Technical Theme : Pulp
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Technical Theme: Pulp
PULP FACT … ‘LESS IS MORE’ IN THE SEARCH FOR COST, RESOURCE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The new business logic demands a comprehensive cost-effective audit of high-quality raw materials, base paper furnishes, advanced production processes and a steadily smaller load on the environment. By Tom Nickull, Vice President in charge of technical customer service, Metsä Fibre
Tom Nickull Vice President in charge of technical customer service, Metsä Fibre
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ustainability, high-quality and raw material savings - these are the crucial principles needed to help customers adopt cleaner, more sustainable and more cost-effective production processes. Metsä Fibre’s strategic objective is to produce high-quality products sustainably
and to form partnerships that produce significant value to customers. The goal is to ensure that customers can use pulp as efficiently and sustainably as possible. This means high-quality raw materials, base paper furnishes that are as costeffective as possible, advanced production processes and a steadily smaller load on the environment. Business logic has taken on a whole new direction over the years. In the past, the only goal was to maximise the volume of pulp sold, but now customers are helped to achieve cost, resource and energy efficiency. ‘Less is more’ really is an apt catchphrase in this respect. To fulfil our aims, we must provide a lot more than just raw material deliveries - customers are now seeking to save as much water, energy and raw materials as possible.”
Higher quality with fibre comparisons and simulation Pulp comparisons and base paper structural simulations are the first steps
A steadily smaller load on the environment: Metsä Fibre's Äänekoski bioproduct mill
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Tissue World Magazine | September/October 2021
in technical added-value services. They are based on databases and simulation software used to compare different fibre pulp grades and their properties, as well as to assess the impact of changes on the properties of end products. Tissue customers often look for softness, smoothness or strength for their products, such as kitchen towels. Based on these criteria, we work with the customer to find the best possible fibre combination. Simulation is usually followed by pulp refining audits and they provide a deeper analysis of fibre grades, resource efficiency and processes that save raw materials. Simulations indicate the starting point for changes. Refining audits show everything that needs to be adjusted in the processes before the changes can be implemented on the production line. For example, an inefficient refining process that consumes a lot of energy can easily cause problems in other parts of the production process. This reduces the efficiency of
