Covid-19 Cannot Compare to my Co-op at WestRock 

Why is the Paper Science and Engineering the best program at NC State, well let a boy from Tennessee who is in the Paper Science & Engineering program and is currently experiencing a full-time work experience in Virginia, as a sophomore, during Covid-19, explain that.

Fluff Pulp Provided Hope and Income

All “jests” aside, this year has been one crazy ride. I started 2020, before coronavirus in school attending classes with fellow unmasked (gasp) students. But in March, we were abruptly sent home, and I ending up finishing out the semester in my hometown in Tennessee. My summer and fall were planned out as I was going to be working in the paper industry in South Carolina. However, when that was canceled a few weeks before I was planning to move, I had to scramble to find something to make my summer worthwhile and luckily for me, yes I AM a part of the best program at NC State.  The program worked with the department and provided an opportunity for a paid at-home summer research experience.  I experimented with the idea of converting corn stover into fluff pulp through mechanical shearing and the manipulation of temperature and time. I was also able to take summer classes at the same time as my research experience. Then in the fall, with much excitement, I went back to NC State to attend fall classes, but after three weeks, all students were sent back home and I returned back to Tennessee to complete the semester, not feeling very encouraged, but wait. . . .

Pulp Mill Process-Engineering Co-op

Remember when I said that PSE is the best program, here is one reason why.  In November, I started my pulp mill process-engineering co-op at WestRock in Hopewell, VA, and I will be here until August of 2021.  PSE is behind this co-op and this happens for all students that are in this program, different mills, different experiences but all because you are part of again, the best program at NC State.

So far, I have been having a blast. The Hopewell, VA mill is a containerboard mill with one paper machine. We are a fully integrated mill where the logs come in the woodyard and go through the chipping, cooking, and washing steps to then be formed into a sheet on the fourdrinier paper machine. I have been able to meet with operators and learn from a hands-on perspective on how the process works. This can be from turning valves with second cooks to climbing into down equipment to finding issues. I have been able to meet with operators to develop troubleshooting excel flowcharts and word documents on screen purging issues as well as digester capping problems. I was also able to work with a reliability co-op on redirecting trunnion water from the sewer back into the scrubbing system that could have an estimated cost savings of around $35,000 per year.  If that was not enough, I was assigned the responsibility of running the morning meetings for the Pulp and Power Departments. These are just a few of the things I have been working on in my first two months at WestRock. I am enjoying my time and cannot wait to get into some longer-term cost savings projects, and even more hands-on in the mill.

By guest blogger Wallace Layman