified production capacities and bottlenecks. Prepared project justification for distributed control systems in terms of product quality improvements and operating costs.
Prince Albert Pulp Co. Ltd.
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan		 Millwide process control study . Developed the preliminary design of distributed control systems for all departments of a kraft market pulp mill, including cost estimates, vendor selection and project justification in terms of product quality improvements and operating costs.
Buckeye Cellulose Corporation
Memphis, Tennessee		 Modernization and production capacity increase study. Examined the performance of the bleach plants in a dissolving kraft pulp bleach plant and kraft market pulp bleach plant. Developed flowsheets, material balances and cost estimates for replacement of major equipment for a recommended improvement plan.
Stone Container Corporation
Port Wentworth, Georgia		 Process troubleshooting. Examined the operations of the pulping and washing operations of an unbleached kraft board mill to determine causes of increased operating costs.
Prince Albert Pulp Co. Ltd.
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan		 Millwide process improvement study. Responsible for process evaluation of a continuous digester, two washing lines and the bleach plant of a bleached kraft market pulp mill to evaluate operational and equipment improvements to decrease purchased energy costs.
Boise Cascade Corporation
Wallula, Washington		 Feasibility study. Responsible for scope and estimate of a steam leveling system for an integrated pulp and paper mill.
Tembec Inc.
Temiscaming, Quebec		 Feasibility study. Developed and evaluated the design of a steam leveling system for a sulfite pulp mill.
International Paper Company
Gardiner, Oregon		 Preliminary engineering of a millwide energy monitoring system. Responsible for the scope, estimate and detailed design of a DCS based energy monitoring system for an unbleached kraft board mill.
Eurocan Pulp and Paper Co. Ltd.
Kitimat, British Columbia		 Process troubleshooting. Responsible for mill trials and testing of a chip thickness screening system to determine performance compliance with purchase agreement. Recommended mechanical improvements to improve efficiency.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Longview, Washington		 Performance testing. Participated in mill testing of a new set of multiple effect evaporators to determine performance compliance with purchase agreement.
Willamette Industries
Albany, Oregon		 Conceptual design. Prepared a report on process and effluent considerations and alternative designs and flowsheets for a kraft pulp bleach plant installation in an unbleached sack kraft mill.
Nekoosa Papers Inc.
Ashdown, Arkansas		 Millwide process improvement study. Responsible for evaluating the cooking washing and bleaching operations of a bleached kraft pulp and paper mill and to recommend operational and equipment improvements to decrease purchased energy costs (winner of national energy award). Evaluated the detailed design of a proposed blow heat recovery and TRS reduction system.
Tembec Inc.
Montreal, Quebec		 Feasibility study. Evaluation of a mothballed ammonium sulfite mill for acquisition and modernization.
James River Corporation
Butler, Alabama		 Expert consultation. Evaluated client’s design for the conversion of two kraft bleach plants into three bleaching lines.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Columbus, Mississippi		 Expert consultation. Evaluated proposed bleaching configurations and equipment for a greenfield bleached kraft mill. Also responsible for computer process modeling of all departments of the proposed mill.
Prince Albert Pulp Co. Ltd.
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan		 Feasibility study. Prepared the preliminary design, including flowsheets, estimates and operating costs of blow heat evaporation on a Kamyr continuous kraft digester.
Fraser Paper Ltd.
Edmundston, New Brunswick		 Process improvement study. Performed a mill-wide study of a bleached magnesium sulfite pulp and paper mill to decrease purchased energy costs. Responsible for evaluating process improvements in pulping and bleaching.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Everett, Washington		 Strike duty. Served as chlorine dioxide plant operator and assistant bleach plant operator for six months during a labor dispute.
Weyerhaeuser Company
Plymouth, North Carolina		 Plant start-up. Responsible for process troubleshooting and training operators of a 500 tpd displacement bleach plant. Also responsible for a corporate evaluation of the process in determining applicability to future installations.
Weyerhaeuser Company R&D
Everett, Washington		 Zero effluent technology group. Responsible for performing laboratory studies, pilot plant studies, and mill trials involving anthraquinone and additive pulping, oxygen bleaching and ozone bleaching.

 

Education

Bachelor of Science (Chemical Engineering), University of Washington, 1977

AutoCAD Drafting, 1986

 

Professional affiliations

Washington State Professional Engineer No. 21994

Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI)

TAPPI Pulp Bleaching Committee

American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

Washington State Waterworks Operator Certification No. 5028