The action is aimed at an exchange of experience with regard to the suitability of various types of laboratory refining equipment currently used for the assessment of the strength and sheet forming potential of different paper pulps.

The assessment criteria are the following :

- reproducibility;

- comparability;

- profitability (labour costs);

- compatibility to extended lab sheet forming (in connection with the concerted action : Lab Sheet Forming);

- application to industrial processes.

Based on the results obtained, in a first step new general recommendations for technologically relevant assessments of paper pulps will be given the European pulp and paper industry.

The second is the design of a new laboratory refiner for the assessment of different paper pulps which give :

- high reproducibility;

- high comparability;

- superior profitability;

- high flexibility relating to various refining conditions;

- adequate compatibility to extended lab sheet forming;

- better applicability to industrial processes.