Sustainable paper making offerings from Voith

More sustainable paper manufacturing is being made possible with a range of offerings from Voith.

For example, a German graphic paper manufacturer reported that Voith’s SolarPress roll covers have enabled energy savings due to a 1.5 percentage point higher dry content after the press section.

Efficiency add-ons for press fabrics are another. In particular, +Peak technology, a speciallydeveloped elastomer material, optimises nip dewatering and increases the service life of a press fabric.

For one paper producer, +Peak resulted in higher dry content in the tandem press and reduced the average amount of steam by 11 per cent, from 1.6 to 1.43 t/ton.

In addition to energy savings, significant water savings are also enabled. Typically, customers benefit from HydroSeal, the modern version of sealing strips for suction rolls. At a board mill in the USA, HydroSeal is said to have reduced water usage by 80 per cent and saved the paper maker more than $30,000 per year in sealing strip lubrication.

“In addition to production that conserves resources as much as possible, it is important that the products themselves are also manufactured sustainably,” says Lidia Loskan, R&D project manager for sustainability at Voith Paper. Here, says Voith, it is important to be able to offer the same product properties as with petroleum-based roll covers and fabrics.

Voith’s R&D team is also working on new possibilities with the help of life cycle analyses (LCAs). As an example, Dr Robert Hilbing, senior vice president of R&D FRS at Voith Paper, highlights the newly launched AiroGuide Tune Green roll cover.

This is certified according to the international DIN CERTCO standard for bio-based products, and is the first of its type available that offers the same performance as petroleum-based alternatives. The fibre composite roll cover is manufactured with bio-based raw materials and was specially developed for the wetend section. It also has improved corrosion properties and a long service life.