Features Equipment & Systems
Technology news

N.Y. containerboard mill gets Voith stock prep, Siemens electrics

Cascades and partners broke ground for a greenfield containerboard mill in early September. The Greenpac facility in Niagara Falls, N.Y., will manufacture a light weight linerboard, made with 100% recycled fibers, on a single 8.33-m machine with an annual production capacity of 540,000 short tons. This machine will be one of the largest in North America.

The building and the machinery will be designed for optimal energy efficiency and many operations will be automated. Also, process water will be treated and reused in order to reduce consumption as much as possible, and the state-of-the-art management system for recycled fibres will have a positive effect on the environmental performance of the mill.

The paper machine will be manufactured by Metso, Voith will provide the stock preparation equipment and anaerobic effluent treatment plant, and Siemens will provide the power and control technology.

Voith Paper Fiber & Environmental Solutions will supply the entire OCC recovered paper system. Cascades notes that the high efficiency of Voith equipment with regard to energy consumption, minimal fibre loss, and low water consumption will contribute to achieving the project goals.

The equipment includes an energy efficient IntensaPulper R furnish pulper, complete coarse cleaning and screening systems, fine cleaning with EcoMizer Technology and fine slotted screening with C-bar slotted baskets and MF power-saving rotors.

Siemens received a multi-million dollar order to supply the complete electrification and service for the US$430-million containerboard mill.

Siemens will provide a fully-integrated automation solution and the complete electric power distribution equipment for the new 250,000-square-foot mill, including drives, motors, gear boxes, and stock preparation, as well as paper machine equipment and services.

The equipment will include medium and low voltage switchgear, power transformers, variable speed drives, and medium and low voltage motion control centers.

The process control system will provide a single view of the entire facility, which will help minimize development, implementation and life cycle costs, and reduce engineering resources.

Start-up is scheduled for the summer of 2013.

Siemens Industry Inc., www.usa.siemens.com/pulpandpaper

Voith Paper 613-632-4163, www.voithpaper.com

Domtar purchases another stacker reclaimer

The Domtar mill at Ashdown, AR, has recently awarded Bruks Rockwood a contract to supply an over pile stacker reclaimer. This will be the ninth machine of this design installed in the Domtar equipment portfolio. This type of machine has been the choice for Domtar since the early 1990s and will have a live storage capacity of 4 million cubic feet.

Bruks Rockwood Inc. 770-849-0100, www.bruks.com

Less expensive cleaning of small tanks

The new TankJet® 75 fluid-driven tank cleaner from Spraying Systems Co. provides thorough impingement cleaning of small tanks without the expense of high impact tank cleaners. The unit uses external gears to reduce nozzle speed for better impact and cleaning efficiency.

TankJet 75 features rotating solid stream nozzles that complete a 360° indexing pattern every 45 revolutions for complete coverage of the entire tank. TankJet 75 is ideal for cleaning chemical containers, dairy tanks and totes, food and beverage tanks, pharmaceutical tanks and process tanks up to 30 ft. (9.1 m) in diameter.

Spraying Systems Co. 630-665-5000, www.tankjet.com

Spray for machine clothing repels “stickies”

Cartaspers® PSM liquid from Clariant prevents the clogging-up of machine clothing with “stickies”- the resin and adhesive particles inherent in waste paper.

Downtime due to stickie contamination is practically eliminated and the amount of hydrocarbon cleaning solvent for dissolving and removing the contaminants is reduced by up to 90%.

Clariant’s patented Cartaspers® PSM liquid is added to the shower water during the paper production process and adsorbs on the machine clothing to provide a repellent protective layer. This allows the “stickies” to be rinsed away before they can build up and contaminate the fabrics.

Cartaspers® PSM is a nonionic, readily biodegradable, hydrophilic polymer with high affinity for hydrophobic surfaces. The product is a water-based polyester dispersion, with the ability to modify the surface energy of non-polar substances. It can be combined easily with other papermaking additives and is suitable for use in hard and soft water.

It can be used in pulping and fibre preparation, wet-end applications and for the surface treatment of paper to increase inter-surface adhesion and improve printability.

Clariant, www.paper.clariant.com

Vehicle scales built for forest conditions

Mettler Toledo has released two vehicle scales for weighing applications in the forestry industry. The VTS101 (steel deck) and the VTC101 (concrete and steel composite deck) incorporate the newly released Powercell® PDX® load cell network. The Powercell PDX load cell is the first digital load cell of its kind to feature a network with absolutely no junction boxes – the most common source of scale failure.

Model VTS101 is a steel deck truck scale that is supported by orthotropic ribs that are completely sealed from the elements by automated continuous welds. The ribs are shaped to distribute concentrated loads better than I-beam designs, leading to a longer life of the scale.

Model VTC101 combines a concrete driving surface with a robust orthotropic understructure. It eliminates a common cause of premature deck failure: voids in the deck that occur when pouring concrete around I-beam flanges and sharp corners.

Mettler Toledo (800) 523-5123, www.mt.com/vehicle

Metso will supply six TwinRoll Evolution wash presses to Swedish pulp mills

Metso will supply six TwinRoll Evolution wash presses to four Swedish pulp mills. The wash presses, scheduled to start up between end of 2011 and mid-2012, will help the mills to increase their production capacity, optimize the fiberline and reduce the environmental impact.

To the Södra Cell Mörrum pulp mill, Metso will supply two new TwinRoll Evolution wash presses as a part of the mill’s investment to convert one line to dissolving pulp production.

At Rottneros Vallviks Bruk AB the new wash presses will allow Vallvik to reduce the effluent flow from the bleach plant to the new biological water treatment plant.

Metso’s patented TwinRoll Evolution wash press is the fifth generation in a line of wash presses first introduced in 1954.

Metso Paper Ltd. 514-335-5426, www.metso.com

Advanced roll cover technologies improve machine performance

The new Multicoat HCX and Hypercoat roll covers from Xerium are high strength, extremely tough rubber materials ideal for the most demanding coating applications.

Multicoat HCX improves machine reliability and coater backing roll cover performance. Its improved mark resistance and outstanding tolerance to impacts and wraps help maintain high coater efficiency and coating quality. In addition to minimizing scoring and edge wear, its outstanding abrasion resistance enables Multicoat HCX to maintain profile longer than standard covers and to deliver extended run times.

Hypercoat delivers superior overall performance, combining outstanding mark, dent and scoring resistance with superior wear resistance. With higher material strength, Hypercoat improves reliability and maximizes machine performance for extended operating life. Hypercoat’s advanced properties allow deckling, and minor coating build-up can be sanded off by hand with minimal effect on the profile.

Xerium Technologies, www.xerium.com

Emulsion coating provides better fibre coverage

Celanese introduced its BriteCoat^TM line of emulsions for paper and paperboard coatings at PaperCon in May. “BriteCoat emulsions will revolutionize the way paper manufacturers think about vinyl chemistry for their paper coatings,” said Rick Cazenave, market segment manager.

Celanese presented various data, including findings from pilot coater trials using multiple formulations at Western Michigan University.

“BriteCoat 2730 is a fully commercialized product that offers improved fibre coverage of the sheet. This results in a smooth sheet and a potential for coat weight reduction and less TiO₂ in the coating formulation,” said Chris Lazaroff, paper coatings specialist.

BriteCoat emulsions also offer advantages to both papermakers and downstream users. Paper mills will appreciate the runnability in the plant along with a low odor. Printers have remarked on the crisp print quality, gloss, and whiteness of the sheet while converters like the glueability and stiffness of the board.

“BriteCoat VAE emulsions offer an exciting alternative to current technologies such as styrene acrylic (SA) or styrene-butadiene (SBR),” said Cazenave. “In today’s tumultuous raw material environment where chemistries derived mainly from oil are escalating in price faster than vinyl chemistries primarily derived from natural gas, the paper and board manufacturers are looking at this viable alternative and are being pleasantly surprised by the quality characteristics of the finished sheet,” he said.

Celanese Emulsion Polymers, www.Celanese.com/BriteCoat