Improving paper manufacturing industry processes
A significant amount of energy is consumed when paper is manufactured from pulp. This consumption relates to the de-watering (removal of water from pulp) and the consolidation process. A European consortium conceived of a novel high-temperature wet pressing processes that could greatly enhance de-watering and consolidation efficiency. Utilising these novel processes in paper manufacturing could lead to energy savings, and efficient use of raw materials including recycled fibres, agrofibres and wheat straw. They could also significantly decrease the capital costs of new paper machines and improve the quality of products. In fact, this consortium developed scientific and technical knowledge necessary for the understanding, design and operation of novel high-temperature wet pressing processes. The consortium attained a good comprehension of high-temperature pressing physics that allowed the design of a mathematical model. This high-temperature wet pressing model has a good predictive capability and provides information about active mechanisms. As a result, this model can be an important tool for the design and operation of high-temperature pressing. Furthermore, this model needs information about the permeability and rheology of wet webs in compression, and this information has also been created by the consortium. In fact, two precise parameters for wet fibre webs and press felts were constructed while databases were designed with permeabililty, rheology and heat transfer data. In addition, the project redesigned existing high-temperature pressing units, and then installed the novel designs that proved to be more flexible and efficient. In essence, these novel high-temperature pressing processes could benefit the paper manufacturing industry in terms of energy efficiency and cost effectiveness.
