ppp by Filomena Henrique

September/October2010

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Global bioenergy insights Maintenance: what works for Domtar

Mackenzieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back in business JOURNAL OF RECORD, PULP AND PAPER TECHNICAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA BROUILLETTE: High filler loads in newsprint

From Toronto to Tokyo,

thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one word for innovation.

Across the globe, papermakers face tough challenges. They are looking for new ways to reduce energy consumption, increase fibre yield, and boost operational efficiency. And they continue to turn to the company that, for more than a century, has led the industry with innovative products, process-knowledge, and a dedication to understanding papermaking needs. The company that consistently delivers the best solutions, in every language and market. That company is Kadant. Discover how Kadant innovations in fibre processing, water management, doctoring, and drying are making a difference to papermakers around the globe. Discover Kadant.

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Increase thermocompressor efficiency up to 25% and reduce high-pressure steam consumption. Conventional thermocompressors use high-pressure steam to compress and recirculate uncondensed steam in the dryer section. Kadant’s new high-efficiency thermocompressor has been shown to reduce motive steam consumption and increase overall thermocompressor efficiency by up to 25%. Using advanced computational fluid dynamics modeling, Kadant thermocompressors are designed to maximise steam utilisation.

New UniSet™ doctor blade holder delivers robust performance and simple replacement. The next generation of doctor blade holders features light-weight composite and carbon-reinforced construction integrated with the UniTrak™ T-rail. The UniSet™ blade holder offers easy removal, replacement, and upgrades to improve doctoring performance. All blade retention and pivoting components are formed and reinforced within the top-plate and tube tray and there are no items to loosen, twist, or fall into the machine.

ErGo™ filtration system removes contaminants while enhancing safety. Kadant’s innovative ErGo™ filtration system is designed for protecting shower nozzles and process equipment from contaminants while increasing energy efficiency and contaminant removal. The automatic internal backwash barrel filter design features a safety cap allowing rapid filter media access and a “bottomless” barrel for easy cleaning and element removal.

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL Editor CINDY MACDONALD 416-510-6755 cindy@pulpandpapercanada.com

Don’t slide back into the old ways

ith the turmoil that has gripped most sectors of the industry in the last two years, some hard choices have been made. The extraordinary circumstances have allowed some companies to take measures that would not normally have received support. Howe Sound’s president and CEO Mac Palmiere made that assertion during an interview we had in the spring of 2009, not long after I joined the magazine. Referring to workforce reductions, renegotiating supplier contracts, and more rigorous performance management, Palmiere said he wouldn’t have been able to make the dramatic changes that he did without the threat of collapsing pulp and newsprint markets. B.C.’s Minister of Forests and Range echoed that sentiment at the PricewaterhouseCoopers global industry conference in May. Things were looking up at that point (May 2010), and Forests Minister Pat Bell said the global recession “has allowed labour and First Nations to get out of the way of the industry.” He then went on to say he was worried the economic recovery might reduce the sense of urgency surrounding the need to transform the industry. At the same event, the president of the Forest Products Association of Canada, Avrim Lazar, also noted that the industry must work to maintain the productivity gains it had, by brutal necessity, achieved. “The recession required that we figure out small miracles of productivity improvement. The lessons that management and labour have learned about how to be flexible, these have to continue unabated,” said Lazar. The negative effects of the recession have been painfully evident in newspaper headlines and on the streets of mill towns (or former mill towns, in some cases). Those companies that come to the public’s attention are those that are suffering closures, bankruptcy, upheaval. Those quietly getting on with business, adapting as they can to changing markets, do not make headlines, they make money. It’s clear the industry has to change, to get out of its own way. Let’s not let these hard won lessons go to waste. However, while companies and people have made changes in order to survive the roller coaster of the last two years, I would suggest that for companies to thrive requires a culture that embraces change, not one that’s been forced into change.

Contributing Editors HEATHER LYNCH

Sustaining member, Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada; Member, Canadian Business Press and Audit Bureau of Circulation.

ADVISORY BOARD Richard Foucault Greg Hay Dr. Richard Kerekes Barbara van Lierop Dr. David McDonald Dennis McNinch Dr. Yonghao Ni Bryant Prosser Dr. Paul Stuart Ross Williams

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Cindy Macdonald Editor

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 Vol. 111, No. 5 PRINT EDITION ISSN 0316-4004

A Business Information Group Publication ON-LINE EDITION ISSN 1923-3515

FEATURES

9 12 13 18 20 46

PacWest Review With an emphasis on partnerships, the annual industry gathering in the West was a hit this year.

MAINTENANCE AT DOMTAR

Biomass: Fuel for the World? The World Bioenergy conference revealed that the bioenergy sector is developed biomass as a fuel, which means harvesting methods, supply chains and standards must evolve. Exploring the Full Value of the Forest At the PricewaterhouseCoopers industry conference, experts leaned toward energy, biofuels, and biochemicals as co-products for pulp and paper companies. Domtar Windsor a Leader in Reliability Reliability-centred maintenance and other improvement programs have profoundly affected the maintenance culture at the Domtar paper mill. Mackenzie Pulp Mill Back in Business New owners have pulled the Mackenzie pulp mill out of hibernation and put more than 200 people back to work. Charting the Future for the Western Industry A roundtable discussion about R& D reveals areas of focus for the West and results in a promise of action.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

MACKENZIE CELEBRATION

PACWEST REVIEW

IN EVERY ISSUE

PAPTAC Abstracts A brief introduction to some of the technical papers available from the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada at www.paptac.ca.

4 6 43 44

Editorial News Technology News

29 Revue de perspectives d’avenir prometteur et durable pour

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l’industrie canadienne des pâtes et papiers By M. Marinova, E. Mateos-Espejel, and J. Paris (École Polytechnique, Département de Génie chimique) Thermocompressor Design and Operation for High-Efficiency By M. Soucy (Kadant Canada) and G.L. Timm (Kadant Johnson)

38 Pilot Paper Machine Production of Newsprint Using High Filler

Loads and Dry Strength Technologies By F. Brouillette (Centre intégré en pâtes et papiers), J. Paradis (Centre intégré en pâtes et papiers), and S. Lafreniére (BASF)

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To promote the pulp and paper industry in Canada by publishing news of the people and their innovations in research, technology, management and financing, as well as forecasts of future trends. Authorized to publish papers of the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada, which are identified by the symbol Serving the industry since 1903.

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

INDUSTRY NEWS FUNDING

Federal government pledges $100 million to forest industry technological innovation

VANCOUVER — The Government of Canada has launched a $100-million Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program to demonstrate and deploy new and advanced technologies in the forest sector through investments in innovative processes. Forest sector companies that have existing facilities in Canada, including those that have been recently affected by the global economic downturn, could be eligible for IFIT support. The program was first introduced in the 2010 federal budget. Canadian mills hoping to benefit from

the federal government’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program had to act quickly. Program details were announced Aug. 2, and the first Call for Proposals was open from Aug. 2 to Sept. 17, 2010. The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) commended the Canadian government on the IFIT program. “Today’s announcement makes it clear that the Canadian government understands that jobs in the forest industry can only be secured through transformation and that they are ready to play their part,” said Avrim Lazar, president and CEO of FPAC. The program web site explains that projects must constitute an advancement

NEW OWNER

Howe Sound Pulp & Paper sold to Paper Excellence

Paper Excellence B.V. continues its buying spree with an agreement to purchase the assets of Howe Sound Pulp & Paper LP. HSPP operates a pulp and paper facility at Port Mellon, B.C., capable of producing 400,000 tonnes of NBSK pulp and 230,000 tonnes of mechanical paper. It employs approximately 500 people. HSPP is owned by Canfor Corp. and Oji Paper Co., Ltd. of Japan. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and closing is expected during the third quarter of 2010. Just three months ago, Paper Excellence, a business unit of Indonesia papermaker Sinar Mas, purchased the idled Mackenzie pulp mill in Mackenzie, B.C. The Dutch company has also purchased two European mills from Tembec earlier this year. The purchase price was not disclosed.

of forest sector technology in Canada, must be located in Canada, and must be primarily based on wood fibre. The proposed project must be at pilot or commercial scale, and the technology should not yet exist, at the proposed scale and specifications, in a forest sector industrial facility in Canada. Projects may be located at existing mill sites, either open or closed. Any costs associated with the production or export of softwood lumber products are not eligible under this program. Details of the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program are now available at: forest-transformation. nrcan.gc.ca. SHUT DOWN

Buyout plan for Pine Falls abandoned, Tembec declares closure permanent

MONTREAL — The employee group considering the purchase of the shuttered Pine Falls newsprint mill has told the mill’s owner, Tembec, that the deal is off. The group concluded it could not make a viable business case for the purchase. Consequently, Tembec has announced the permanent closure of the newsprint mill located in Pine Falls, Man. The mill had been indefinitely idled due to a labour dispute on September 1, 2009. Approximately 230 employees will be affected. “Although not an easy decision to make, the structural decline of the newsprint market and the cost structure of the mill prompted such a decision,” said Chris Black, Tembec’s executive vicepresident and president, Paper Group. Black says Tembec will ensure that employees receive their severance pay in accordance with the collective agreement. EQUIPMENT

Kadant Canada acquires screen basket supplier, dewatering equipment line

The Howe Sound kraft and newsprint mill in Port Mellon, B.C., has been sold to Netherlands-based Paper Excellence.

SUMMERSTOWN, ONT. — Kadant Canada Corp. has completed the acquisition of Filtration Fibrewall Inc., a Canada-based supplier of pressure screen baskets, and a dewatering equipment product line from a related company. The dewatering equipment, which includes twin

NEWPAGE TURNS TO ABB FOR RELIABILITY CONSULTING … UBC CHOOSES TO HEAT WITH BIOMASS … NEW WOOD NETWORK LINKS BUYERS, SELLE s s s

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

pulpandpapercanada.com

INDUSTRY NEWS GREEN TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM

AV Nackawic upgrades power boiler, bleach plant

NACKAWIC, N.B.— A federal government investment of $2.37 million will support clean energy production and environmental improvements at the AV Nackawic pulp mill in Nackawic, N.B., under the auspices of the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program (PPGTP). AV Nackawic Inc. is one of 24 pulp and paper companies across Canada that qualified for credits under the $1-billion program based on their 2009 production levels of black liquor. This funding will support upgrades that will reduce the mill’s water and energy consumption by recycling filtrate within the bleach plant process. As a result, the mill will reduce the amount of chemicals used in the pulping process and decrease the amount of water consumed. A second project consists of the installation of equipment that will grind wood pieces for more efficient combustion. The ability to process more wood, along with upgrades to the power boiler’s combustion system, will increase the mill’s annual production of renewable energy by 12,039 gigajoules per year. By generating more renewable energy, the mill will displace a portion of the fossil fuel it currently uses to generate steam and lower its greenhouse gas emissions by 6,254 tonnes per year, as well as reduce its consumption of fresh water. “Energy consumption and cost have been key focus areas for AV Nackawic for a number of years,” said Shankar Ray, president and CEO of AV Nackawic Inc. “With smart investment programs such as the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation we are able to finance projects that will decrease our production cost and our environmental footprint.”

wire presses and screw presses, extends Kadant’s fibre processing offerings and will be sold worldwide through the company’s existing sales organization. Kadant Inc. supplies a range of products and services including paper machine accessories and systems for stock preparation, fluid handling, and water management.

EXPANSION

Weavexx upgrades N.S. production facility

YOUNGSVILLE, N.C. — Xerium Technologies will be upgrading equipment at its Weavexx forming fabrics facility in Kentville, N.S. To support the company, the province, through Nova Scotia Business Inc., is providing a five-

greening

Canada’s Forestry Sector If you have an innovative clean technology for the forestry industry, talk to us. SDTC’s SD Tech Fund is accepting Statements of Interest. The deadline for submission is October 20th, 2010.

SDTC supports the commercialization of clean technologies by Canadian companies.

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ERS AND INVESTORS … FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PAYS $130 MILLION TO SETTLE ABITIBIBOWATER EXPROPRIATION … TD TO PARTICIPATE IN NORTH s s s pulpandpapercanada.com

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

INDUSTRY NEWS year payroll rebate up to a maximum of $500,000. Weavexx has increased its export market, including Asia, which makes up a significant portion of the Kentville plant’s business. This plant produces forming fabrics; Weavexx also supplies press, dryer, and engineered fabrics.

Scholarship to honour memory of Chad Bennington

VANCOUVER — Professor Chad Bennington of the University of British Columbia, an active and dedicated member of the pulp and paper community for many years, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on February 14, 2010 at age 53. Sunny in disposition and optimistic by nature, he was passionate about the pulp and paper industry. In his short life he contributed much to it through his work in education and research. He is sorely missed by all who knew him. To honour his memory, friends and colleagues are establishing an endowed Chad Bennington Memorial Scholarship for students at UBC involved in studies related to pulp and paper technology. Those who knew Chad are asked to please consider contributing in his memory at www.supporting.ubc. ca/chadbennington. For further information, contact Dick Kerekes, chair of the committee, at kerekes@chbe.ubc.ca. BANKRUPTCY

AbitibiBowater seeking approval for reorganization

With court approvals from both Canada and the U.S. in place, AbitibiBowater has begun soliciting votes from creditors to accept or reject its restructuring plans. The company mailed the solicitation and voting materials in connection with the creditor protection proceedings to its unsecured

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creditors, including employees, in August. The unsecured creditors committee supports the plans and the disclosure documents. PEOPLE

Frank Dupps, Jr. has been appointed president of The Dupps Company of Germantown, Ohio. He succeeds John A. Dupps, who becomes the company’s Chairman of the Board. The Dupps Co. builds and markets a variety of processing systems and equipment for the pulp and paper industry.

Dupps

Buckman has appointed Otto L. Heissenberger, Jr., a 30- year veteran of the pulp and paper industry, to the board of directors. Heissenberger retired in 2008 from Voith Paper, Inc. in Appleton, WI, where he served as president and CEO. Buckman is a global specialty chemical company with headquarters Heissenberger in Memphis, Tennessee. St. Marys Paper Corp. has engaged Dennis Bunnell as chairman of the board and CEO to head up the plans to restart production at the St. Marys Paper mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The mill ceased production of groundwood pulp and paper in March of this year. NETWORKING

PAPTAC Annual Meeting grows with addition of biorefinery symposium

Next year’s PAPTAC Annual Meeting will form part of a larger event called PaperWeek Canada, to be held from Feb. 1 to Feb. 3, 2011, in Montreal. This major Canadian gathering for the advancement of the pulp and paper industry will continue to present PAPTAC’s world-renowned technical program and highly popular business track. PaperWeek Canada 2011 will be hosted by the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Session topics include bleaching, environment, energy cost savings, mechanical pulping, paper machine technology, recycling, process control, engineering and maintenance, research, biorefinery. See the PAPTAC web site at www.paptac.ca for more details. A Forest Biorefinery Symposium will run concurrently with PaperWeek Canada. Abstracts for presentations on integrated forest biorefineries are invited, with a deadline of Sept. 30. Abstracts should be sent to m.marinova@polymtl. ca. Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to: forest biomass perspective; forest biorefinery technologies; biofuels refining and performance; bioseparation of forest co-products; supply chain design and management; new bioproducts and markets; energy and water integration and optimization. pulpandpapercanada.com

CONFERENCE

PacWest Review By Ralph Lunn, Zellstoff Celgar, PacWest 2010 Chair

he annual industry gathering in the West was a hit this year, with 200 delegates attending PacWest. The threeday event is a draw for both operations and management personnel, as well as industry suppliers and researchers. Attendance was up 30% from last year. The conference was once again held at the Delta Sun Peaks resort, near Kamloops, B.C., from June 9-12. Providing a “big picture” point of view, Glenn Hargrove of Natural Resources Canada spoke about the federal government’s Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program, and Paul Lansbergen of the Forest Products Association of Canada discussed the group’s Biopathways Project. Also speaking at the Thursday morning Forum Session were Levi Sampson, director and president, Harmac Pulp Operations on “The New Partnership at Harmac”; John Allan, president and CEO, Council of Forest Industries about Canada/US forestry issues; and Hannu Melarti, regional president-North America, Kemira on “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet — The New Age of Partnering”. The previous day, Wednesday, members of the Energy Reduction in Mechanical Pulp Research Program met in the morning and invited delegates to attend the afternoon roundtable discussions. PacWest was pleased to welcome PAPTAC Councillors to Sun Peaks who met on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, and who then joined the mill managers and senior executives meeting on Wednesday for lunch. On Wednesday, a small number of delegates toured the Savona Waste Heat Recovery Plant, hosted by Chinook Engineering. Trade Fair participation was at capacity and enhanced by students from both UBC and BCIT presenting their projects. Twenty-four technical papers rounded out the content of the conference. The award-winning papers were:

pulpandpapercanada.com

• H.R. MacMillan Trophy for best paper: Vince Martell, Slave Lake Pulp, and Rick Marshall, METC: Effectively Bombing Filaments in Activated Sludge Plants. • Runner up for this award: Antti Luukkonen, UBC Pulp & Paper Centre: Low Consistency Refining of Mechanical Pulp: A Methodology to Relate Operating Conditions to Paper Properties. Co-authors: James Olson and Mark Martinez, UBC Pulp & Paper Centre. • Best Supplier Paper: Kevin Taylor, Taylor Industrial Research: Detailed Investigation of Lime Kiln Mud Ring Formation. • Best Novice Paper: Cristian Gheorghe, Honeywell: Multivariable CD Control of Fine Paper Machine Using Multiple MPC Controllers. Co-author: Amor Lahouaoula, Honeywell. • George Sedgwick (AITF) Memorial Award for best paper in Control and Measurement: Alison Rowat, Metso Automation and Jessica Paul, NewPage Corporation: Minimizing Final Brightness Variability while Reducing ClO2 Usage. PPC

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

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ProSeam is also produced with a re-engineered woven reinforcement with special bonding material in the seam area which provides a significantly higher level of seam flap batt anchorage. Higher batt anchorage is directly related to improved flap integrity which protects the seam and eliminates sheet mark, while enhancing life potential. The seam area also incorporates a uniquely formed polymeric material distributed among the layers of batt fibers. These changes improve the inherent polymeric adhesion of the batt in the seam area resulting in further enhanced flap retention, mark resistance, and life potential. Contact your local Weavexx or Huyck.Wangner sales representative today or visit Xerium.com

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GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Biomass: Fuel for the world? Biomass is a fuel, not a raw material. That’s the thinking in the bioenergy field right now, as the European Union countries strive to meet their renewable energy targets by 2020. What implications does that have for pulp and paper sector? By Cindy Macdonald, editor Using biomass as a fuel, on a large scale, globally, means harvesting methods must by re-assessed, moisture content must be considered, supply chains must evolve, and certification and standards need to be developed. As well, to justify using biomass as a fuel, the multiple benefits concept is being put forward, a scenario in which more than just environmental sustainability of the fuel is considered. All of these aspects of the bioenergy movement were on the agenda at the World Bioenergy conference in Jönköping, Sweden in May 2010. What better location than Sweden for this global gathering? Last year, due in large part to the country’s carbon tax, biomass (of various types) outpaced oil as an energy source in Sweden. In 2009, bioenergy accounted for 31.7% of the final energy use in Sweden, compared with oil at 30.8%. Similarly, the use of biomass is increasing across Europe. Consultants with Pöyry predict demand for woody biomass will outstrip domestic supply in Europe as governments strive to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets by 2020. While this demand is prompting a growing trade in pellets, especially between Europe and North America, it is also spurring development of higher value products, such as biofuels.

The transformation from waste wood to biofuel has begun

At the World Bioenergy conference, Clas Engstrom of Processum described the ongoing conversion of the Domsjo industrial site in Sweden to a biorefinery. Domsjo is organized as a cluster, or a centre of excellence, he explains. There’s an attempt to coordinate between different companies in an open arena. The primary product of this biorefinery is pure cellulose for the production of viscose and rayon, from a sulphite pulping process. In addition, the Domsjo companies have been producing ethanol, derivatives, lignosulphonate (for the concrete sector), biogas (from the anaerobic waste treatment facility), energy, plus steam and electricity (for district heating). A demonstration facility is being built at the site that will use the black liquor to produce syngas that will be further processed to methanol and bioDME using Chemrec’s process. Jochen Vogels of Choren Industries GmbH reported on his company’s progress with its beta biomass-to-liquid (BTL) facility in Frieburg, Germany. Construction work on the facility was completed mid2009, and syngas production using Choren’s Carbo V gasifier began in December ’09. The next phase of production, using Fischer Tropsch synthesis is expected to be started-up in the third quarter of this year.

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

According to Vogels, Choren’s beta plant will demonstrate technical viability of BTL production by end of 2010, and the first commercial scale BTL production plant is scheduled to be in operation around 2015. He also notes that two BTL projects using Carbo-V technology are “in the pipeline” for Canada.

Wood pellets in demand

Of more immediate interest is the global availability of biomass in light of the rapidly growing market for wood pellets. “North America and Russia have the potential to become major biomass supply regions,” reports Dr. Hubert Röder, of Pöyry Management Consulting. Europe, he notes, doesn’t have enough domestic supply to meet its anticipated need. “Even if both the theoretical harvest and residue potential were fully utilized, the current EU target for renewable energy, maintaining the current share of woodbased biomass within the renewable energy sources, is impossible to achieve on a sustainable basis from the EU forest resources.” Röder estimates that the current cost of energy from biomass is 15-30 Euros per MWh. He is confident that the international biomass trade will grow, and says the development of large bioenergy markets depends on key political decisions, for example, in the U.S., Canada and China. “Traditional forest industry players are in a strong position to participate in bioenergy,” he concludes. Canada has significant harvesting potential right now, but that diminishes in the longer term, in Röder’s assessment. Latin Continued on page 16

pulpandpapercanada.com

GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Exploring the full value of the forest Industrial uses for the forests are expanding to include fuel and chemicals, but as the globe gets more crowded, there may eventually be profit in just leaving the forest as is, untouched.

By Cindy Macdonald, editor At the 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Forest and Paper Industry Conference, with multiple sectors of the forest products industry bottoming out, there was a sense of grasping at bioenergy as a life preserver for the industry. One year later, prices had rebounded and the prevalent theme at the event was one of transforming the fundamentals of the business to introduce new co-products and new revenue streams, including bioenergy. The Forest Products Association of Canada’s Avrim Lazar cautioned attendees: “When you live with a cyclical industry, one of the real dangers is that you pay too much attention to the cycle and not the underlying structural changes.” No danger of that here. These experts certainly recognize that the foundations of the pulp and paper industry are shifting. PwC’s annual gathering of analysts and business leaders touched on both short- and long-term issues; from the economic outlook for 2011 to the shape of the world in 2050. The concept of the forest performing “ecosystem services” was raised. One facet of this is carbon sequestration, but ecosystem services encompasses more: recreational uses, providing clean water, biodiversity. These “services” that a standing forest provides for the climate and the ecosystem are gaining recognition. “The eco services of a standing forest are significant and of value to society,” says Dan Fulton, president and CEO of

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Weyerhaeuser Co., but he adds that it’s not clear who would pay for those services. However, he notes that there has been the precedent of purchasers of conservation rights, such as Riparian zones.

A future in chemicals

FPAC’s Lazar and others presenters advocate that the forest products industry must extract full value from the forest resource, including biomass for energy or fuel, and bio-chemicals. Brian Merwin, vice-president strategic initiatives for Mercer International, envisions the Zellstoff Celgar mill in 10 years as a biorefinery with various bolt-on technologies. “I see a future in specialty chemicals, as well as a growing kraft pulp mill.” Mercer International, which owns the Zellstoff Celgar mill in Castlegar, B.C., is accomplished at incorporating green energy into its business. Merwin says Mercer’s two German mills are the largest biomass energy facilities in that country. The company’s green energy revenue has been growing at a compounding annual growth rate of 27% since 2007. “Our industry has extracted value from by-products for a very long time,” Merwin notes. Now, he believes a paradigm shift has occurred due to the global demand for green electricity. “Secondary by-products are now co-products and have potential to positively impact the bottom line.” This paradigm shift to a new busi-

ness model means companies can’t pair old revenue models with the new costs. The modified cost model is creating a new cost curve, and Merwin foresees an energy premium on costs. Merwin’s conclusion: the industry needs to reinvest to support the paradigm shift. Mercer’s approach is to focus on top line results, and treat energy revenue as a separate line item. The Castlegar mill became a net energy exporter in 2007. Since then, the mill has initiated a $55 million Green Energy project which includes a 48 MW condensing turbine.

Biomass as a revenue opportunity

“We look at all sources of revenue that come from our land,” Weyerhaeuser’s Fulton told the conference attendees. Weyerhaeuser owns and manages 22 million acres of land, 15 million of that in Canada. “Biomass is a real potential source of revenue — not just burning it, but biofuels and biochemicals. There’s long term potential in carbon markets for sequestration, and longer term, water will be increasingly important,” Fulton predicts. Another forest manager, Gunnar Olofsson, president and CEO of Sveaskog, the Swedish government’s forest management organization, predicts that wood products will continue to a forest owners’ revenue base for several years, but “biofuels will be the third leg for us as forest owners.”

By 2050, the world has changed

Bjorn Stigson is a man with a clear vision of how the world could look in 2050. As president of the World Business Council Continued on page 16

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

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GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Continued from page 12 America, with its fast-growing plantations, will have supply available in the future. “Fast growing plantations are a powerful tool to increase global wood availability,” he notes. In the global pellet trade, the largest volume currentlly is moving from Canada to Europe. New capacity is planned for both Russia and the southeast U.S. Another Pöyry consultant, Jan Wintzell, presented data on global wood pellet production for 2008. Global production was 11.7 million tonnes. North America contributed 2.9 million tonnes, Russia and China together produced less than one million tonnes, and the balance is attributed to Europe. Europe also accounts for 80% of global pellet consumption. Wintzell notes that there is a strong and increasing demand for wood pellets from the coal industry, which is turning to co-firing coal and biomass as a way to reach CO2 reduction targets.

moisture content are necessary, as well as an awareness along the supply chain that consistent moisture content is desirable.

Security of supply and traceability are becoming issues as the global trade in biomass expands. In the typical biomass supply chain, explains Röder, buying the forest or the plantation provides the highest security of supply. Adrian Mason of Inspectorate International presented a case history of a large European biomass buyer in the power sector that wanted to verify to quality, quantity

and sustainability of its purchased biomass, on a cargo-by-cargo basis. Mason explains that the carbon and sustainability data can be used to calculate or verify GHG savings, land use change, and conformance with regulations. An audit can also provide the buyer with information concerning labor conditions within the supply chain and enhance confidence in the supply chain. An interesting point about biomass as a fuel was made by Ross Harding of Energy Launch Partners: Moisture is not our friend. “Some of the most expensive water in the world is in biomass,” he explains. “The last place you want to remove that moisture is in the boiler.” Harding says few people have analyzed the cost of moisture in biomass. In pulp and paper processes, moisture in the raw material is not such a problem. “But when you switch from using biomass for fibre, to using it for energy, you suddenly get a very different view.” Moisture content in the biomass varies, and that is the crux of the problem. According to Harding, many biomassconsuming processes are run below optimum because companies don’t monitor the quality and moisture content of the feed stock. Variations in moisture content lead to variations in the process. In the production of ethanol, for example, biomass is an input in a sophisticated, very high capital cost process. He suggests that better sampling methods and improved measurement of

“Bioenergy has great potential,” says Professor Thomas B. Johansson, but possible complications are its apparent conflicts with biodiversity goals, competition for land use, and the food-as-fuel issue. “There are many combinations that could achieve [energy] sustainability, it depends very strongly on government policies.” Johansson is a professor at Lund University in Sweden, and co-chair of the Global Energy Assessement, an initiative of IIASA. He suggests a multiple benefits concept — achieving economic development and poverty alleviation while mitigating climate change. To assess costs only in terms of cost/tonne of CO2 avoided is misleading, he states. We should value all benefits, such as jobs, growth, security, health, and the local environment. Using woody biomass as a renewable fuel clearly has short-term appeal for Europe, which is poised to consume a significant amount in the next decade. For the pulp and paper sector to benefit, the challenge will be to move the bioenergy sector beyond burning biomass to produce heat and electricity into projects more along the lines of Domsjo’s biorefinery and Choren’s biomass-toliquid facility. PPC

Continued from page 13 for Sustainable Development, he is well versed in population trends and economic forecasts. He is convinced that pressure on the environment will be substantial in the next few decades. The WBCSD is basing its actions on these assumptions: that in the next 40 years, we will add another 1/3 to the global population, bringing the total to 9 million; that 85% of the world’s population at that time will live in developing countries; and that in the future the world will be more urbanized.

“Governments are looking at a world that’s going to be resource- and carbonconstrained,” states Stigson. In the WBCSD scenario, the forest products industry has a crucial role. “The yield from planted forests must have a three-fold increase to meet needs for bioenergy, pulp and paper,” says Stigson. At the same time, during what Stigson calls the transformative period, from 2020 to 2050, carbon prices and payment for ecosystem services may be an incentive to not cut down natural forests. FPAC’s Lazar is skeptical of the idea of natural forests being preserved for

ecosystem value while plantations are used for production. One of the huge poverties of the future will be land poverty, Lazar comments. Stigson agrees. He anticipates agriculture and forest uses will compete for land. While competition for land is not a likely scenario for Canada, the global development trends that Stigson outlines will affect markets and societal values over the long term. Pulp and paper companies must be aware of the slower and more subtle structural changes, not just the dramatic cyclical ups and downs. PPC

Immature pellet industry faces challenges

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

Bioenergy is not just about climate change

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MAINTENANCE

Domtar Windsor a leader in reliability Reliability-centred maintenance (RCM) and other improvement programs have profoundly affected the maintenance culture at this Domtar paper mill.

omtar’s huge paper mill in Windsor, Que., has gone through many changes in the past decade, resulting in higher productivity, reduced maintenance costs, reduced overtime (from 12% to just 7%), fewer emergencies and improved safety. The benefits include higher employee qualifications, improved communications between maintenance and operators, and a complete overhaul of the maintenance program. These improvements result from the mill having completely re-engineered its maintenance strategy following the implementation of reliability-centred maintenance (RCM) in 1998-99, along with many other improvement programs. The genesis of these improvements, however, can be traced to the years after Domtar started up the new mill in 1987, which eventually replaced its Windsor-based Watopéka and St. Francis mills, closed in 1992. Engineers drew up preventive maintenance (PM) programs for the new mill, but, recalls Alain Richard, maintenance superintendent, finishing and converting, “We had so many emergencies during those first years that there were many reasons to skip PM tasks. Workers did the routes that they believed were good, but gradually dropped the PM program.” Those were the days of ‘every man for himself’ maintenance: each worker did his own planning; e.g., inspections, work preparation, repairs, and parts ordering and pick-up. They would go back to the machines that required work and ask the operators to shut them down. There were no minimum educational requirements for many trades and operating positions. One quarter of the mechanics had no high school trades diplomas (they came from apprenticeship programs), half had high school trades degrees and one quarter had specialized, college-level trades degrees. This made implementing new maintenance practices challenging. “Maintenance people with high school diplomas mostly are action people and do not like taking measurements,” Richard says. The decision to implement RCM started a profound shift in the plant’s maintenance culture and training requirements. Domtar Windsor mill • Annual paper production capacity of 670,000 tons. Annual pulp production capacity of 454,000 tonnes (includes 33,000 tonnes of mill trade pulp) 1 pulp line and 2 paper machines • Uncoated freesheet papers. • Bleached hardwood wet-lap market pulp.

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

By Carroll McCormick Of several versions of RCM, the Windsor mill uses the original documented by John Moubray. Richard explains the basics: “RCM is a process used to determine what must be done to ensure that any physical asset continues to do what its users want it to in its present operating context. First, you find failure modes, that is, causes of equipment failure; a piece of equipment might have a few, or hundreds of failure modes, depending on its complexity. “The next step is to define the actions or tasks that will prevent or reduce the consequences of each failure mode. Consequences can impact safety, the environment, customers and costs, such as those due to production and maintenance losses. Most actions are basic maintenance tasks, such as lubrication and cleaning, and condition-based maintenance; e.g., monitoring the condition of equipment and doing repairs when required.” A failure mode on a gearbox might be described as “Seal on shaft damaged by normal wear.” The defined action would be “Check for oil leak from seal every two weeks.” Doing this prevents the consequence: “Broken equipment caused by oil missing.” Another gearbox failure mode might be “Bearing seized by normal wear,” with the defined action described as “Take a vibration measurement every three weeks.” If abnormal vibration is measured, mechanics, having been forewarned that a failure could occur anytime, can do a planned repair, rather than an emergency repair that could be three to 10 times more expensive. RCM also covers protective — or hidden — functions. For these, actions can be defined that stimulate the protective device to see if it is functioning properly; e.g., start a by-pass pump or test a relief valve.

RCM is time well spent

Doing an RCM analysis on a piece of equipment is a team effort that brings together personnel from different departments; e.g., maintenance workers, operators and supervisors. A team of five or six normally takes 10 days to do an analysis, but a complex piece of equipment might require weeks to analyze. For this reason, the mill has targeted complex equipment that is subject to frequent failures and high consequences. The time invested doing RCM analyses is well spent, Richard says. “RCM is good training for your people. The day you finish your analysis, your employees know your equipment much better.” pulpandpapercanada.com

MAINTENANCE

Left: The 1.5-km-long mill runs 24/7/365 to produce 560,000 tonnes of paper annually. Above: Alain Richard, maintenance superintendent, finishing and converting, has been on the hunt for better maintenance since 1988.

Richard has deliberately used RCM, with the detailed familiarization with equipment that it demands, as a substitute for formal equipment training. Immediately after an RCM exercise, with the extensive analysis of failure modes and the equipment functions it requires, the operation of the equipment will be improved and maintenance costs will decrease. Other programs in the mill’s maintenance revolution have allowed equipment operators to become much more involved and lend their expertise to the development of maintenance strategies. The Operations/Maintenance Services program is a good example: It brought operations and maintenance personnel together to rethink all of the processes involved in preparing for maintenance activities: ordering parts, preparing shutdowns, identifying problems, determining the availability of equipment slated for maintenance, estimating downtime required, parts and heavy equipment needed, execution of work and by whom, and follow-up and evaluation of the work. For many pieces of equipment where RCM analyses would be overkill, the mill has chosen preventative maintenance optimization (PMO), which is a simpler methodology requiring less personnel time, Richard explains. “We use PMO when the criticality of the equipment is moderate to low. You can review a lot of equipment in a very little time, [doing] a PMO of a small department in a couple of weeks, with the operators, maintenance workers and [the mining of our] history of failures. “We feel that we can solve 80% of our problems with 20% of our failure modes. When you have thousands of pieces of equipment, you need shortcuts. RCM, PMO, and root cause analysis each has its place. You have to choose the right one.” The mill also makes extensive use of condition-based maintenance to detect the signs that failures could be imminent. It installed Ivara EXP in 2004-2005, a software package that manages and monitors the condition of mill assets. These asset conditions are termed ‘indicators’, of which there are many different types. The most used is descriptive, e.g., visual belt condition. Others are numerical, calculated, counter, and logical. Each indicator, of which the mill monitors about 38,000, has its own criteria for when an alarm will be generated. Once the alarm is verified, maintenance will generally prepare a work order to fix the abnormal condition. Some indicators are collected automatically from a process data archiver software called The PI System, from OSI Software. Employees collect other indicators on their routes, pulpandpapercanada.com

using everything from their own senses to tools such as strobes, infrared, vibration and ultrasonic probes. The data is entered on handheld computers. This ability to predict failures has made just-in-time ordering of parts possible, with less money tied up in fewer spares. This revolution has entered its second decade. The many benefits include more motivated employees, better communication between better-trained maintenance staff and more selfreliant operators, fewer bottlenecks and better understanding of the equipment, making this mill a leader in equipment reliability among all of Domtar’s mills. PPC Montreal-based Carroll McCormick is the senior contributing editor for Machinery & Equipment MRO. This article first appeared in Machinery & Equipment MRO, June 2009.

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

COVER STORY

Mackenzie pulp mill back in business New owners have pulled the Mackenzie kraft pulp mill out of hibernation, and put more than 200 people back to work. By Cindy Macdonald, Editor

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Pulp Mill

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell signs a sheet of Mackenzie pulp.

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

t was a busy summer for everyone involved with the Mackenzie pulp mill. Paper Excellence inked the deal for the shuttered operation in April, and had the first pulp rolling off the line on August 4. The Mackenzie team pulled off a 12-week restart plan, bringing the mill back from a two-year shutdown. “We had a 20-week start-up schedule planned, but we were offered the opportunity to do it in a 12-week time frame, so we did,” says general manager Doug van Buskirk. “We peaked at 200 contractors.” Paper Excellence celebrated the official re-opening of the mill in Mackenzie, B.C. on Aug. 17. More than 220 workers have been brought back to work to support the re-opening of the mill and an estimated 500 spin-off jobs will be created. Strategically located in the “fibre basket” of the B.C. interior, the Mackenzie mill has a total capacity of more than 235,000 tonnes per year of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK). The unique characteristics of the fibre resources within the region make Mackenzie pulp bright, clean and strong. The Mackenzie MK pulp, made from wood chips and sawdust, is one of the highest strength NBSK pulps in the world. This type of pulp is primarily used in the production of lightweight and ultra-lightweight coated paper grades and highquality tissue. pulpandpapercanada.com

COVER STORY Pulp destined for export markets

eral months to smooth everything out. Looking ahead, van Buskirk says he’ll look for opportunities to improve productivity and reduce costs, and the company will consider producing excess energy to sell to B.C. Hydro.

Worthington Properties, but was never re-opened. The B.C. government stepped in during the winter of 2009 to preserve the assets when Worthington ceased performing the necessary upkeep of the idled facility. PPC

Growth through acquisition

Paper Excellence’s presence in Canada began in 2007, with the purchase of the Meadow Lake pulp mill in Manitoba. “It’s been one of our most successful investments,” says Wardhana. “We’ve moved quite rapidly in the last 12 to 18 months,” he notes, referring to the purchase of the Mackenzie mill, two pulp mills in France purchased from Tembec, and now the pending deal for the Howe Sound Pulp & Paper integrated newsprint mill in Port Mellon, B.C. “We still see other opportunities in Canada.” The Mackenzie mill was first opened in 1972, and was significantly modernized in 1996 with the addition of short fibre softwood digesting capabilities. It was closed in 2008 when its owner, Pope & Talbot, declared bankruptcy. The operation was later purchased by

“I would like to thank Paper Excellence for their valuable investment in the community of Mackenzie, the Omineca region and the province of British Columbia. I also want to thank Minister Pat Bell, the McLeod Lake Indian Band, the entire community and all partners for working together to ensure working families in this region have an opportunity to build a future right here in Northern British Columbia.” — B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Pulp Mill

The foundation for Mackenzie’s recovery rests on Paper Excellence’s connections in Asia. Says Peter Wardhana, president of Netherlands-based Paper Excellence: “We have a good fibre source for the long term and long term, loyal customers in Asia.” In fact, 80% of Mackenzie’s output is destined for Asia — some to customers within the Sinar Mas group, and some to external customers. Wardhana explains that Sinar Mas and Paper Excellence have common Asian investors. Also, a new agreement with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union has enabled the mill to open with significant cost reductions. The mill’s fibre is being supplied by local sawmills, supplemented by whole log chipping. At the moment, says van Buskirk, residual fibre from the sawmills is more costly than whole log chipping. “The mill hasn’t been in this good shape in years,” says van Buskirk. “There’s new piping, new infrastructure, new valving, upgraded control systems.” There are still a few production hiccups. Wardhana expects it will take sev-

Celebrating the re-opening of the Mackenzie pulp mill are: Chief Derek Orr, McLeod Lake Indian Band; Doug van Buskirk, general manager of the Mackenzie mill; B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell; Minister Pat Bell; Peter Wardhana, Paper Excellence; and Mackenzie Mayor Stephanie Killam. pulpandpapercanada.com

“Our land is full of precious resources, so we are willing to endorse companies that have the expertise, commitment and willingness to work with us to manage our resources in an environmentally sound manner. I look forward to working with Mackenzie Pulp Mill and exploring other opportunities that will benefit the McLeod Lake Indian Band, local communities and the province.” — Chief Derek Orr of the McLeod Lake Indian Band. “This is good news for the residents of Mackenzie. Not only are 220 people back at work but the amount of spinoff jobs is twice as much. There is definitely a renewed sense of pride in our community.“ — Mayor Stephanie Killam of Mackenzie, B.C.

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

PAPTAC ABSTRACTS (Full peer-reviewed manuscripts available at www.paptac.ca)

Assessment of the Need for a Coagulant (poly DADMAC or PAC) with Tapioca or Potato Starch in Mechanical Papers Filled with PCC By S. Modgi1, J. Lauter, M.E. McQuaid and P. Englezos

Évaluation du besoin d’un coagulant (poly DADMAC ou PAC) avec fécule de pomme de terre ou tapioca dans les papiers de pâte mécanique à base de carbonate de calcium précipité

Abstract: Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) is used to pro‑ duce mechanical grade papers to reduce the production cost and to improve paper properties. However, adding PCC reduces the strength of paper. Papermakers compensate for this loss by adding strength additives like starch. It is also customary to add coagu‑ lants in order to fix the dissolved and colloidal substances (DCS) which reduce the effectiveness of cationic starch. These coagulants are commonly known as anionic trash collectors (ATC). A com‑ mon coagulant is poly DADMAC. Recent work in our laboratory showed that tapioca starch has a strong affinity for TMP fibers. It was also conjectured in that study that an ATC might not be necessary to add in the pulp suspension when using tapioca starch. On the other hand it was suggested that potato starch would be more effective in the presence of a proper ATC. However, these suggestions were not proven experimentally. In this work the performance of commercially available poly DADMAC and poly

aluminum chloride (PAC) as anionic trash collectors (ATC) in the presence of tapioca or potato starch in a thermo‑mechanical pulp (TMP) suspension loaded with PCC was evaluated through charge measurements, first pass retention, drainage and aggregation with photometric dispersion analysis (PDA). Thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP) was obtained from a Catalyst Paper mill at 3.5‑4% consistency and stored at 4°C without any preservatives. The filler is a commercially available, negatively charged, acid-tolerant precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). It has a particle size of 1.5 µm and a brightness of 98 % PCC and was supplied as slurry at 33% solids content. The tapioca starch used in this work had a degree of substitution (DS) of 0.1 and viscosity of 570 ±5 cP. The potato starch had a DS of 0.1 and a viscosity of 550 ±5 cP. The two starches were received in powder form and prepared as suspensions at solids content of 2 %. Subsequently, they were cooked in a microwave for 10 min to a final temperature of about 95° C. Stirring continued for 30 min and starch was kept at a temperature of 50° C. It was found that when using potato starch it is necessary to use an ATC to enhance adsorption on the fibres. On the other hand, the addition of tapioca starch (8 kg/t of pulp) in a peroxide-bleached thermo‑mechanical pulp (TMP) suspension loaded with PCC does not necessarily require the use of poly DADMAC or PAC to deal with the anionic trash. A split addition of tapioca starch (2 kg/t to PCC and 6 kg/t to TMP) which was found beneficial in a mill to combat linting problems is optimal since it does not necessarily require a coagulant. Also, from a flocculation point of view tapioca starch does not necessarily need a coagulant whereas the effectiveness of potato starch increases with poly DADMAC. Finally, it was also found that tapioca starch which is added as a strength additive also enhances fines and filler retention in a high anionic trash environment. Paper presented at the PAPTAC 94th Annual Meeting in Mon‑ treal, February 5-7, 2008. Keywords: STARCH, PCC, MECHANICAL PULP, COAGU‑ LANT, RETENTION Full manuscript available at www.paptac.ca.

INDUSTRY NEWS INNOVATION

Domtar and FPInnovations to build nanocellulose demonstration plant in Quebec

MONTREAL — Domtar Corporation and FPInnovations have formed a new joint venture company to build the world’s first one-tonne-per-day commercial-scale nanocrystalline cellulose demonstration plant at the Domtar Windsor, Quebec, pulp and paper mill site. Construction will take approximately 20 months. Nanocrystalline cellulose is a renew‑ able, recyclable, and abundant nanoma‑ terial made of cellulose fibers from the wood pulp manufacturing process. 22

The cost of construction of the dem‑ onstration plant is approximately $32.4 million and operating costs are estimated at $8.4 million, for a total investment of $40.8 million. Domtar is submitting $12 million of its total contribution for funding approval under the federal Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program. Natural Resources Canada and Quebec’s Natural Resources and Wildlife Ministry are con‑ tributing $10.2 million each to FPInnova‑ tions’ portion of the funding of this project. All funding is still subject to approval. “The remarkable properties of nano‑ crystalline cellulose and wide range of

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

potential applications speak volumes about the commercial potential of new fiber-based products that go beyond tra‑ ditional pulp and paper applications” said John D. Williams, president and CEO of Domtar Corporation. Two Canadian engineering firms, Teknika and Noram, will contribute to the project. Approximately 10 permanent positions will be needed to operate the demonstration plant. In addition, numer‑ ous researchers and scientific personnel have been and will continue working to deliver on the potential new nanocrystal‑ line cellulose applications and products. pulpandpapercanada.com

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PAPTAC ABSTRACTS (Full peer-reviewed manuscripts available at www.paptac.ca) Best Supplier Paper, PACWEST Conference, Kamloops, BC, June 9-12, 2010.

Detailed Investigation of Lime Kiln Mud Ring Formation By K. Taylor, Taylor Industrial Research Inc.

Enquête approfondie sur la formation d’anneaux de boue dans les fours à chaux rotatifs

Abstract: At a 700 tonne/day lime kiln, rapid ring formation occurred immediately after the chain section over a two day period, causing a mill shutdown. Lime mud solids content remained at 75 to 80 wt% during this event. The ring material was relatively soft and extended for a distance of approximately 20 meters from the chain section. This kiln did not have a history of ring formation.

Precoat and Topcoat Effects on Final Printability – Part 3: Coating structure and Deltack results analysis By D. Matte, P. Mangin, C. Daneault

Effet de la précouche sur l’imprimabilité. Troisième partie : structure de couchage et résultats et analyses Deltack

Abstract: The development of a new coating formulation is demanding in time and analysis. It is therefore important to understand what effects could result from changes made to a coating formulation. The mercury intrusion results presented herein played

Optimization of TMP Process and Pulp Quality by Means of Primary Pulp Fractionation By A. Ferluc, R. Lanouette, J.-P. Bousquet, S. Bussière

Optimisation du processus de PTM et de la qualité de la pâte par le fractionnement de la pâte primaire 26

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

The ring material was examined in detail by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), elemental analysis and scanning electron microscope/ energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). To the best of the author’s knowledge, this type of study has not been previously reported for a kiln ring at this location. Results showed that the kiln ring material was formed by growth of calcite crystals that acted to bridge particles and increase compressive strength. The likely reaction mechanism is reactive precipitation of calcite. Kiln precipitator dust recycle was a contributing factor. This mechanism is compared with mid-kiln ring formation that occurs by recarbonation and sintering of calcite crystals. Based on the results, operating conditions of the kiln were modified and ring formation has not recurred. Paper presented at the 2010 PACWEST Conference in Sun Peaks, B.C., June 9-12, 2010. Keywords: LIME KILN, RING FORMATION, MUD RING, DUST RECYCLE AND REACTION MECHANISM. Full manuscript available at www.paptac.ca.

an integral part in the overall understanding of how the coating structure behaved when changing the precoat pigment or topcoat latex of a double coated paper. This study clearly demonstrates the difference between styrene/butadiene and styrene/acrylic latex and how the topcoat structure and printability are impacted. The different lattices performed differently, and it was shown that they do not penetrate in the same way into the same precoat. The chemistry of the latex had a definite impact on the final printability. The results also show it is possible to modulate the precoat pigment formulation to achieve a desired coating structure. Paper presented at the PAPTAC Annual Meeting 2010 in Montreal, Que., February 2-3, 2010. Keywords: MERCURY INTRUSION, WASHBURN EQUATION, HEXADECANE, PORE, PORE STRUCTURE, CONTACT ANGLE, SURFACE ENERGY, INTERFACIAL TENSION, BLANK CORRECTION, DOUBLE COATED PAPER, FREE SHEET, STYRENE-BUTADIENE, STYRENE ACRYLIC, STYRENE ACRYLIC/ACRYLONITRILE, DELTACK, PRINTABILITY, MAXIMUM FORCE, TIME. Full manuscript available at www.paptac.ca.

Abstract: This paper presents a study of TMP fractionation to improve energy consumption and pulp quality. The pulp was sampled in the primary refiner blow line and fractionated with pressure screens. The fractions were refined both at high and low consistency. The quality of the recombined pulp is related to the fractionation strategy and the refining process. Screen baskets with small apertures separate fibres efficiently. Higher aperture dimensions provide smaller reject rate and lower fibre length based fractionation. Fractionation is also influenced by fibre wall thickness. Paper presented at the PAPTAC 94th Annual Meeting in Montreal, February 5-7, 2008. Keywords: TMP, EARLYWOOD, LATEWOOD, FRACTIONATION, PRESSURE SCREEN, REFINING, PROCESS SIMULATION, RECOMBINED PULP. Full manuscript available at www.paptac.ca. pulpandpapercanada.com

PAPTAC ABSTRACTS (Full peer-reviewed manuscripts available at www.paptac.ca)

Kinetics and Mechanism of Autohydrolysis of Mixed Hardwoods By X. Chen, M. Lawoko and A. van Heiningen

Cinétique et mécanisme d’autohydrolyse du bois dur

Abstract: Autohydrolysis using water is a promising method to extract hemicelluloses from wood prior to pulping in order to make co-products such as ethanol and acetic acid besides pulp. Many studies have been carried out on the kinetics and mechanism of autohydrolysis. However, most studies were performed in batch reactors which are not best suited to determine intrinsic kinetics of hemicellulose dissolution due to further reaction of the hemicelluloses in solution. Therefore a continuous mixed batch reactor

Combined Experimental and Model-Based Optimisation of Formation and Retention By W. Dietz, J. Kappen, C. Mannert, P. Huber

Optimisation combinée expérimentale et à base de modèles de la formation et de la rétention

Abstract: PLS models for retention and formation were built based on paper machine data and simultaneously on pilot trials.

Estimation of Paper Formation Using Recursive Least Squares Method By T. Yli-Fossi, T. Harju, M. Friman, J. Mäkinen, P. Lautala

Estimation de la formation du papier à l’aide de la méthode des moindres carrés récursifs pulpandpapercanada.com

was used in the present study to obtain the intrinsic kinetics of dissolution of hemicelluloses from a mixture of hardwoods. The xylan removal rate follows an S-shaped behavior. GPC analysis of the continuously removed extract shows that the dissolved xylan oligomers have a DP smaller than about 20. Lignin free xylan and cellulose oligomers are the major components dissolved in the initial stage of autohydrolysis, while xylan covalently bound to lignin (i.e. an LCC) is the major hemicellulose component removed from wood in the second stage. The molecular weight of the dissolved components decreases with time in the second stage. The kinetics of xylan removal are explained in terms of a mechanism based on recent knowledge of the ultrastructure of hardwood fibre walls. Paper presented at the PAPTAC Annual Meeting 2010 in Montreal, Que., February 2-3, 2010. Keywords: KINETICS, DISSOLUTION MECHANISM, AUTOHYDROLYSIS, HARDWOODS, ULTRASTRUCTURE, HEMICELLULOSES, LIGNIN-CARBOHYDRATE COMPLEXES Full manuscript available at www.paptac.ca.

Mill modelling confirmed the main influencing variables. But the interrelationships in the data set from normal machine operation impeded a clear-cut parameter selection. By using flocculation as a linking parameter, a new approach could be outlined for a quantitative scale-up of retention and flocculation pilot results to predict stock-related effects and to optimise retention and formation on a mill scale. Paper presented at the 2008 Control Systems Pan-Pacific Conference in British Columbia, June 16-18, 2008. Keywords: FORMATION, RETENTION, FLOCCULATION, MODELLING, UP-SCALING, RETENTION AID, PILOT EXPERIMENTS Full manuscript available at www.paptac.ca.

Abstract: A model of paper formation using recursive least squares (RLS) method has been tested data sets from two different paper machines. The input variables of the model were chosen on the basis of the results of a literature survey and mill data analyses. The presented adaptive model is useful when the behaviour of a process changes. In addition, it is easy to take the model into use for different type paper machines. Paper presented at the 2008 Control Systems Pan-Pacific Conference in British Columbia, Canada, June 16-18, 2008. Keywords: DATA ANALYSIS, FORMATION, MODELLING Full manuscript available at www.paptac.ca.

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

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USINES DE MISE EN PÂTE KRAFT

Revue de perspectives d’avenir prometteur et durable pour l’industrie canadienne des pâtes et papiers M. Marinova, E. Mateos-Espejel, J. Paris Résumé : Depuis plusieurs années, l’industrie canadienne des pâtes et papiers fait face à la pire crise de son histoire. Pour entreprendre le virage vers un avenir prometteur et durable, elle doit développer et implanter de nouvelles stratégies profitables. L’objectif de cette revue est de présenter les options les plus prometteuses pour les usines canadiennes; trois options sont considérées et examinées en fonction de leur niveau de développement, la facilité d’implantation et le profit qu’elles apporteraient aux usines. Elles sont: l’amélioration de l’efficacité énergétique, la création de grappes éco-industrielles et l’intégration des technologies de bioraffinage.

’industrie canadienne des pâtes et papiers traverse la pire crise de son histoire. La combinaison de plusieurs facteurs, tels que la compétition des pays émergents dans le secteur forestier, la hausse des coûts d’énergie et la diminution de la demande de produits papetiers de base, en sont la raison principale. Afin de surmonter cette situation, l’industrie doit concentrer ses efforts sur l’étude de nouvelles possibilités et le développement des stratégies d’implantation à court et à plus long terme [1,2]. L’objectif de cette revue est de présenter les options les plus prometteuses pour les usines canadiennes de pâtes et papiers en les illustrant par des exemples. Trois options sont considérées et examinées en fonction de leur niveau de développement, de la facilité d’implantation et du profit qu’elles apporteraient aux usines. Ces options sont l’amélioration de l’efficacité énergétique, la création de grappes industrielles centrées sur les usines papetières et l’intégration des technologies de bioraffinage. L’identification et l’implantation des mesures d’efficacité énergétique est une opportunité immédiate qui permet aux usines d’économiser une partie de leurs coûts opératoires actuels. Les techniques d’intégration des procédés ont déjà fait leurs preuves car elles garantissent des économies d’énergie de 15% à 35% [3]. Une meilleure gestion de la production et de l’utilisation d’énergie peut être assurée grâce à l’implantation d’unités de cogénération, produisant de l’électricité et de la vapeur pour l’utilisation interne ainsi que pour l’exportation [4]. L’élimination des combustibles fossiles et l’utilisation des biocombustibles est une mesure qui assure une réduction des coûts opératoires et des émissions de gaz à effet de serre pulpandpapercanada.com

[5]. Le développement de programmes incitatifs des gouvernements jouera un rôle primordial pour l’implantation des mesures mentionnées. Un programme qui soutien l’amélioration de l’efficacité énergétique de l’industrie et sa conversion aux sources d’énergie renouvelable est le Programme d’écologisation des pâtes et papiers, annoncé par le gouvernement fédéral en juin 2009 [6]. Une autre perspective est la création de grappes industrielles centrées sur les usines de pâtes et papiers. Elle permettra aux usines de générer des revenus additionnels grâce à l’exportation et au partage des ressources. L’excès de vapeur pourrait être utilisé pour satisfaire les besoins de chauffage des villes situées à proximité des usines. Quant à la puissance produite par cogénération, elle pourrait être vendue aux distributeurs et producteurs d’électricité au Canada [7]. Les grappes (ou parcs) industrielles représentent une initiative privilégiée dans plusieurs pays [8,9]. Les pays scandinaves, où souvent les grappes sont centrées sur des usines de pâtes et papiers en sont un exemple. Tel est le cas du parc éco-industriel créé dans la région de Kymenlaakso en Finlande [10]. Un des acteurs principaux est l’usine locale de pâte et papier. Le parc comprend aussi trois usines de produits chimiques, une centrale électrique, une usine de purification d’eau, une station d’épuration et un site d’enfouissement. Le parc est également impliqué dans des interactions étroites avec le fournisseur régional d’énergie, la station d’épuration municipale et des producteurs agricoles locaux. L’usine de pâte et papier utilise principalement de la liqueur noire pour produire de l’énergie et elle fournit des écorces, des copeaux et des fibres en suspension à la centrale électrique du parc. En échange, la centrale offre de la vapeur, de l’électricité et de la chaleur à l’usine papetière, qui à son

M. MARINOVA École Polytechnique, Département de Génie chimique, Montréal

E. MATEOS-ESPEJEL École Polytechnique, Département de Génie chimique, Montréal

J. PARIS École Polytechnique, Département de Génie chimique, Montréal

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Figure 1. Méthodologie globale d’optimisation énergétique

de la bioraffinerie proposée sont l’augmentation de la quantité de pâte produite, la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre et la génération de profits supplémentaires. Souvent dans les usines de pâtes et papiers la chaudière de récupération est le facteur qui limite la production. L’extraction d’une partie de la lignine contenue dans la liqueur noire est une façon d’augmenter la quantité de pâte produite [13]. Afin d’éviter le déficit potentiel de vapeur du procédé, la lignine extraite doit être brûlée sur le site de l’usine. Si des mesures d’économie d’énergie sont identifiées et la demande de vapeur est réduite, une partie ou la totalité de la lignine extraite peut être transformée sur place en produits à valeur ajoutée, utilisée pour remplacer le combustible fossile dans le four à chaux ou exportée. Quelle que soit l’option choisie, la bioraffinerie basée sur l’extraction de la lignine contribuera à la diminution des coûts opératoires de l’usine et pourrait générer des profits supplémentaires. L’implantation d’une de ces options ou d’une combinaison de plusieurs peut s’avérer la solution gagnante pour l’industrie des pâtes et papiers au Canada.

EFFICACITÉ ÉNERGÉTIQUE

Les usines de pâtes et papiers consomment environ 30% de l’énergie utilisée par le secteur industriel ce qui en fait un des plus grands consommateurs au Canada [14]. Étant donné que l’énergie constitue un important élément de coût de production (environ 25 %), l’industrie papetière doit réduire ses coûts en améliorant l’efficacité énergétique et en optant pour des combustibles renouvelables. Plusieurs méthodes qui permettent de réduire l’énergie requise par le procédé ont été développées et validées par des études de cas spécifiques pour l’industrie des pâtes et papiers. Figure 2. Exemple d’économies d’énergie réalisées dans une usine de mise en pâte kraft produisant 700 TSA/j tonne séchée à l’air par jour

tour vend de l’électricité et de la chaleur aux usines chimiques. En outre, la centrale électrique produit de l’électricité et de chaleur pour le distributeur d’énergie local. Ainsi, les résidus à base de bois générés dans l’usine de pâte et papier contribuent à l’approvisionnement en énergie de toute la communauté. L’adoption du concept de bioraffinage forestier, qui représente l’intégration des technologies d’extraction et de conversion de certains constituants du bois, actuellement brûlés, est une option qui peut être envisagée à plus long terme [11]. Trois technologies attrayantes sont identifiées : l’extraction de l’hémicellulose avant la mise en pâte et sa transformation en produits à valeur ajoutée, la récupération de la lignine à partir de la liqueur noire et sa conversion en bioproduits, et la gazéification de la liqueur noire ou des résidus de bois. Un exemple d’une bioraffinerie intégrée, basée sur une usine de pâte kraft consiste en une combinaison de procédés biochimiques et thermochimiques [12]. L’approche biochimique comprend l’extraction de l’hémicellulose avant la mise en pâte, la séparation des fibres courtes et longues et la conversion de l’hémicellulose et des fibres courtes en éthanol, et des fibres longues en papier et biocomposites. L’approche thermochimique est basée sur la combustion de la liqueur noire dans une unité de gazéification, replaçant ainsi la chaudière de récupération. Le gaz de synthèse produit est converti en vapeur, en électricité et en bioproduits. Les avantages 30

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

Récupération de chaleur

L’analyse de pincement (Pinch analysis) aide à maximiser la récupération interne d’énergie dans le procédé et à minimiser les besoins en utilitaires chauds et froids, ce qui permet d’accroître l’intégration thermique d’une usine [15]. Les principaux courants de procédé qui doivent être refroidis et ceux qui doivent être chauffés sont identifiés et utilisés pour construire les courbes composites. Ces courbes représentent l’ensemble des sources et des demandes d’énergie thermique de l’usine, rassemblées sur un diagramme, où la température est exprimée en fonction de la charge thermique; leur analyse permet d’identifier les échanges de chaleur non-optimaux et de développer des moyens pour améliorer la récupération de chaleur. Ensuite, un réseau optimal d’échangeurs de chaleur est développé, il intègre des sources d’énergie souvent négligées, telles que des effluents générés dans différentes parties du procédé et des gaz de combustion.

Réutilisation de l’eau

Parallèlement, une analyse de la gestion de l’eau dans l’usine doit être conduite pour évaluer les possibilités de réduire la consommation d’eau fraîche et d’augmenter la réutilisation de certains effluents. Dans une usine kraft, souvent de tels effluents sont l’eau blanche, les effluents de blanchiment et certains condensats. Les courbes composites des sources et des puits d’eau sont utilisées pour identifier des options qui permettent de réduire la consommation d’eau en la réutilisant dans le procédé. Les courbes composites sont générées en représentant dans un diagramme la pulpandpapercanada.com

PEER REVIEWED Conversion et valorisation d’énergie

pureté des courants d’eau en fonction de leur débit massique [16]. De fortes interactions existent entre l’eau et l’énergie thermique : plus d’eau est consommée dans le procédé, plus d’effluents sont produits, plus d’énergie est requise pour le chauffage et le refroidissement des courants d’eau [17]. L’impact des améliorations proposées dans le système d’eau sur l’efficacité énergétique du procédé doit être étudié.

Les technologies de valorisation et de conversion d’énergie, telles que les pompes à chaleur à absorption, la cogénération et la trigénération sont parmi les plus prometteuses pour satisfaire les critères de meilleure efficacité énergétique et de moindres émissions de gaz à effet de serre [19]. Les pompes à chaleur à absorption sont des équipements qui permettent d’augmenter la température à laquelle une certaine quantité de chaleur est disponible. Elles peuvent être utilisées en mode chauffage ou réfrigération. La cogénération est la production combinée d’électricité et de vapeur. La vapeur récupérée lors de la production d’électricité peut aussi être utilisée, en partie ou totalement, pour alimenter une pompe à chaleur à absorption. Ce couplage entre la cogénération et les pompes à chaleur est appelé trigénération. Pour maximiser les économies d’énergie, tous les aspects liés à l’énergie doivent être considérés. En général, deux types d’interactions sont identifiées dans les procédés papetiers: celles entre les systèmes de vapeur et d’eau, et entre le procédé et les courants utilitaires, et doivent d’abord être analysées. Ensuite, l’intégration optimale des unités de conversion et valorisation de l’énergie doit être examinée pour compléter l’analyse. Une méthodologie d’optimisation énergétique, qui prend en compte toutes ces considérations et combine plusieurs techniques d’analyse, a été développée par l’Unité de recherche en efficacité énergétique et développement durable de la bioraffinerie forestière (E2D2BF) de l’École Polytechnique de Montréal [20]. Un aperçu de cette méthodologie est présenté à la Figure 1. La méthodologie proposée a été utilisée pour analyser les performances énergétiques d’une usine canadienne produisant 700 TSA/j de pâte kraft blanchie. Des économies potentielles d’énergie très importantes ont été identifiées. Les contributions des différentes mesures d’économie sont représentées à la Figure 2. Pour réaliser ces études, l’utilisation d’une simulation des procédés est recommandée car elle permet d’avoir à disposition la configuration du procédé et les bilans d’énergie et de matière. Les données nécessaires aux différentes analyses peuvent être extraites de la simulation et traitées. Elle est aussi un moyen efficace d’étudier l’impact des mesures proposées sur le procédé ainsi que de les valider.

Interactions entre le procédé et les courants utilitaires

GRAPPES INDUSTRIELLES

Figure 3. Représentation schématique d’une grappe industrielle centrée sur une usine de pâte et papier

Figure 4. Matières premières et produits à valeur ajoutée dans une bioraffinerie forestière

L’analyse combinée du procédé et des utilitaires peut être appliquée pour identifier des inefficacités liées à la production, la distribution et l’utilisation des utilitaires dans le procédé [18]. Cette analyse prend en compte la production de vapeur de haute pression dans les chaudières, ainsi que sa décompression à des niveaux de pression inférieurs. D’autre part, elle considère aussi l’énergie perdue lorsque des courants du procédé sont refroidis ou condensés en utilisant de l’eau de refroidissement. Des pertes d’énergie importantes, souvent dues à l’irréversibilité existant dans la production de vapeur ou dans les différents échanges de chaleur, peuvent être révélées par cette méthode. Une possibilité de les réduire est d’installer une unité de cogénération. L’analyse combinée procédé-utilitaire est très utile pour déterminer le positionnement approprié d’une turbine et réduire les pertes dans la production, la distribution et l’utilisation d’énergie. pulpandpapercanada.com

Une grappe industrielle est une concentration d’entreprises manufacturières et de fournisseurs de services, situés dans une même zone géographique, qui coopèrent entre eux et avec la communauté locale afin de partager les ressources et favoriser la compétitivité, l’innovation et la croissance. Les ressources partagées dans les limites d’une grappe industrielle peuvent être les infrastructures, l’énergie, l’eau, les matières premières et les bâtiments publics et résidentiels [7]. Sa mise en œuvre implique des aspects techniques, sociaux, économiques et politiques. Les éléments principaux d’une grappe industrielle créée autour d’une usine de pâte et papier sont illustrés sur la Figure 3. Une usine de pâte et papier utilise des ressources, telles que des copeaux de bois, de l’eau, de la vapeur, de l’électricité et des produits chimiques. La vapeur, l’électricité et une partie des produits chimiques sont générés sur le site de l’usine. L’usine et les autres September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

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Les usines papetières possèdent en général des installations de traitement des effluents du procédé. Un bel exemple de collaboration entre la municipalité locale et l’usine, et applicable pour des petites communautés, est le traitement des effluents municipaux dans les installations industrielles.

est que certains constituants du bois, actuellement brûlés dans les chaudières, pourraient être utilisés d’une façon plus rentable, en tant que matières premières, pour fabriquer des produits à haute valeur ajoutée [1]. Les composants du bois qui peuvent être valorisés dans une bioraffinerie et les produits dérivés potentiels sont représentés sur la Figure 4. Une des options que les usines de pâte kraft doivent considérer pour se transformer en bioraffineries est la récupération de la lignine à partir de la liqueur noire. En principe, la lignine peut être extraite par précipitation et transformée en source d’énergie qui pourrait remplacer le combustible fossile utilisé dans les chaudières. Son retrait aidera au déblocage des chaudières de récupération et à l’augmentation de la production de pâte. La lignine est aussi une matière première pour la production d’adhésifs, de résine, d’émulsifiants, de dispersants, de phénols. Une autre option de conversion d’une usine de pâte chimique ou mécanique en bioraffinerie est liée à l’extraction et l’utilisation de l’hémicellulose. L’hémicellulose peut être enlevée du bois par des procédés chimiques, physiques, biologiques ou mixtes, et peut être utilisée dans diverses applications. Elle est une matière première pour la production de polyols, d’éthanol, de furfural, d’émulsifiants. La troisième technologie prometteuse est la gazéification des résidus de bois ou de la liqueur noire. La gazéification a pour but de convertir entièrement la matière organique en gaz qui peut être utilisé comme source de chaleur et d’électricité, d’éthanol, de méthanol, d’hydrogène et des produits du procédé FischerTropsch. Une estimation de la production potentielle de certains produits à valeur ajoutée ainsi que des revenus qui peuvent être générés dans une bioraffinerie hémicellulosique est présentée dans le tableau suivant. L’estimation est basée sur une usine kraft produisant auparavant 700 TSA/j de pâte. Si cette usine décide d’extraire la totalité de l’hémicellulose et d’utiliser la cellulose pour fabriquer de la pâte dissoute, elle pourrait valoriser l’hémicellulose libérée pour produire de l’éthanol, du furfural ou du xylitol. Les prix des produits suivants ont été utilisés pour l’estimation : furfural: 1 000 $/t [22]; xylitol: 4 000 $/t [23]; ethanol: 600 $/t [24]. L’intégration des technologies de bioraffinage va profondément modifier la capacité de production interne d’énergie verte dans les procédés papetiers [25]. Il est essentiel de mettre au point des solutions énergétiques qui permettront d’accroître l’efficacité, de diminuer la dépendance aux combustibles fossiles, d’étendre l’utilisation des sources d’énergie renouvelables et de réduire les émissions de GES.

Matières premières

CONCLUSIONS

Tableau 1. Revenus potentiels d’une bioraffinerie basée sur une usine de pâte kraft Produit

Production (t/j)

Revenu (M$/a)

Éthanol Furfural Xylitol

35 35 28

6 12 39

éléments de la grappe industrielle peuvent interagir de plusieurs manières, dont certaines sont décrites ci-dessous.

Vente de vapeur

Des usines modernes ou optimisées du point de vue énergétique, grâce aux méthodes présentées, sont en mesure de produire suffisamment de vapeur pour satisfaire leurs propres besoins ainsi que pour en exporter. Ces usines sont capables de produire de la vapeur en utilisant des sources d’énergie renouvelables, issues de la biomasse. De la vapeur peut être exportée aux usines avoisinantes, ou aux scieries locales en échange de copeaux de bois. Une autre possibilité, pratiquée en Europe, mais moins développée au Canada est d’utiliser la vapeur excédentaire comme source de chaleur pour le chauffage de district. Une étude réalisée à l’École Polytechnique a démontré qu’une usine de pâte kraft peut générer des revenus de 500 000 $/a par la vente de vapeur pour le chauffage du village avoisinant [21]. Cette option est surtout intéressante et rentable pour des usines papetières situées à proximité des grandes villes car elle ne nécessite pas d’investissements d’infrastructure de la part des usines mais leur garantit des revenus solides.

Exportation d’électricité

Les usines qui possèdent des unités de cogénération et la capacité de produire un excès de vapeur peuvent bénéficier de ces deux éléments pour produire un surplus d’électricité. Ce surplus pourrait être vendu au distributeur local d’électricité et permettra aux usines de générer des revenus additionnels. En raison de l’écart qui existe entre les prix de vente et d’achat d’électricité dans le secteur industriel, il s’avère même plus avantageux pour une usine avec une unité de cogénération d’acheter la puissance requise pour son fonctionnement et de vendre l’électricité générée sur son site.

Traitement d’effluents

Certains types d’usines, par exemple celles qui produisent des fibres de cellulose pure et qui doivent enlever certains composants du bois, peuvent vendre ces composants sous forme de matière première à des compagnies chimiques, qui prendront en charge la transformation des matières premières en produits à valeur ajoutée.

BIORAFFINAGE FORESTIER

Le bioraffinage est l’utilisation de la biomasse forestière et agricole pour fabriquer une large gamme de produits par différentes voies d’extraction et de transformation. L’idée de la bioraffinerie 32

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

Pour surmonter les conditions difficiles actuelles, l’industrie canadienne des pâtes et papiers doit améliorer son modèle d’affaires. Cet article présente trois options considérées comme prometteuses, qui permettront à l’industrie de diversifier ses sources de revenus. L’implantation des mesures d’efficacité énergétique est une possibilité qui permettra aux usines d’économiser des coûts d’opération et d’adopter un virage vers un futur durable. Une autre avenue est la création de grappes industrielles centrées sur les usines papetières. Elle permettra de générer des revenus additionnels grâce à l’exportation et au partage des ressources avec d’autres industries et la communauté avoisinante. Le concept de bioraffipulpandpapercanada.com

PEER REVIEWED nerie, très actuel aujourd’hui, est que certains constituants du bois, actuellement brûlés dans les chaudières, pourraient être utilisés d’une façon plus rentable, en tant que matières premières, pour fabriquer des produits à haute valeur ajoutée. L’implantation d’une ou de plusieurs de ces options peut s’avérer la solution gagnante pour l’industrie des pâtes et papiers au Canada. L’amélioration de l’efficacité énergétique est une opportunité immédiate, la participation des usines de pâtes et papiers dans des grappes éco-industrielles et l’implantation des technologies de bioraffinage sont des options envisageables à plus long terme car elles impliquent divers aspects sociaux, politiques et environnementaux.

REMERCIEMENTS

Ce travail a été financé par une subvention du programme de R&D coopérative du CRSNG. Le support des partenaires industriels, en particulier FPInnovations et l’usine de pâte et papier est très apprécié.

RÉFÉRENCES

1. VAN HEININGEN, A., “Converting a kraft pulp mill into an integrated forest biorefinery,” Pulp & Paper Canada, 107 (6): 38-43 (2006). 2. THORP, B., “Biorefinery offer industry leaders business model for major change,” Pulp and Paper 79 (11): 35-39 (2005). 3. SAVULESCU, L., POLIN, B., HAMMACHE, A., BÉDARD, S., GENNAOUI, S., “Water and energy savings at a kraft paperboard mill using process integration,” Pulp & Paper Canada 106 (9): 29–31 (2005). 4. CAKEMBERGH-MAS, A., PARIS, J., TRÉPANIER, M., “Strategic simulation of the energy management in a kraft mill,” Energy Convers. Manage. 51 (5): 988–997 (2010). 5. MATEOS ESPEJEL, E., MARINOVA, M., DIAMANTIS, D., FRADETTE, L., PARIS, J., “Strategy for Converting a Conventional kraft Pulp Mill into a Sustainable “Green” Mill”, Proceed. 10th World Renewable Energy Congress, 176-180, Glasgow (2008). 6. NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA, “Green transformation program,” http://cfs. nrcan.gc.ca/subsite/pulp-paper-green-transformation/home (2009). 7. MATEOS-ESPEJEL, E., MARINOVA, M., MOSTAJERAN-GOORTANI, B., PARIS, J., “Eco-industrial cluster centered on a kraft mill in rural Canada”, 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, CD Rom no. 0845, (2009). 8. ZHU, Q., COTE, R.P., “Integrating green supply chain management into an embryonic eco-industrial development: a case study of the Guitang Group,” J. Clean. Prod. 12 (8-10): 1025–1035 (2004). 9. KORHONEN, J., “Regional industrial ecology: examples from regional economic systems of forest industry and energy supply in Finland,” J. Environ. Manage. 63 (4): 367–375 (2001). 10. SOKKA, L., PAKARINEN, S., MELANEN, M., “Industrial symbiosis contributing to more sustainable energy use – an example from the forest industry in Kymenlaakso, Finland,” in press J. Clean. Prod. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.08.014. 11. TOWERS, M., BROWNE, T., KEREKES, R., PARIS, J., TRAN, H., “Biorefinery opportunities for the Canadian pulp & paper industry,” Pulp & Paper Canada 108 (6): 26-29 (2007). 12. HUANG, H.J., RAMASWAMY, S., AL-DAJANI, W.W., TSCHIRNER, U., “Process modeling and analysis of pulp mill-based integrated biorefinery with hemicellulose pre-extraction for ethanol production: A comparative study,” Bioresour. Technol. 101 (2): 624–631 (2010).

13. LAAKSOMETSÄ, C., AXELSSON, E., BERNTSSON, T., LUNDSTRÖM, A., “Energy savings combined with lignin extraction for production increase: case study at a eucalyptus mill in Portugal,” Clean Technol. Environ. Policy 11 (1): 77–82 (2009). 14. RESSOURCES NATURELLES CANADA, “Analyse comparative de la consommation d’énergie dans le secteur canadien des pâtes et papiers,” http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/ industriel/info-technique/analyse-comparative/pates-papiers/pdf/pates-papiers-etude.pdf (2008). 15. LINNHOFF, B., “Pinch analysis – a state-of-the-art overview,” Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 71 (5): 503-522 (1993). 16. DHOLE, V. R., “Fluid efficiency”, U.S. Patent 5824888 (1998). 17. MATEOS-ESPEJEL, E., MADTHA L., MARINOVA, M., PARIS, J., “Energy and water in the pulp and paper industry - the two solitudes,” Chem. Eng. Trans. & Proceed. ICheap-8. 11 (2): 695-700 (2007). 18. BROWN, D., MARÉCHAL, F., PARIS, J., “A dual representation for targeting process retrofit, application to a pulp and paper process,” Appl. Therm. Eng. 25(7): 10671082 (2005). 19. MARINOVA, M., MATEOS-ESPEJEL, E., BAKHTIARI, B., PARIS, J., “A new methodology for the implementation of trigeneration in industry: Application to the kraft process,” Proceed. 1st European Conference on Polygeneration, 333-351 (2007). 20. MATEOS-ESPEJEL, E., SAVULESCU, L., MARECHAL, F., PARIS J., “Unified methodology for thermal energy efficiency improvement: Application to kraft process,” Submitted to Chem. Eng. Sci. (2009). 21. MARINOVA, M., BEAUDRY, C., TAOUSSI, A., TRÉPANIER, M., PARIS, J., “Economic assessment of rural district heating by bio-steam supplied by a paper mill in Canada,” Bull. Sci.Technol. & Soc. 28 (2): 159-173 (2008). 22. DALINYEBO TRADING & DEVELOPMENT, “Furfural market overview,” http://www.dalinyebo.co.za/old/dyT/FurfuralMarket.htm (2006). 23. KADAM, K.L., CHIN, C.Y., BROWN, L.W., “Flexible biorefinery for producing fermentation sugars, lignin and pulp from corn stover,” J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 35 (5): 331-341 (2008). 24. ETHANOL MARKET, “Fuel ethanol,” http://www.ethanolmarket.com/fuelethanol.html (2010). 25. MARINOVA, M., MATEOS-ESPEJEL, E., JEMAA, N., PARIS, J., “Addressing the increased energy demand of a kraft mill biorefinery: The hemicellulose extraction case,” Chem. Eng. Res. Des. 87 (9): 1269-1275 (2009).

Abstract: For several years, the Canadian pulp and paper industry has been

facing the worst crisis in its history. For a promising and sustainable future, the industry needs to develop and implement new profitable strategies. The objective of this review is to present the most promising options for the Canadian pulp and paper mills. Three options are considered and evaluated in respect of their development status, the ease of implementation and the expected profits. They are: the improved energy efficiency, the creation of eco-industrial clusters and the integration of biorefining technologies.

Mots-clés : USINES DE MISE EN PÂTE KRAFT, EFFICACITÉ ÉNERGÉTIQUE, GRAPPES ÉCO-INDUSTRIELLES, BIORAFFINERIES, DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE Keywords: KRAFT PULP MILLS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, ECO-INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS, BIOREFINERIES, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Reference: MARINOVA, M., MATEOS-ESPEJEL, E., PARIS, J. Revue de perspectives d’avenir prometteur et durable pour l’industrie canadienne des pâtes et papiers, Pulp & Paper Canada 111(5) : T68-T72(Sep/Oct 2010). Paper presented at the PAPTAC Annual Meeting 2010 in Montreal, Que., February 2-3, 2010. Not to be reproduced without permission of PAPTAC. Manuscript received September 1, 2009. Revised manuscript approved for publication by the Review Panel July 23, 2010.

INDUSTRY NEWS SAFETY

AbitibiBowater fined for injuries in 2008 at Fort Frances mill

FORT FRANCES, ONT. — Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada, as the owner and operator of a paper mill in Fort Frances, Ont., was fined $125,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused injuries to two workers and a student. Because the company is under creditor protection, the fine has been stayed. The incident in question took place on pulpandpapercanada.com

August 20, 2008. Two electricians at the paper mill were changing the power box for part of a paper machine. The power to the box was locked out. The power to the cabinet containing the box was not shut off or locked out. As the electricians removed the power box, they noticed a cable inside the cabinet that needed to be moved. One of them reached into the cabinet with a tool to remove a clamp holding the cable in place. The tool made electrical contact with a live conductor

inside the cabinet and this created an arc flash. This caused another arc flash from the live conductors overhead. The two electricians suffered first, second and third degree burns. A student who was watching them suffered first degree burns. Abitibi Consolidated Company of Canada pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a tool was not used near a live electrical installation to prevent electrical contact with a live conductor.

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MOTIVE STEAM

Thermocompressor Design and Operation for High-Efficiency By M. Soucy and G.L. Timm Abstract: Thermocompressor sizing and operation are often misunderstood. Thermocompressors that do not match the syphon design is a common industry problem. Oversized thermocompressors operating at differential pressures higher than required are common. It is not unusual for thermocompressors to consume twice as much motive steam as is required. This is common on machines that have converted to stationary syphons without optimizing the thermocompressor size. This paper explores the latest developments with high-efficiency thermocompressor design and its integration with syphons and dryer drainage components.

n today’s paper machine operating environment, energy efficiency is receiving intense focus. Historically the application of thermocompressors was much less evolved than it is today. Overzealous safety factors, inefficient designs, and old dryer evacuation technology result in oversized thermocompressors that use excessive amounts of higher cost motive steam. In the past, thermocompressor sizing was as much an art as a science. A thermocompressor is a steam control device that uses high-pressure steam, referred to as motive steam, to induce flow from a lower pressure steam source and discharge the mixture at an intermediate pressure. A typical thermocompressor is shown in Fig. 1. In a typical paper machine installation, the thermocompressor is used to recompress the blowthrough steam that is evacuated from the dryers and separated from the condensate in the condensate receiver station. Blowthrough steam is steam that is not condensed in the dryers. Blowthrough flow is typically between 8% and 40% or more of the condensing load in a given dryer. The actual amount of blowthrough is dependent on the syphon design, syphon size, dryer condensing load, dryer pressure, differential pressure, machine speed, and external line size. The blowthrough can vary substantially within a given dryer section over various operating conditions. In paper machine operations, thermocompressors are required to operate over a wide range of operating conditions. In many machines, not only do dryer pressure set points vary, but so do condensing loads and machine speeds. When sizing a thermocompressor, the low-pressure operating point determines the throat size, and the high pressure operating point determines the nozzle size. Since many mills operate over a wide range 34

of pressures the throat can be oversized for highpressure operation while the nozzle is oversized for low-pressure operation. This compromise is necessary to satisfy the operating steam pressure range of the dryers. For the most efficient operation, careful design of the thermocompressor and syphons must be followed. Each thermocompressor is custom designed for a specific application. The throat and nozzle size are engineered to match the syphon characteristics and operating pressure range. This means a 6" unit on one machine will not necessarily perform adequately in another 6" application. A thermocompressor is controlled either by a differential pressure set point, by a blowthrough flow set point, or by algorithms determining differential set points for a given set of operating conditions. All three control methods have been proven to be successful. A typical thermocompressor steam section is shown in Fig. 2. Motive steam (i.e., high-pressure steam) is usually more costly to produce than lower-pressure, make-up steam. Steam routed to the thermocompressor bypasses the power generating turbine and less electricity is produced. It is not uncommon for there to be $2 to $4 per 1,000 kg of steam difference in cost between the two steam sources. The actual cost difference will vary depending on the boiler operating pressure, turbine extraction pressures, and the purchased power cost. A typical mill steam system is shown in Fig. 3.

M. SOUCY Kadant Canada Corp., Summerstown, ON

RECENT ADVANCES

Recent advances in thermocompressor design and a deeper understanding of the impact of thermocompressor fluid dynamics on sizing criteria have allowed for optimized internal geometry and improved efficiency. Advanced computer modeling techniques have allowed for a much

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

G.L. TIMM Kadant Johnson Inc., Three Rivers, MI pulpandpapercanada.com

PEER REVIEWED better understanding of the intricacies of flow dynamics within the thermocompressors and have resulted in improved internal geometries. Motive nozzle position, nozzle shape, throat entrance geometry, and throat length all influence the efficiency of the thermocompressor. These variables can be modeled and opti-

Fig. 1. Typical thermocompressor.

Fig. 2. Typical thermocompressor steam section.

mized using computational fluid dynamic modeling software. Figure 4 shows how the computer modeling software reveals flows within the thermocompressor body. Figure 5 illustrates the thermocompressor performance of a machine with misapplied thermocompressors. Replacing the oversized thermocompressors with a high-efficiency design resulted in a 50% savings in motive steam. Properly sizing the thermocompressors resulted in another 50% savings in motive steam. In this example, the 1,900 tpd southern linerboard mill used 60 bar steam that was sent through a 17 bar pressure reducing valve rather than through the power generating turbine. The cost difference between motive and make-up steam was $3.75 per 1,000 kg of steam. The dryers on this machine consumed 125,000 kg/hr of steam, with 44,000 kg/hr being motive steam to the thermocompressors. The mill had previously changed from rotary to stationary syphons, but did not evaluate the sizing and performance of the thermocompressors. Since the thermocompressors were oversized, it was difficult to operate at the low differential pressures and blowthrough steam flows the new stationary syphons allowed. With the correct thermocompressor design, the machine was able to operate at lower differential pressures. The mill would be able to reduce the motive steam by 35,000 kg/hr for the eight thermocompressors used on this machine. This was worth more than $1,000,000 per year in savings to this mill, as steam energy was used to generate electricity instead of create differential for the dryers. One measure of thermocompressor efficiency is the entrainment ratio. This is the ratio of suction steam to motive steam. Since it is economically beneficial to minimize motive steam usage, we would like to maximize the entrainment ratio. Proper sizing and optimizing the geometry of the thermocompressor has resulted in improving the entrainment ratio by 25% to 50%. This corresponds to as much as 75% reduction in motive use when compared to current operations. With advanced modeling techniques the new internal geometries can often be fit into existing thermocompressor envelopes, minimizing the piping changes necessary to install a better design.

HIGH-EFFICIENCY THERMOCOMPRESSOR DESIGN AND OPERATION

In order to achieve high-efficiency operation of a thermocompressor section, the thermocompressor design must be driven by the actual syphon characteristics and drying constraints of the steam section. Required differential pressures, blowthrough steam flows, dryer pressures, condensing loads, and machine speeds must be taken into account over the range of grades produced.

Fig. 3. Typical mill steam system. pulpandpapercanada.com

Minimize the load on the thermocompressor Once the drying parameters are understood, the amount of blowthrough steam to be recompressed should be minimized. Differential pressures should be minimized, accurately monitored, and controlled. In many cases differential pressures are not minimized due to poor transmitter installation and uncalibrated equipment. Differential pressure set points are run at the “worst case scenario” often with additional safety factors added. Accurate differential pressure indication is the first requirement for proper syphon operation and optimization of thermocompressor motive steam use. September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

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MOTIVE STEAM There is often justification for changing from rotary to stationary syphons based on the reduction in thermocompressor motive steam. Since stationary syphons are not subjected to the centrifugal forces found with rotary syphons, the differential requirement when using stationary syphons is much lower. Many machines run differentials as low as 0.20 bar with blowthrough rates in the

Fig. 4. Advanced computerized flow modeling.

Fig. 5. Motive and suction flows.

Fig. 6. Comparison of two different thermocompressor geometries.

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

8% to 12% of condensing load range with stationary syphons. This is compared to 0.7 bar and 20% to 40% blowthrough rates with rotary syphons. Stationary syphons inherently require less motive steam provided the thermocompressors are properly sized. Modern stationary syphons have proven to be highly reliable, and when matched with dryer bars, drying capacity increases and surface temperature uniformity is maximized. In some cases condensate and blowthrough steam piping is undersized. This creates additional pressure drop requiring excessive differential pressures. Lowering blowthrough flows with proper syphon sizing and design lowers velocity in these lines. The sizing is less critical and erosion is reduced. In one mill, more than $100,000 in annual piping replacement cost was due to excessive line velocity caused by poor thermocompressor sizing and operation. In some cases the condensate separator tanks are too small to provide efficient condensate/blowthrough separation. Condensate carryover with the blowthrough steam can result. Erosion of the thermocompressors and inaccurate measurement of the blowthrough steam flow is the result. Often the tank internals are worn and may even be missing, further allowing for condensate carryover. Properly size thermocompressors Thermocompressors should be sized based on actual operating conditions with appropriate safety factors for suction flows. Actual motive flow pressures at the thermocompressor rather than “header pressure” values should be used when sizing the thermocompressor. In some cases motive steam pressure variations are not well understood and poor thermocompressor sizing and operation result. The motive steam pressure should be at least 1.2 times the suction pressure (absolute pressure) to achieve good performance. Since care should be taken to minimize the load on the thermocompressor, accurate pressures for suction pressure (i.e., discharge pressure less differential pressure and line losses) should be utilized. Optimize thermocompressor geometry Specific geometry variations within the thermocompressor greatly affect performance and efficiency. Using computational modeling shows that two different designs of thermocompressors use differing amounts of motive steam. In this case the motive steam pressure (Pm) was 27 bar, the dryer section pressure (Pd) was 8.3 bar, and the suction pressure (Ps) 7.5 bar. Blowthrough flow was 5,800 kg/hr. Figure 6 shows how for the given set of operating conditions a high-efficiency thermocompressor can be installed which will use less motive steam. In this case the motive steam was reduced from 4,045 kg/hr to 3,136 kg/hr, a 22% savings. This was realized by optimizing geometry of the thermocompressor assembly. This is typical of the savings in motive steam that can be gained by using a high-efficiency thermocompressor geometry versus the conventional designs found in the industry. Properly manage differential pressure and blowthrough set points Differential pressure control is one of the more common methods to control a thermocompressor loop. Differential pressure pulpandpapercanada.com

PEER REVIEWED requirements to evacuate a given dryer can vary greatly. Machine speed, dryer pressure and condensing load dictate the differential requirement. Operators will typically set differential pressures to the level that will prevent dryer flooding for all operating conditions. The “worst case” differential pressure is excessive for most operating conditions, resulting in higher motive steam flows and wasted energy. Another method that is used to control a thermocompressor loop is to measure the blowthrough flow coming off of the separator tank and vary the thermocompressor opening to control the amount of blowthrough steam flow. Differential pressure varies as the operating pressure and condensing load changes. The blowthrough flow is controlled to a constant percentage of the condensing load in the dryers. Controlling blowthrough steam flow simulates the syphon requirement but it does not take into account the minimal differential requirements of syphons. Blowthrough flow control requires very good condensate separation in the separator tanks or the measurement will be inaccurate. New high-efficiency separator tanks are often required to implement blowthrough flow control. The best practice for controlling dryer evacuation and minimizing blowthrough is through managed differential control. Algorithms are used to continuously calculate the required differential pressure based on the syphon curves, operating pressure, machine speed, and sheet-on status. Operators are not required to establish the set points. The correct differential pressure is always present and the amount of motive steam used is held to the minimum necessary. Differential pressure is automatically reduced on sheet breaks to prevent venting and steam waste. Prevent “over the top” operation The thermocompressor design must accommodate the operating pressure range of the drying system. The throat diameter is based on the low-pressure operating point and the nozzle diameter is based on the high-pressure operating condition. This can lead to the condition where there can be too much motive steam flow when operating at low discharge pressures. Excessive motive steam flow can lead to “over the top” operation. This condition is also commonly referred to as “choked flow,” although this term is misleading. “Over the top” occurs when the thermocompressor no longer increases suction flow with increasing motive flow. With traditional methods of control, operation in the over the top region will result in the thermocompressor going wide open, consuming maximum of motive steam. The control action will open the vent valve once the thermocompressor has reached maximum. This will result in steam waste and is the most inefficient

pulpandpapercanada.com

operating point for the system. “Over the top” operation must be prevented. “Over the top” operation can be eliminated with proper thermocompressor sizing, utilizing the correct differential pressure set point, and through DCS logic. Managed differential pressure control ensures that the operators do not use excessive differential set points that will force “over the top” operation. Knowing the thermocompressor sizing and operating characteristics, the “over the top” point can be calculated using algorithms programmed into the DCS. The logic prevents the thermocompressor from going into the “over the top” position based on the operating conditions for the thermocompressor. This logic must be installed with full understanding of individual thermocompressor curves.

SUMMARY

Many mills will be able reduce motive steam requirements by optimizing thermocompressor operation. Reductions in motive steam have the potential to substantially improve the energy efficiency of the mill and the operation of the dryer drainage system. It is important to match the thermocompressors to the syphons. Properly designed syphons will minimize the load on the thermocompressor. By taking advantage of new understanding of flow dynamics within the thermocompressor, the geometry can be optimized to minimize the amount of motive steam required. Proper operation of the dryer drainage system is needed to achieve continuous benefit. This can be accomplished by using an understanding of thermocompressor operation to improve the control logic within the DCS. Résumé: Le choix de thermocompresseurs de dimensions et caractéristiques adéquates est souvent mal compris. Un thermocompresseur qui ne correspond pas à la conception du siphon est un problème courant dans l’industrie. Souvent, des thermocompresseurs trop grands fonctionnent à des pressions différentielles plus élevées que ce qui est requis. Cela explique que de nombreux thermocompresseurs consomment deux fois la quantité de vapeur motrice requise. On observe ce phénomène sur les machines converties aux siphons stationnaires sans optimisation du gabarit du thermocompresseur. Cet exposé explore les derniers développements concernant la conception de thermocompresseurs à haute efficacité et leur intégration aux siphons et composantes d’évacuation de sécheurs.

Keywords: THERMOCOMPRESSOR, HIGH-EFFICIENCY, OPTIMIZED GEOMETRY, SYPHONS, DRYER DRAINAGE SYSTEMS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY, MOTIVE STEAM AND CFD ANALYSIS Reference: SOUCY, M., TIMM, G.L. Thermocompressor Design and

Operation for High Efficiency, Pulp & Paper Canada, 111(5): T73-T76 (Sept/Oct 2010). Paper presented at the PAPTAC 94th Annual Meeting in Montreal, February 5-7, 2008. Not to be reproduced without permission of PAPTAC. Manuscript received November 29, 2007. Revised manuscript approved for publication by the Review Panel June10, 2010.

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NEWSPRINT

Pilot Paper Machine Production of Newsprint Using High Filler Loads and Dry Strength Technologies By F. Brouillette, J. Paradis and S. Lafrenière Abstract: The introduction of filler in newsprint is a valuable cost alternative for fibre replacement and energy savings. The introduction of fillers is beneficial to many sheet properties such as brightness and opacity, but it is detrimental to strength, linting and dusting properties. In consequence, papermachine and printing press runnability can be adversely affected. In attempt to understand the impact of kaolin-filler introduction in newsprint in the North American context, pilot plant runs were conducted on the new CIPP pilot papermachine using different filler loads and a 45-gsm sheet. Selected dry strength additives were also added in order to minimize the loss or improve physical properties of the sheet. Our study reveals that some technologies can maintain the dry strength of papers while others will be more useful at maintaining parameters such as papermachine and pressroom runnability and printing quality which may all be affected by filler increases.

ecent surveys of total filler contents in newsprint show that European and Asian newsprint contains 10 to 20% ash which is noticeably higher than its North American counterpart (0-5%) [1,2]. This situation is driven mainly by raw material and filler costs in specific regions and countries. The introduction of filler in newsprint is a valuable cost alternative for fibre replacement and energy savings. It is a well-established practice in Europe where newsprint ash levels in the 10-15% range are common. High DIP contents also contribute to reaching these conditions by supplying a significant amount of calcium carbonate. However, in north-eastern North America, acid newsprint manufacturing is much more important and requires the use of the proper filler to compete with high filler-level producers. Moreover, the introduction of fillers is beneficial to many sheet properties such as brightness and opacity, but it is detrimental to strength, linting and dusting properties. In consequence, papermachine and printing press runnability can be adversely affected. Wet-end cationic starches are a well-established way of maintaining sheet properties with higher filler levels used in different countries and paper grades (SCA, CFS, copy, etc.). However, cationic starch usage has also many drawbacks [3,4]. In consequence, the need for alternate dry strength resins or additives (DSA) has lead to the development of new technologies, in particular for board grades. It would be of great interest for North American paper manufacturers and chemical suppliers to determine if one or more of these DSA alternatives could be introduced in newsprint or mechanical-based papers to allow for higher 38

filler loadings. In attempt to understand the impact of kaolinfiller introduction in newsprint in the North American context, pilot plant runs were conducted on the new Centre intégré en pâtes et papiers (CIPP) pilot papermachine using different filler loads and a 45-gsm sheet. Selected dry strength additives were also added in order to minimize the loss or improve physical properties of the sheet.

EXPERIMENTAL Pulp preparation

The pulp used for this trial was produced by repulping rolls of newsprint received from a Quebec-based producer. This particular mill was interested in increasing the filler content of their newsprint. The furnish was a blend of TMP and DIP. Repulping was performed at 10% consistency and 65°C in order to maintain the temperature higher than 50°C during the complete duration of one day of trials. The final pulp was diluted to 4%. Fresh pulp was prepared on each day and kept under constant mixing. FQA analyses were carried out on each repulped batch to ensure fibre quality and pulping efficiency from lot to lot.

Chemical addition

Based on experiences with highly filled papers, a two component retention, drainage and formation (RDF) program (poly-DADMAC/cationic polyacrylamide) was selected for pilot runs. This program was proven to adapt rapidly to changes in dry strength additive charge and to provide an adequate flocculation - formation compromise. All chemicals were supplied by Ciba and BASF except for the clay which was supplied by Imerys. Four

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

F. BROUILLETTE Centre intégré en pâtes et papiers (CIPP), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Que.

J. PARADIS Centre intégré en pâtes et papiers (CIPP), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Que.

S. LAFRENIÈRE BASF, Mississauga, Ont. pulpandpapercanada.com

PEER REVIEWED TABLE I. Injection points and dosages for each product Product

Commercial names

Addition point

Dosage

Filler

Clay (Imerys)

Primary fan

0-2 L/min

pump

(as is)

TABLE II. Pilot trial experimental plan Day Strength additive 1

Dosage (kg/t) Ash level (%)

None (pre-trial)

0 – 15%

2 DSA A: Reactive PAM

1 2

0, 5, 10 0, 5, 10, 15

Flocculent

20 % w/w Pre-screen(*) cationic polyacrylamide

0.5-1.5 (kg/t)

3 DSA B: Liquid polymeric starch

2 4 6

0, 5, 10 0, 5, 10, 15 15

Coagulant

Poly-DADMAC

Pre-screen(*)

0.1-0.3 (kg/t)

Machine chest pump

See Table II

4 DSA C: Cationic starch

4 8

0, 10 0, 5, 10

0.5 1

0, 5 0, 5, 10

Strength See Table II additives

(*) RDF added pre-screen to ensure optimum dispersion and formation.

TABLE III. Summary of papermachine operating parameters PM operating parameter

Target values

Basis weight Clay filler content PM speed Dry broke recycling Wet broke recycling On-line soft calender Sheet width

45 g/m2 0-15% 500 m/min No No Off 0,45 m

dry strength products were evaluated: a reactive polyacrylamide (PAM), a cationic liquid polymeric starch, a standard cationic starch and a polyvinylamine (PVAm). Table I summarizes dosages and injection points for each products and gives the experimental plan for the trial.

Papermachine operation

At the beginning of each day, a blank sheet was produced without any dry strength product, and then flocculent/coagulant dosages were increased to get baseline improvement without clay addition, to monitor the machine behaviour and to proceed with any parameter adjustments. The clay flow as well as the strength product dosage were adjusted one at a time, in addition to the required sampling or testing which was carried out after machine stabilization, monitored by the sheet ash content (up to 15%). For instance, the steam pressure and pulp flow were adjusted on-line from the DCS and continuous on-line scanner monitoring. These parameters were kept constant as much as possible during the rest of the trial with the dry strength products. Table II presents the experimental plan for each day of papermachine operation. Table III presents paper machine parameters that were used during the trial. Paper rolls were winded on 18-inch cores before being wrapped in plastic to keep the humidity level constant until offline calendering.

Calendering

Calendering was done off-line using a supercalender with the proper loading in order to obtain a standard newsprint PPS of 3.5 µm paper (blank runs). Paper samples with different filler levels and a typical SC loading were also generated for reference purposes.

Evaluation of the paper during and after the trial

During PM operation, a close monitoring of the white water and headbox was performed. The following measures were taken periodically: pulpandpapercanada.com

5 DSA D: PVAm

TABLE IV. Sheet parameters analyzed on paper samples after the trial Sheet parameters analyzed after the pilot trial Basis weight Bulk Roughness PPS (F/W) Brightness (F/W) Ash content Sheet thickness Porosity PPS (F/W) Gloss (F/W) Opacity Contact angle Water drop (EMTEC)

Formation index (Kaptra) Burst Elongation (MD/CD) Tear (MD/CD) Breaking length (MD/CD) TEA (MD/CD) Elasticity modulus (MD/CD) Scott Bond(MD/CD) Pull tape linting (F/W) LAB color (F/W) IGT Surface strength, linting and picking (F/W)

• Consistency and ash (for FPR and ash retention); • Cationic demand and zeta potential; • pH, conductivity and temperature; • Sheet solids content after pressing. The filler content was measured by ashing paper samples in an electric furnace. For each run, 50 sheets (22 cm x 28 cm) were collected before and after supercalendering. PAPTAC standard methods were used to measure all parameters listed in Table IV except IGT picking and linting and pull-tape linting which were performed according to method in references [5-7].

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION PM runnability and summary of the evaluation runs Day 1 RDF & Filler only

The introduction of filler into the whitewater loop caused an increase of the pulp anionicity. A steam reduction was also noticed from increased drainage at high filler levels. After the introduction of the RDF program (poly-DADMAC/cationic PAM) a slight increase in flocculation and an improvement in drainage in the formation zone were noticed. No impact was observed on the wet-end charge.

Day 2 DSA technology A: Reactive PAM

A moderate to significant drainage improvement was noticed based on reduced steam consumption and vacuum levels. Minimal impacts on wet-end charge and retention were detected while flocculation remained unaffected. An excellent runnability was maintained all day as no breaks occurred during the run. September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

T78

Effect65,0 on strength 300

2) Tensile Index MD (Nm/g) Internal Bond MD (J/m

C‐8

A general conclusion can be drawn out from this study: the 40,0 D‐1 175 introduction of small amounts ofC‐ 8fillerD‐1significantly affects A‐2 B‐4 Blank Blank strength properties. This always depends on process sensitivity 35,0 150 or operating parameter critical levels at the mill. However, 4 10 12 14 1616 1818 00 22 66 88 when the filler level is4 increased over1010%,12 most14 of internal Ash content (%) Ash content (%) and surface strength properties are adversely affected as illustrated by the burst index (Fig. 1), the tensile index (Fig.Bond) 2) Fig. 2.3.Effect ofof ash content on tensile (C.V. ≈ 6%). Fig. Effect ash on internal strength (Scott Fig.3. Effect of ashcontent content on strength internal strength (Scott and the≈(C.V. internal bond (Fig. 3). In this situation, DSA (C.V. 7%). Bond) ≈ 7%). 300 alternatives are required to counterOnly the lower fibre-to-fibre NOT significantly Since (fountain solution) uptake D-1 in offset presses affects Day 3 water different from Blank bonding caused by fibre substitution and high filler sheet strength and pressroom runnability (breaks),coverage. we used the

DSA275 technology B: Liquid polymeric cationic starch

tensile strength test in was ordernoticed to predict the impact of A rewetted slight drainage improvement based on reduced filler as well as DSA alternatives. In the domain studied, the steam 250 consumption and vacuum levels. Sheet formation, wet-end filler load did not impact significantly the rewetted tensile charge weredecreased moderately affected the high charge (Fig. and 4). retention Most DSA slightly thebywater pick-up density of the starch and dosages required to obtain the required 225 (lower moisture after immersion) in comparison with strength level. However, an excellent runnability was maintained reference. However, it can be seen that DSA alternative A can 200 as no breaks were recorded.

Day 4175

A‐2

B‐4

C‐ 8

D‐1

Blank

DSA technology C: Standard cationic starch

As for150 Day 3, sheet formation, wet-end charge and retention were 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 slightly affected by the chemical properties of the product. MoreAsh content (%) over, the drainage was significantly reduced as confirmed by high3. consumption Effect of ashand content on levels, internalcausing strength (Scott Bond) erFig. steam vacuum poor runnability (C.V. ≈ 7%). and few machine breaks. These observations tend to reinforce the hypothesis that(fountain this technology complemented with Since water solution)needs uptaketoinbeoffset presses affects sheet strength andaspressroom runnability (breaks), we used drainage aids such micro-particulate silica or bentonite as the part strength test in order to predict the impact of ofrewetted the RDFtensile program. filler as well as DSA alternatives. In the domain studied, the filler Day 5 load did not impact significantly the rewetted tensile (Fig. 4). Most DSA decreased slightly the water pick-up DSA technology D: PVAm (lower moisture after immersion) in comparison with The drainage was significantly as observed fromAlower reference. However, it can be improved seen that DSA alternative can

steam consumption and vacuum levels as well as higher dryness of the sheet web at the press outlet. However, the wet-end charge 40

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

DSA effective only at filler level<10% 60,0 55,0 50,0 A‐2

45,0

B‐4 C‐8

40,0

D‐1 Blank

35,0 0

8 10 Ash content (%)

Fig. Effect content on strength tensile strength provide a significant pressroom runnability if Fig. 2. 2. Effect ofof ashash content on tensile (C.V. ≈improvement 6%).(C.V. ≈ 6%).

needed. 300 0,60

Onlyonly D-1atNOT effective fillersignificantly level<10% below DSA presents adifferent reference “blank” from Blank

Each graph shown or 60,0 baseline monitoring the impact of the ash content (x-axis) on a 275 specific sheet property (y-axis). The general performance of 55,0 DSA alternatives is evaluated based on relative results: higher 250 or lower than the reference baseline. Error bars were not drawn 50,0 to keep graphs readable. However, a representative 225 value of the coefficient of variation (C.V.) of experimental A‐2 data is 45,0 given for each B‐4 graph. 200

8 10 Ash content (%)

Only D-1 NOT significantly Only A-2 improves RW different from Blank tensile significantly

275 0,55 0,50 250 0,45 225 0,40

A‐2

B‐4

C‐8

D‐1

(Fig abso redu 8)

The prop calip

Blank

200 0,35 0,30 175

A‐2

0,25

150 0,20

0 0

2 2

4 4

B‐4

6 6

C‐ 8

D‐1

8 10 12 8 10 12 Ash content (%) Ash content (%)

Blank

14 14

16 16

Caliper (µm)

Fig. 1. Effect of ash content on burst strength (C.V. ≈ 10%). Fig. 2. Effect of ash content on tensile strength (C.V. ≈ 6%).

Fig. 4. Effect ashcontent content onrewetted internal strength (Scott Fig. 4.3.Effect Effect ofofash on tensile Fig. of ash content on rewetted tensile strength (C.V. strength ≈ 9%). Bond) (C.V. ≈ ≈ 7%). (C.V. 9%).

From the strength evaluation, it can be concluded that only

Since water (fountain solution) uptake formation in offset presses if affects was affecting twosignificantly of the fourlower, DSA thus technologies studied can even prevent RDF or sheet strength and pressroom runnability (breaks), werunnability used the was lowered to minimize flocculation. machine reduce the strength loss associated withThe the filler introduction. rewetted in order to this predict the efficient impact of was moderate: thestrength aggressive response caused TABLE Vtensile summarises thetest impact of of the twotechnology most filler as well as DSA alternatives. In the domain studied, the DSA technologies (DSA and DSA on to thebreaks. strength fluctuations in drainage andAdosage whichC)lead This filler loadofdid notatimpact significantly the rewetted tensile properties paper the three filler levels studied. technology would have to be complemented with the proper RDF (Fig. 4). Most DSA decreased slightly the water pick-up micro-polymer for optimum performance.in comparison with (lower moisture after immersion)

Fig. 5

TABLE V. SUMMARY OF STRENGTH PROPERTIES reference. However,FOR it canDSA be seen thatCDSA alternative A can A AND

Effect on strength

% Change1 to 4 0% Ash present 4-7% Ash 10-12% Figures each a reference “blank” orAshbaseline, DSA A DSA C of the ash DSA A DSA C (x-axis)DSA A a DSA C monitoring the impact content on specific Blank Properties Blank 2 kg/t 8 kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t sheet property (y-axis). On each graph, additives are identified Stiffness 0.2 4.0 0.5 0.2 2.7 -1.9 -5.6 -5.0 with a letter corresponding to the technology evaluated (A to D) Tear (CD) -0.1 -2.0 3.0 -8.0 -3.4 -4.6 followed by a 2.1 number giving the4.4additive’s dosage in kg/t. The Burst performance 3.4 3.3 -4.8 alternatives 6.8 8.4 is -20.4 -14.9 based -1.4 on general of DSA evaluated relative reference Error Tensile results: (MD) 6.1higher 2.0or lower -10.3 than 7.7 the12.5 -15.3 baseline. -14.6 6.6 bars were not77.6 drawn-3.8 to keep graphs readable. However, a repreRewetted 5.3 55.7 -19.1 5.3 37.0 -25.3 Tensile sentative Internal value of the coefficient of variation (C.V.) of experimen30.4 -3.0 -11.7 35.4 26.1 -17.0 7.8 24.5 talBond data(Scott) is given for each graph. Surface IGT 24.7 -17.3 35.4 A general 7.8conclusion can be-1.9drawn out-11.6from6.0this 16.9 study: the introduction of small amounts of filler significantly affects Effect properties. on opticalThis properties and printability strength always depends on process sensitivity or operating parameter critical levels loss, at thethemill. However,ofwhen In addition to the usual strength introduction fillerthe filler level isaffects increased to more than 10%, most internal and generally optical properties as well asof thethe printability of thestrength sheet. The best DSA technology shouldas produce surface properties are adversely affected, illustrateda by synergistic effect thetensile filler index to optimise of these the burst index (Fig.with 1), the (Fig. 2)most and the internal

properties with significant improvement in pressroom runnability, in particular in highly demanding 4 or 5 colour pulpandpapercanada.com offset presses. The addition of filler caused a decrease in caliper from the

Linting (% area)

1,8 The drainage was significantly improved as observed from 50,0 lower steam consumption and vacuum levels as well as higher 1,6of the sheet A‐2 web at the press outlet. However, the wetdryness 45,0 B‐4 end charge was significantly lower thus affecting formation C‐8 even 1,4 if RDF was lowered to minimise flocculation. The 40,0 D‐1 machine runnability was moderate: the aggressive response of Blank 1,2 this technology caused fluctuations in drainage and dosage 35,0 0 to 2breaks. 4 This 6 technology 8 10 would 12 14 which lead have 16 to be18 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Ash content (%) complemented with the proper RDF micro-polymer for Ash content (%) optimum performance. Fig. 1. Effect of ash content on burst strength (C.V. ≈ 10%).

65,0

Tensile Index MD (Nm/g)

Day 52,0 DSA technology D: PVAm 55,0

Fig. 1. Effect of ash content on burst strength (C.V. ≈ 10%).

Internal Bond MD (J/m2) Rewetted Tensile MD (kN/g)

Burst Index (kPa×m2/g) Tensile Index MD (Nm/g)

Only D-1 significantly different from Blank

60,0

Fig. 6

nting IGT (%)

the cts ity er, nal as 2) SA bre e.

1,2 Moreover, the drainage was significantly reduced as product. 2 4 6 8 10 12 vacuum 14 16 18 confirmed0 by higher and levels, NEWSPRINT steam consumption causing poor runnability andAsh content (%) few machines breaks. These observations tend to reinforce the hypothesis that this Fig. 1. Effect of ash content on burst strength (C.V. ≈ 10%). technology needs to be complemented with drainage aids such 2,4 as micro-particulate silica or bentonite as part of the RDF 65,0 A‐2 B‐4 C‐8 D‐1 Blank program. DSA effective only at filler level<10% 2,2

Internal Bond MD (J/m2)

tion the d asT79 els, hese this h uch RDF ced wet igh the was rom her wettion The ion e of the age as be els, for ese his uch DF or on a e of gher not om tive her ntal etion the The ects of vity age ver, be rnal for as . 2) DSA ibre ge. or na of her not ive tal

tensile significantly significantly tensile A‐2 A‐2 A‐2

B‐4 B‐4 B‐4

0,50 0,50 0,50 C‐8 D‐1 0,45 C‐8 D‐1 C‐8 D‐1 0,45 0,45 Blank TABLE V. Summary of strength properties for DSA A and C 0,40 Blank Blank 0,40 0,40

% 0,35 Change 0,35 0,35

0% Ash

4-7% Ash

DSA A DSA C 2 kg/t 8 kg/t

0.2

4.0

0.5

0.2

2.7

-1.9

-5.6

-5.0

-0.1

-2.0

4.4

3.0

-8.0

-3.4

-4.6

4 4 3.3 4

6 6 8 6.8 1010 8.4 1212 -20.4 1414 -4.8 6 88 10 12 14 Ash content (%) -10.3 Ash content (%) 7.7 12.5 -15.3 Ash content (%)

16 -14.9 16 1818 18-1.4 16

Tensile 6.1 2.0 -14.6 6.6 (MD) Fig.Fig. 4. Effect of ash content onon rewetted tensile strength (C.V. Effect ash content rewetted tensile strength (C.V.≈≈≈9%). 9%). Fig. 4.4.Effect ofofash content rewetted tensile strength (C.V. 9%). Rewetted 77.6 -3.8 on 5.3 55.7 -19.1 5.3 37.0 -25.3 From thethestrength Tensile From strengthevaluation, evaluation,it itcan canbebeconcluded concludedthat thatonly only

From the strength evaluation, it can be concluded that only two of ofthethe four can two fourDSA DSAtechnologies technologies studied-17.0 canprevent prevent or Internal -3.0 -11.7 35.4 studied 26.1 7.8 oror 24.5 two of the30.4 four DSA technologies studied can prevent reduce the strength loss associated with the filler introduction. Bond the reduce thestrength strengthloss loss associated associated with with the the filler filler introduction. introduction. reduce TABLE summarises (Scott) VVV TABLE summarisesthe theimpact impactofof ofthe thetwo twomost mostefficient efficient TABLE summarises the impact the two most efficient DSA technologies (DSA A Aand DSA C)C)on the strength DSA technologies (DSA and DSA on the strength Surface 7.8 24.7 -17.3 -1.9 35.4 -11.6 16.9 DSA technologies (DSA A and DSA C) on the 6.0 strength properties of of paper at at thethe three filler levels studied. properties paper three filler levels studied. IGT properties of paper at the three filler levels studied.

Caliper

0.3 -0.1-0.1 1.2 -2.0-2.0 -0.5 4.44.4

-2.1 3.4 3.4

1.5 -10.8 -0.6 3.33.3 -4.8-4.8 6.86.8

2.1 3.4

-0.7

Tensile (MD) 6.1 6.1 Tensile (MD) Tensile (MD) -16.6 6.1 Porosity Rewetted Rewetted 77.677.6 Rewetted Tensile Water -12.2 Tensile 77.6 Tensile Internal Internal 30.4 drop Internal Bond (Scott) 30.4 Bond (Scott) 30.4 Bond (Scott) Lint CIBA -23.7 Surface IGT Surface IGT 7.8 7.8 Surface IGT 7.8

Lint IGT

0.0 3.0 3.0 3.0

2.8 -8.0 -8.0 -8.0

-3.4-0.1 -4.6 -4.6-0.2 -3.4 -3.4 -4.6

-0.1

-2.0

4.4

3.3

-4.8

6.8

13.2 -20.4 8.3 -14.9 -3.0 -1.4 12.2 -20.4 -14.9 -1.4 8.48.4 8.4 -20.4 -14.9 -1.4

7.77.7 7.7 5.1

12.5 -15.3 -15.3 -14.6 -14.6 6.6 12.5 6.6 12.5 -15.3 -14.6 -7.9 -13.9 25.6 6.6 -2.7

-1.5

2.02.0

13.0

-10.3 -10.3

2.0 15.8 -10.3 -19.1

-3.8-3.8 7.7 -3.8 -3.0-3.0 -3.0

5.35.3 58.8 5.3

-5.7

55.7 55.7 -1.8 55.7

-11.7 35.4 35.4 -11.7 -11.7 35.4

-24.5 24.7 52.6 -17.3 -25.7 -1.9 24.7 -17.3 -1.9 24.7

-17.3

-77.7 -39.0 36.5

-1.9

-57.2

-16.9

-19.1 -19.1 20.1 -19.1 26.1 26.1 26.1

4.5

-2.0

7.87.8 7.8

-76.2

-7.4

Effect on optical properties and printability bond (Fig. 3). In this situation, DSA alternatives are required to Effect Effecton onoptical opticalproperties propertiesand andprintability printability counter the lower fibre-to-fibre bonding caused by fibre substituaddition the usualstrength strengthloss, loss,the theintroduction introduction offiller filler InInIn addition tototo the usual ofof addition the usual strength loss, the introduction filler tion and high filler coverage. generally affects optical properties as well as the printability generally affects optical properties asaswell the generally affects optical properties wellas asoffset theprintability printability Since waterThe (fountain solution) uptake inshould presses affects thesheet. sheet. bestDSA DSA technology produce ofofofthe The best technology should produce aaa the sheet. The best DSA technology should produce sheet strength and pressroom runnability (breaks), we used the synergistic effect with the filler to optimise most of these synergistic effect with the totooptimise ofof these synergistic effect with thefiller fillerimprovement optimise most most these properties with significant in pressroom rewetted tensile strength test in order to predict the impact of filler properties with significant improvement inin pressroom properties withparticular significant improvement runnability, inhighly highly demanding orpressroom 5 colour as well as DSA alternatives. In thedemanding domain studied, filler load runnability, inininparticular inin 444oror 5the runnability, particular highly demanding 5colour colour offset presses. did not impact significantly the rewetted tensile (Fig. 4). Most offset presses. offset presses. DSAaddition decreased the water pick-upin(lower The of slightly filler caused a decrease calipermoisture from theafter The addition ofoffiller a adecrease inincaliper from the The addition fillercaused caused caliper the be increase sheet (Fig.with 5).decrease Reduction of the from calender immersion) in density comparison reference. However, it can increase sheet density (Fig. 5). Reduction ofof the calender increase sheet density (Fig. 5). Reduction the calender loading could minimise this but starch based DSA B seen that DSA alternative A effect, can provide a significant pressroom loading could minimise this but based DSA loading could minimise thiseffect, effect,caliper. butstarch starch based DSABB would still contribute to the lower This is an important runnability improvement if needed. would still to the lower This isisananimportant would stillcontribute contribute theconsidered lowercaliper. caliper. observation that musttobe as itThis will affectimportant printing From the strength evaluation, itasas can be concluded that only observation that must bebe considered ititwill affect printing observation that must considered will affect printing quality and end use properties. two of the four DSA technologies studied can prevent or reduce quality and end use properties. quality and end use properties. As fillerassociated introduction significantly changed the expected, strength loss withover the5% filler introduction. Table V AsAs expected, filler introduction over changed expected, filler introduction over5% 5%significantly significantly changed sheet structure and caused increase the linting summarizes the impact of an theimportant two most efficientofDSA technolosheet structure and ananimportant increase ofofby the linting sheet structure andcaused causedThis important increase the linting propensity of the sheets. effect was observed pull-tape gies (DSA A and DSA C) on the strength properties of paper at propensity propensityofofthe thesheets. sheets.This Thiseffect effectwas wasobserved observedby bypull-tape pull-tape the three filler levels studied.

Effect on optical properties and printability

In addition to the usual strength loss, the introduction of filler generally affects optical properties as well as the printability of the sheet. The best DSA technology should produce a synergistic effect with the filler to optimize most of these properties with significant improvement in pressroom runnability, in particular in highly demanding 4- or 5-colour offset presses. pulpandpapercanada.com

1,00 1,00 1,00

44 4

C‐8 C‐8 C‐8

D‐1 D‐1 D‐1

66 88 10 10 6 8 10 Ash content (%) Ash content (%) Ash content (%)

Blank Blank Blank

12 12 12

14 14 14

111888

16 16 16

0,80 0,80 0,80 0,60 0,60 0,60 0,40 0,40 0,40 0,20 0,20 0,20 0,00 0,00 0,00

24.5 24.5 24.5

-50.4 -55.0

22 2

B‐4 B‐4 B‐4

Lint Lintreductions reductionsbecome become Lint reductions become significant significantonly onlyat at filler filler significant only at filler level level>10% >10%filler. filler. level >10% filler.

1,20 1,20 1,20

-17.1

-53.0 52.7 -47.8 -43.5 35.4 -11.6 -11.6 16.9 35.4 6.06.0 16.9 35.4 -11.6 6.0 16.9

00 0

1,40 1,40 1,40

37.0 -25.3 -25.3 5.35.3 37.0 36.6 20.8 -25.33.9 5.3 37.0

-17.0 -17.0 -17.0

A‐2 A‐2 A‐2

Fig. 5. Effect of ash content on sheet caliper (C.V. ≈ 2.4%).

A‐2 A‐2 A‐2

00 0

22 2

B‐4 B‐4 B‐4

44 4

C‐8 C‐8 C‐8

66 6

D‐1 D‐1 D‐1

10 88 10 8 10 Ash content (%) Ash content (%) Ash content (%)

Blank Blank Blank

12 12 12

14 14 14

16 16 16

18 18 18

Fig. 6. Effect Effectofof ash content on pull-tape linting propensity Fig.6.6.Effect ashcontent content on pull-tape pull-tape linting propensity propensity (C.V. ≈≈ 30%). Fig. ofofash Fig. 6.≈Effect ash contenton on pull-tapelinting linting propensity(C.V. (C.V. ≈30%). 30%). (C.V. 30%). 3,5 3,5 3,5

Sametrends trendsas aspull-tape pull-tape method method (Fig. (Fig. 6) Same Same trends as pull-tape method (Fig.6) 6) except B-4which which is ineffective ineffective except B-4 is except B-4 which is ineffective

3,0 3,0 3,0

Linting IGT (%) Linting IGT (%) Linting IGT (%)

Density Burst Burst Burst

-0.3 2.1 2.1

60,0 60,0 60,0

Fig. 5. Effect Effect of ash content oncaliper sheet caliper (C.V. ≈ 2.4%). Fig. ofofash (C.V. Fig.5.5.Effect ashcontent contenton on sheet sheet caliper (C.V. ≈ ≈ 2.4%). 2.4%).

Linting (% area) Linting (% area) Linting (% area)

0%0% AshAsh 4-7% Ash 10-12% Ash 4-7% Ash 10-12% Ash 0% Ash 4-7% Ash 10-12% Ash Properties DSA A ADSA C CBlank DSA DSA A DSA C Blank DSA DSA DSA A DSA DSA A DSA DSA C A DSA DSA DSA DSA A C A CC C DSA A DSA C Blank DSA A Blank DSA A DSA C Properties Properties DSA C Blank DSA A 8 DSA C Blank 2 kg/t 88 8kg/t kg/t 2 kg/t kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t kg/t kg/t 2 kg/t kg/t 88 kg/t Blank Blank Properties 22 kg/t 8 kg/t 2 kg/t 2 2kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t kg/t 8 kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t Stiffness 0.2 4.0 0.5 0.2 2.7 -1.9 -5.6 -5.0 Stiffness 0.2 4.0 0.5 0.2 2.7 -1.9 -5.6 -5.0 Brightness -0.1 -2.6 0.4 -0.4 -1.5 6.2 -5.63.3 -5.0 0.0 Stiffness 0.2 4.0 0.5 0.2 2.7 -1.9

65,0 65,0 65,0

50,0 50,0 50,0

Change

% Change % Change % Change

70,0 70,0 70,0

55,0 55,0 55,0

TABLE SUMMARY PROPERTIES TABLE V. SUMMARY OFSTRENGTH STRENGTH PROPERTIES TABLEV. VI. Optical and OF printability test results summary TABLE V. SUMMARY OF STRENGTH PROPERTIES FOR DSA A AND C FOR DSA A AND C % 0% Ash 4-8% Ash C 10-12% Ash FOR DSA A AND

Opacity Tear (CD) Tear (CD) Tear (CD)

Only A-2 does not reduce caliper Only Only A-2 A-2does doesnot notreduce reducecaliper caliper

75,0 75,0 75,0

Tear 0,20(CD) 2.1

0,20 0,20 2 2 Burst 0 0 3.4 0 2

80,0 80,0

10-12% Ash

Properties DSA A DSA C Blank DSA A DSA C Blank 0,30 0,30 0,30 2 kg/t 8 kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t 0,25 Stiffness 0,25 0,25

The use of a proper DSA technology will reduce the linting The use of a proper DSA technology will the technology will reduce reduce the linting linting propensity as proper well asDSA maintain the benefits on brightness, propensity as well as maintain the benefits on brightness, well as maintain the benefits on brightness, PEER REVIEWED caliper/density and absorption properties caliper/density and and absorption absorption properties properties

Caliper (µm) Caliper (µm) Caliper (µm)

Rewetted Tensile MD (kN/g) Rewetted Tensile MD (kN/g) Rewetted Tensile MD (kN/g)

0,55 0,55 0,55

A‐2 A‐2 A‐2 C‐8 C‐8 C‐8 Blank Blank Blank

B‐4 B‐4 B‐4 D‐1 D‐1 D‐1

2,5 2,5 2,5 2,0 2,0 2,0 1,5 1,5 1,5 1,0 1,0 1,0 0,5 0,5 0,5 0 00

6 8 10 12 14 16 18 66 88 10 12 14 16 1188 10 12 14 16 Ash content (%) Ash content (%) Ash content (%) Fig. 7. 7. Effect ashash content on IGTon linting (C.V. ≈ 14%).(C.V. Fig. Effectofof content IGTpropensity linting propensity 2 22

4 44

Fig. Fig.7.7.Effect Effectofofash ashcontent contenton onIGT IGTlinting lintingpropensity propensity(C.V. (C.V.≈≈14%). 14%).

≈ 14%).

The addition of filler caused a decrease in caliper from the increased sheet density (Fig. 5). Reduction of the calender loading could minimize this effect, but starch-based DSA B would still contribute to the lower caliper. This is an important observation that must be considered as it will affect printing quality and enduse properties. As expected, filler introduction over 5% significantly changed September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

T80

NEWSPRINT TABLE VII. TECHNOLOGY SELECTION TABLE VII. Technology selection

440 390

Water Drop Absorption Time (s)

T81

340

A‐2

B‐4

C‐8

D‐1

Impact DSA DSA – A – A DSA –DSA C –C Impact (Reactive PAM) (Cationic starch) (Reactive PAM) (Cationic starch) Strength (Kraft vs. Filler) + ++ Strength (Kraft vs. Filler) + ++ Linting propensity +++ + Linting propensity +++ + Retention / Fines Retention / Fines Management ++ ++ ++ ++ Management Drainage + + – Drainage Steam /Steam Refining – + / Refining + Deposits / Biological – + Deposits / Biological + Production / Production / PM Runnability + – + PM /Runnability Brightness Caliper NA – Brightness / Caliper NA −

Blank

290 240 190 140 0

8 10 Ash content (%)

Fig. Effect of ash content on water (C.V. ≈ 7%).(C.V. ≈ Fig.8.8. Effect of ash content onabsorbency water absorbency

7%). TABLE VI summarises the relative impact of the filler on opticalstructure properties printability for the two most sheet and and caused an important increase of theefficient linting DSA technologies studied (DSA A and DSA C). propensity of the sheets. This effect was observed by pull-tape (Fig. 6) and IGT (Fig. 7) methods. The water drop test or sheet TABLEwas VI.driven OPTICAL PRINTABILITY TEST absorption by the AND filler content, a consequence of the RESULTS SUMMARY reduced porosity and/or the increased density of the sheet (Fig. 8) The use of0%a Ash proper DSA 4-8% technology will reduce % Change Ash 10-12%the Ash linting propensityDSA as well as maintain the benefits on brightness, caliper/ A DSA C Blank DSA A DSA C Blank DSA A DSA C Properties kg/t 8 kg/t properties 2 kg/t 8 kg/t 2 kg/t 8 kg/t density and2 absorption Brightness -2.6 0.4 relative -0.4 impact -1.5 of 6.2 3.3 on optical 0.0 Table VI-0.1 summarizes the the filler properties and printability for the two most efficient DSA techOpacity -0.3 0.3 1.2 -0.5 0.0 2.8 -0.1 -0.2 nologies studied (DDAA and DSAC) Density

-2.1

1.5

-10.8

Caliper -0.7 -1.5 13.0 CONCLUDING REMARKS

-0.6

13.2

8.3

-3.0

12.2

-5.7

-16.9

4.5

-2.0

-17.1

This reveals-19.1 that some DSA technologies can Porositystudy-16.6 15.8 5.1 -7.9 -13.9 25.6 maintain -2.7 the dry strength of papers while others will be more useful at Water drop -12.2 7.7 58.8 -1.8 20.1 36.6 20.8 3.9 maintaining parameters such as papermachine and pressroom Lint CIBA -23.7 -24.5 52.6 -25.7 -53.0 -47.8 runnability and printing quality which may all52.7 be affected by-43.5 filler Lint IGT -77.7 -39.0 36.5permitted -57.2 -76.2 -7.4 -50.4two-55.0 increases. Results obtained to identify the most efficient technologies among many of the latest available products with their respective positive and negative impacts on such properties as machine and pressroom runnability, machine deposit CONCLUDING REMARKS propensity, paper properties and printing quality improvement. This study reveals that some DSA VII. technologies can maintain These findings are reported in Table theThe dry final strength of papers while others will bealso more usefulthe at selection of the best technology requires maintaining parameters such as papermachine and pressroom analysis of the current mill overall fines and fillers recovery process, runnability and printing quality which may all be affected by system and strategy, including shared machine white waters, and filler increases. Results obtained permitted to identify the two the use of a more sophisticated machine retention and drainage most efficient technologies among many of the latest available program. products with their respective positive and negative impacts

on such properties as machine and pressroom runnability,

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS machine deposit propensity, paper properties and printing This work has been financially supportedare by reported the Natural quality improvement. These findings in Sciences TABLE and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and VII. by the Ciba Industrial Chair on Paper Chemicals. The authors The final selection of the best technology also requires the analysis of the current mill overall fines and fillers recovery process, system and strategy, including shared machine white waters, and the use of a more sophisticated machine retention and drainage program.

would like to thank Imerys for supplying the clay and for related recommendations. The participation of the following people to theACKNOWLEDGEMENTS trial was also greatly appreciated: Luc Croteau and JeanPhillippe Specialty Chemicals), for theirbytechnical ThisLalonde work (Ciba has been financially supported the Natural help before and during the trial, and the pilot papermachine Sciences and Engineering Research Council ofteam Canada at CIPP. (NSERC) and by the Ciba Industrial Chair on Paper Chemicals. The authors would like to thank Imerys for LITERATURE supplying the clay and for related recommendations. The 1. RANKIN, P. Trends in 100% DIP Newsprint Quality, Preprints 91st PAPTAC Annual the (2005). following people to the trial was also Meeting,participation Montreal QC, pp.of 239-244 2. Fillersgreatly for Newsprint, Imerys Technical Imerys,and October 2009. appreciated: LucGuide, Croteau Jean-Phillippe Lalonde 3. READ, J.I., “Dry Strength Additives” in Stock Preparation Vol. 6, R.W. Hagemeyer (Ciba Specialty Chemicals), for their technical help before and and D.W. Manson Ed., Pulp and Paper Manufacture Series, PAPTAC, 86-98 (1992). during trial, andChemistry” the pilotin papermachine teamVol. at CIPP. 4. SCOTT, W.E.,the “Papermaking Paper Machine Operations 7, B.A. Thorp Ed., Pulp and Paper Manufacture Series, PAPTAC, 140-191 (1992). 5. IGT Information leaflet W31 PICKING, IGT method, aluminium disc IGT AIC25T2000, Global Standard Tester P/1/1-W, July 2006. 6. IGT Information leaflet W70 LINTING, rubber 65 Shore A IGT AIC2-5T2000, REFERENCES Global Standard Tester P/1/1-W, July 2006. 7. BROUILLETTE, F., CHABOT, B., MORNEAU, D. and DANEAULT, C., 1. of New RANKIN, P., Additives “Trendsin Wood-Containing in 100% DIPPaper Newsprint Quality”, Evaluation Lint Reduction Manufacturing, Pulp and PaperPreprints Can. 107:T47-T50 PAPTAC Annual Meeting, Montreal QC, 91st (2006).

pp. 239-244 (2005).

2. “Fillers forcharges Newsprint”, Imerys Technical Guide, Résumé: L’ajout de dans le papier journal est un moyen effi- Imerys, cace de réduire les coûts par le remplacement de fibres et l’économie October 2009. d’énergie. L’intégration de charges améliore différentes propriétés physiques telles la blancheur et l’opacité du papier, mais au détriment 3. caractéristiques READ, J.I., “Dry de Strength in Stock de ses de résistance, peluchage Additives” et de poussiérage. Preparation Vol. R.W.dans Hagemeyer D.W.etManson Par conséquent, l’aptitude au 6, passage la machineand à papier la presse Ed., à imprimer peutPaper être affectée négativement. mieux 86-98 Pulp and Manufacture Series,Pour PAPTAC, comprendre les effets de l’ajout de kaolin au papier journal dans un (1992). contexte nord-américain, des essais ont été effectués sur la nouvelle machine à papier pilote du CIPP en utilisant différentes charges et une feuille gm2. On a W.E., aussi ajouté certains additifs de résistance à sec 4.de 45 SCOTT, “Papermaking Chemistry” in Paper sélectionnés afin de minimiser les pertes ou7,d’améliorer les propriétés Machine Operations Vol. B.A. Thorp Ed., Pulp and physiques de la feuille. Notre étude révèle que certaines technologies Paper Manufacture (1992). peuvent conserver la résistance Series, à sec duPAPTAC, papier alors140-191 que d’autres sont plus utiles pour protéger des paramètres comme l’aptitude au passage machine à papier et la presse et la IGT qualitémethod, 5. dans IGTla Information leaflet W31à imprimer PICKING, d’impression, qui peuvent tous être affectés par des augmentations aluminium disc IGT AIC2-5T2000, Global Standard de charge. Tester P/1/1-W, July 2006.

Keywords: NEWSPRINT, FILLER, STRENGTH 6. IGT Information leafletDRY W70 LINTING,ADDITIVES, rubber 65 Shore PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, PRINTABILITY

A IGT AIC2-5T2000, Global Standard Tester P/1/1-W, 2006. F., Paradis, J., Lafrenière, S. Pilot Paper Machine Reference:July Brouillette,

Production of Newsprint Using High Filler Loads and Dry Strength Tech7. Pulp BROUILLETTE, F., CHABOT,(Sep./Oct. B., MORNEAU, D. and nologies, & Paper Canada 111(4):T77-T81 2010). Paper DANEAULT, C.,Meeting “Evaluation of NewQue., Lint Reduction presented at the PAPTAC Annual 2010 in Montreal, February 2-3, 2010. Not to be reproduced without permission of PAPTAC. Manuscript Additives in Wood-Containing Paper Manufacturing”, received December 1, 2009. Revised manuscript approved for publication by Pulp and Paper Can. 107:T47-T50 (2006). the Review Panel May 17, 2010.

Keywords: Newsprint, Filler, Dry Strength Additives, Physical Properties, Printability

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

pulpandpapercanada.com

TECHNOLOGY NEWS Nine Dragons chooses X-Trim for paper machine trim optimization

LONDON — Nine Dragons Paper Industries Co., Ltd., the largest producer of containerboard products in China, has signed a five-year agreement to use Greycon’s X-Trim to optimize trim efficiency for its paper machines. X-Trim allows paper mills to get the greatest possible output and value from each roll of paper, minimizing waste, and to make production schedules as efficient as possible. “A critical factor in Nine Dragons’ decision to use X-Trim was the tight integration with SAP,” said Constantine Goulimis, CEO of Greycon. “Building on top of the certified, Powered-by-NetWeaver integration between X-Trim and SAP’s SCM (APO), Greycon was able to demonstrate dynamic pegging to finished and semifinished inventory. This powerful new feature allows Nine Dragons to optimize its paper machines by consuming just the right amounts of stock. The dynamic nature of the pegging means that inventory reservations are kept as flexible as possible.” X-Trim was chosen after an evaluation process that spanned more than two years and included extensive on-site trials. “These trials clearly demonstrated the significant benefits X-Trim provided in both trim efficiency and planner productivity,” added Goulimis. Implementation of X-Trim has already begun, with the first phase scheduled to go live in August 2010. Greycon Ltd. +44 207978 0700, www.greycon.com

Formaldehyde-free insolubilizer improves the coated surface of paper and paperboard

Omnova Solutions introduces a patentpending, formaldehyde-free insolubilizer that improves the coated surface of paper and paperboard, offering enhancements at every step of the printing process. OmnaRez™ 4332 insolubilizer is a modified, blocked glyoxal-based resin that delivers exceptional cross-linking, resulting in reduced water sensitivity of the paper or board coating and pre-coat. It acts as an efficient fast-curing mechanism for insolubilizing hydroxyl-functionalized binders such as polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol and starch. OmnaRez 4332 insolubilizer offers advantages to coating formulators who require excellent high sheer rheology and viscosity and a broad pH range. “OmnaRez 4332 insolubilizer has been shown to be two to three times more pulpandpapercanada.com

Metso-supplied paper machine exceeds design capacity

Less than five months after its startup in March, the new PM 2 paper machine at Propapier PM2 GmbH in Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany, exceeded its design capacity of 2,090 tonnes per day. On July 23, 2010 PM 2 produced 2,099 tonnes of corrugating medium (Wellenstoff) and testliner 3 at an average basis weight of 109 g/m2. Machine efficiency reached 99.2 %. This achievement was made possible by optimization work performed by the whole Propapier team in co-operation with Metso. efficient than other commercially available insolubilizers. This allows our customers to use lower amounts to achieve optimum performance, resulting in reduced formulation costs. Also, because OmnaRez 4332 works over a broad pH range, it can be used in formulations where other insolubilizers lose effectiveness,” said Jim Vaughn, Omnova solutions market manager, paper chemicals. Omnova Solutions 330-628-6511, www.omnova.com

Dispersion coating technology has environmental benefits

Paperboard and packaging manufacturers have a new option to reduce costs and improve the lifespan of paperboard packaging. New Zealand scientists have developed a new water-based dispersion coating technology that has environmental benefits, reduces water vapour transmission, increases packaging box recycling options, is lighter than conventional waxed boxes and improves their strength. The breakthrough comes from Scion, a New Zealand government-owned research company, through a project led by Dr. Behudin Mesic.

Propapier PM2 GmbH is part of Progroup AG, a group of companies offering products and services for the corrugated board-converting industry. After the start-up of PM 2, the annual tonnage of Progroup AG’s two paper mills equals 1 million tonnes of containerboard. Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. Metso, www.metso.com Scion’s technology involves the application of a water-based dispersion coating to the surface of paperboard to form a non-porous film. This dispersion coating is based on a proprietary kaolin clay/talc/latex formulation. The formulation proved inexpensive compared with alternatives and met a number of environmental and commercial goals. Packaging suppliers typically overweight their paperboard packaging by up to 40% to minimize product failure. Tests have shown that the new coating significantly improves corrugated board performance in high humidity, meaning that wood fibre content in boxes can be reduced significantly, making them lighter and easier to handle. Industry trials conducted by Scion and a commercial partner showed that the barrier coating improved creep behaviour, resulting in a 50% increase in box life compared with an uncoated box. Commercial-scale trials in New Zealand and Australia have tested the large-scale application of the dispersion coating technology to boxes and found the formulation had good runnability, printability and glueability properties. Scion, www.scionresearch.com

September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

TECHNOLOGY NEWS Kadant Canada acquires screen basket supplier, dewatering equipment line

Kadant Canada Corp. has completed the acquisition of Filtration Fibrewall Inc., a Canadian supplier of pressure screen baskets, and a dewatering equipment product line from a related company. The dewatering equipment, which includes twin wire presses and screw presses, extends Kadant’s fiber processing offerings and will be sold worldwide through the company’s existing sales organization. The patent-pending Fibrewall screen cylinder design features non-welded construction, built in the round, to minimize stress and distortion and allow for maximum screening efficiency. The robust mechanical assembly and high-precision wire positioning system allow for tight slot width tolerances and a high degree of consistency. As a result, the Fibrewall cylinder maximizes screening efficiency and provides for a high capacity flow through the pressure screen in both virgin and recycled fibre applications. “This technology-based acquisition serves to enhance our product offering to pulp and paper mills and we believe it is the top performing screen basket in the market today,” said Jeffrey L. Powell, senior vice-president of Kadant Inc. “We have seen a number of Fibrewall screen baskets performing well in extremely challenging applications, including several running in Kadant equipment.” Kadant Canada 613-931-2305, www.kadant.com

Real-time macrostickies measurement

Under a license agreement with FPInnovations, Technidyne will manufacture, sell and service FPInnovations’ macrostickies measurement technology worldwide. The FPAutoSpeck is a fully automated analyzer that determines light and heavy macrostickies in recycled pulp using image analysis. This technology is the first in the world to provide real-time feedback. The FPAutoSpeck automatically counts and categorizes macrocontaminants from up to four different process lines. Whether the unit is operated in the manual mode for the survey of contaminants in the mill or in the automatic mode for control, it saves time and money by providing immediate feedback to operators when evaluating incoming stock, screening, and chemical processes. Technidyne will provide installation, training, instrument repair, parts sales, preventative maintenance and 24-hour customer support. “We are very confident that this new collaboration with Technidyne will provide a cost-competitive advantage to the pulp and paper industry,” says Chris Kanters, national director, intellectual property, contracts and licensing for FPInnovations. “Our research programs are driven by the high-priority technical issues of the industry such as product quality, innovation and value, cost competitiveness, environment and sustainability.” FPInnovations is a Canadian, not-for-profit forest products research institute which performs research, technical services and technology transfer activities relating to wood harvesting, wood products, pulp and paper, nanotechnology, bio-energy and chemical production. Technidyne Corp. 812-948-2884, www.technidyne.com

Forming fabric delivers improved sheet quality and lower costs per ton

Formexx introduces a new platform for forming fabric technology. Enhanced Drainage Channel (EDC) geometry is created by a higher concentration of machine-side yarns, fewer sheet-side machine direction yarns and more cross-machine direction yarns. The result is a fabric with very high surface open area and superior fibre support. The Formexx weave also provides an extremely stable fabric, ideal for application on the most

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

demanding machine positions. Benefits include: enhanced formation; high drainage rates; higher sheet quality; reduced energy consumption; and a wider former operational window Xerium Technologies, www.xerium.com

On-line sensor measures formation like a papermaker

Metso has introduced a new scanning formation sensor, called Metso IQ Formation Measurement, which uses high-speed image capture and analysis technology to define small-scale sheet uniformity. Machine

operators can quickly optimize sheet formation visually and meet formation index specifications while the paper machine is running. The sensor resolves sequential, instantaneous pictures of the sheet as it scans across the paper machine and displays them on the QCS operator interface. A formation index and other numerical data which defines the distribution of fiber floc and void sizes are determined by the sensor’s sophisticated image analysis software. Metso 514-335-5426, www.metso.com

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September/October 2010 PULP & PAPER CANADA

OUTLOOK

Round Table on R&D

Charting the Future for the Western Industry

uring PacWest, an exceptional panel representing a cross-section of R&D providers, funding agencies, and decision makers assembled at Sun Peaks to debate the future of R&D for the western pulp and paper industry. Chaired by Paul Watson (Canfor Pulp), the panel was composed of Andy Garner (AG&A Inc.), Tom Rosser (Natural Resources Canada), Dick Kerekes (UBC, Emeritus), Markus Zeller (BC Hydro), Patrice Mangin (CIPP), Jean Hamel (FPInnovations) and Robert Parisotto (BC Forestry Innovation Investment). The session started with a report commissioned in 2009 by BC Forest Innovation Investment (FII) and authored by Andy Garner — Key Products and Technical Priorities for the BC Pulp and Paper Industry. This report updated a similar one produced in 2006. Based on extensive feedback from the industry, it confirmed that local fibre and local conditions are the predominant factors governing R&D needs. It recommended 10 initiatives: • Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) killed wood needs a good value chain model • Optimized refining for MPB kraft pulp • Extending the shelf life of MPB wood • Improved kraft pulping of MPB wood • Demonstration of the specific advantages of BC pulps through pilot machine trials • On-line sensing for chips and pulp quality • Developing methods to improve BC pulps • Development of new products from BC pulps • Reducing pulping costs • Implementation of best practices for product development. The panel speakers described the available resources and capabilities of 46

their institutions to further these initiatives. Tom Rosser reported that the federal government, even during these times of fiscal restraint, was making unprecedented investments to enable innovation, markets and programs to diversify the forest products sector. Examples are a two-year, $40-million Pilot Scale Demonstration Program (PSDP) to accelerate commercialization of the outcomes of the Transformative Technologies program and, in 2011, the four-year, $100-million Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program (IFIT) which will build on the PSDP. Dick Kerekes provided an overview of the UBC Pulp and Paper Centre. The UBC PPC continues to deliver internationally recognized research and technical solutions and is a major player in three national NSERC Strategic Networks: Innovative Green Fibre products, SENTINEL Bioactive Paper, and Biomaterials and Biochemicals. All three are focused on new products for the future, for example, non-traditional fibre-based products and chemicals and materials from lignin. In addition to product-focused research, the Centre has expanded its capabilities in fibre processing research with the installation of a new mill-scale pulp refiner in its pilot plant. The current focus is on energy reduction in mechanical pulping. Markus Zeller spoke extensively about innovation and the benefits of collaborative R&D, noting that “research turns dollars into ideas whereas innovation turns ideas into dollars.” BC Hydro Power Smart offers demonstration project funding and coordinates industry, utility and government interests. He observed that four of the 10 initiatives identified in the Technical Priorities report directly impact energy management. Patrice Mangin stressed the urgent

PULP & PAPER CANADA September/October 2010

need to support innovation through R&D coordination, efficient networking and financing. He announced the formation of Innopap, a new venture encompassing four world-class research organizations: International Coating Centre (CIC), Integrated Pulp & Paper Centre (CIPP), FPInnovations, and Quebec Institute of Graphic Communications (ICGQ). Innopap will market its capabilities to the USA and to China and plans to assist with networking outside the traditional forest products sector. He noted that funding networks were great, but there is a real need for demonstration facilities, otherwise Canada’s leadership position will be lost. Jean Hamel reported that the plastics industry output would double from 300 million t/yr in 10 years, hence fibre composites will be needed to fill the shortfall. He outlined a number of the resources available at FPInnovations. He also suggested that Canada needs to develop a culture of transferring research findings to the market place. The take-home message from this session was succinctly provided by the final speaker Rob Parisotto. Unlike the solid wood sector, B.C.’s pulp and paper industry does not speak to government with a single voice, he noted. Hence, the messages are mixed and unclear. Parisotto encouraged the sector to make its voice felt and its needs known in a unified way, and to work closely with provincial and federal bodies. Following the meeting, Andy Garner, Dick Kerekes, and Paul Watson agreed to undertake such an initiative, which is now in its formative stages. PPC

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