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This document has been produced to support pump users at all levels, providing an invaluable reference tool. It includes information on the Pulp and Paper processes and provides guidelines as to the correct selection and successful application of SSP Rotary Lobe Pumps. Main sections are as follows: 1. Introduction 2. General Applications Guide 3. Pulp and Paper Process Overview 4. Pulp Process 5. SSP in the Pulp Process 6. Paper Process 7. SSP in the Paper Process 8. Pump Selection and Application Summary 9. Pump Reference List
The information provided in this document is given in good faith, but Alfa Laval Ltd is not able to accept any responsibility for the accuracy of its content, or any consequences that may arise from the use of the information supplied or materials described.
Contents
Section 1.0: Introduction
Introduction of SSP Pumps in the Pulp and Paper Industry Page 3
9 10 11 13
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19 22 26 29
31 32 34 37
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1.0 Introduction
Little can happen in modern life without paper or board. We depend on this paradoxical material. It is permanent or transient; delicate or strong; cheap or expensive; in abundance or scarce. It can be preserved in a museum or thrown away. It can decompose in water, yet boat hulls have been made from it. It is made and used by the millions of tonnes or may be so rare that only a few tonnes of hand-made paper are produced in a year. Paper may be impregnated, enamelled, metallised, made to look like parchment, creped, water-proofed, waxed, glazed, sensitised, bent, turned, folded, twisted, crumpled, cut, torn, dissolved, macerated, moulded, embossed. It may be coloured, coated, printed, marked and the mark erased. It can be laminated with itself and with fabric, plastic and metal. It may be opaque, translucent or transparent. It may be made to burn or made to be fireproof. It may be a carrier or a barrier or a filter or may be made tough enough to withstand acid or soft enough for a babys skin. It may disintegrate or it may be re-used. The range of possible uses of paper seems almost limitless. New ways of using it are being devised daily. This evolution will continue because paper is an expression of everyday living. As a recognised market leader in pumping technology SSP Pumps has been at the forefront of supplying rotary lobe pumps to the pulp and paper industry for over 50 years. SSP rotary lobe pumps are to be found in many stages of the pulp and paper making process, including the Coating Kitchen, at the Size Press and on the Coating Section, where their reliable low shear flow characteristics offer gentle handling of shear sensitive media and provide long trouble free service.
By-Products
Sampling
Waste
Raw Material
The Process
Final Product
Services
Opportunities
By-Products
Sampling
Waste
The Process
Raw Material
Final Product
Within the pulp and paper industry typical application areas for SSP Pumps are to be found in: Chemical Dosing Coating Feed Coating Recovery Sizing Transfer
The table below indicates the typical pumped media found and which pump series can be generally applied:
Media Handled Alum Anti-Foaming Agents Black Liquor Black Liquor Soap Calcium Carbonate Casein Cellulose Derivatives China Clay Slurries Dyes Latex Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Rosin Starch Synthetic Adhesives Tall Oil Titanium Dioxide Waste Sludge
Pump Series A G
RAW MATERIAL
Chemical Pulping
Sulphite Pulping
Groundwood Pulp
Mechanical Pulping
Refiner Pulp
PULP
PAPER
The primary source of cellulose is trees, particularly spruce, pine, birch and eucalyptus. Modern papermaking uses both virgin fibres (not recycled) and recycled fibres, depending on the requirements of the final product and also very much depending on national legislation.
The purpose of pulping is to separate the fibres so that they may be reformed into a sheet of paper. The production of pulp from virgin fibres is divided into two main categories: chemical pulping and mechanical pulping.
4.1
Chemical Pulping
Chemical pulping is the process by which the lignin in the wood is dissolved to create a pulp, and is the most commonly used pulping process. Chemical pulping creates higher sheet strength than mechanical pulping, but yields 40-50% pulp where mechanical pulping yields 95%. There are two main types of chemical pulping, the more common sulphate pulping (otherwise known as Kraft pulping) and sulphite pulping. Kraft pulping accommodates a variety of tree species, recovers and reuses all pulping chemicals and creates a paper with a higher sheet strength. Sulphite pulp, however, is easier to bleach, yields more bleached pulp, and is easier to refine for papermaking. The major difference between the two types of chemical pulping is the types of chemicals used to dissolve the lignin. Kraft (Sulphate) Pulping The makeup chemical for sulphate pulping is essentially sodium sulphate. The three main steps involved in Kraft pulping are: 1. Digestion: where the wood chips are cooked. 2. Washing: where the black liquor is separated from the pulp. 3. Chemical recovery: where chemicals are recovered from the black liquor for reuse. Turpentine and tall oil may also be recovered at this stage. Kraft pulping creates dark brown paper, which is used for boxes, paper bags, and wrapping paper. Kraft pulp can also be used for writing paper and paperboard when bleached. Sulphite Pulping Sulphite pulping follows many of the same steps as Kraft pulping. The major difference in sulphite pulping is that the digester cooks with a mixture of sulfurous acid and bisulphite ion in the form of calcium, magnesium, sodium, or ammonium bisulphate. The chemicals separated from the pulp in the washers may or may not go into a recovery process. Chemical recovery in sulphite pulping is practiced only if it is economical to do so. If chemical recovery does occur the liquor goes through an evaporator and then to a recovery furnace. Here, smelt is not formed, but ash and sulphur dioxide (SO2) are formed. The pulp produced is of lower physical strength and bulk to Kraft pulp, but exhibits better sheet formation properties. Sulphite pulps are blended with ground wood for newsprint and are used in printing, bond papers, and tissue.
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4.2
Mechanical Pulping
Mechanical pulp yields over 90% of the wood as fibre. The two principal methods in mechanical pulping are grinding (groundwood pulp) and refining (refiner pulp). Groundwood Pulp With this method the logs are pressed against a large rotating stone with a hardened surface layer. The wood is compressed and thereby also softened. Shear forces between the grinding stone and the wood surface pull the fibres out of the wood. Grinding at atmospheric pressure is called stone groundwood pulping (SGW), whereas grinding at elevated pressure is called pressure groundwood pulping (PGW). The pressurized process is more beneficial to the fibres, giving a much stronger and better pulp. Refiner Pulp In the manufacture of refiner pulp, wood chips are used rather than whole logs. Here the wood chips and hot water are fed between enormous rotating steel discs with teeth that literally tear the wood apart. Trees contain up to 30% lignin, a material that is sensitive to light and degrades, and turns brown in sunlight, which explains why papers made from mechanical pulp will discolour. An example of this is newsprint. Newsprint is designed to have a short life span, and if left for a long period of time will lose its whiteness and strength. The special advantages of mechanical pulp are that it makes the paper opaque and bulky.
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Tall oil can be further processed to produce turpentine. This is a distillation process, which produces a number of products such as, water, turpentine, resin/rosin, pitch and bitumen. In some cases the bitumen is mixed with fuel oil and burnt.
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To put this into context, it should not be imagined that the installation of a new papermaking machine is like the supply of a filter, a centrifuge or even a machine tool. The investment is much higher. In most cases a complete new papermaking machine will cost in the range of 70 - 150 million. The scope of a paper machine is therefore of the same order as an Oil Refinery or Petrochemical Plant. The paper mill can be either integrated with the pulp mill or a stand-alone unit. Integrated mills are usually the case with the large mills found in North America and Scandinavia. In the UK and other countries with a very small amount of pulp production, bales of pulp are imported. Some mills also use recycled paper. If the mill is integrated then the pulp is pumped from the pulp mill at a concentration of 2 to 4%. It is dewatered to 10-12% and stored in a tank (stock chest). If the paper mill is not integrated then the dry, baled pulp is dissolved in water in a so-called pulper. After the pulper a number of operations follow, such as screening and centrifugal cleaning, after which the pulp slurry is pumped to the stock chests. A considerable number of chemicals are used which include defoaming agents, dispersants, fillers, filler retention aids, sizing agents and dyes. Although there are alternative points of addition for chemicals, most are added to the stock before it reaches the paper machine, but some can be added right up to the wire.
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The wet end of the machine consists essentially of a flow box and slice, a wire part and press part. The flowbox is sometimes referred to as the head box or breast box. The combined flow and slice, and sometimes the slice itself, are often referred to as the stock inlet. The main functions of the open flow box are to provide the necessary gravity head of stock to give the correct discharge velocity through the slice opening onto the wire, and to even out the flow of stock across the width of the box, thereby giving a uniform consistency of stock on the wire, avoiding any channeling from inlets that would result in an uneven grammage across the width of the web. For every tonne of paper produced on a paper machine, the slice requires 100 to 500 tonnes of water. The basic function of the paper machine is to remove this water and up to 97% of it has to be extracted on the wire part. The removal of this large quantity of water has to be carefully controlled, for it is on the wire part that the web of paper is first formed and many of its characteristics established. The process of water removal on a paper machine is accomplished (1) by free drainage, (2) by suction on the wire part, (3) by pressing on the press part and (4) by evaporation in the dry part. Of the total water removed on the machine, up to 97% is taken out on the wire part, up to 2% on the press part and 1% on the dry part. At each successive stage in the process it takes more equipment to remove water and thereby adding cost.
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In the wet end and press section of the paper machine, water is removed from the sheet by natural drainage, by forced drainage over the vacuum boxes and by squeezing in the presses. The main characteristics of the sheet formation are produced in these sections but the paper still contains up to 70% water as it enters the dryer section. The manner in which the sheet is dried is very critical and good characteristics built into the sheet at the wet end of the machine can be severely impaired through bad drying. Conventional dryer sections consist of double rows of steam heated drying cylinders, which are normally 1.5m in diameter. The total number of drying cylinders can exceed 80 with from 6 to 14 dryers in a group driven together. The grouping and number of cylinders in a dryer section depend on the grade of paper being made and the speed of the machine; for the same grade of paper the faster the machine the more the cylinders will be required. It is the length of time the paper is in contact with the drying cylinder, which determines its effect on water removal.
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6.1
Sizing
Cellulosic fibres are naturally absorbent and paper made from untreated fibre will possess a degree of absorbency dependent on the origin of the fibre and the amount of beating. Absorbent papers are clearly unsuitable for water-based writing inks, which will spread, or feather from the point of contact. Chemicals can be added to prevent this and make such paper suitable as a writing substrate. This process is known as sizing. In the early days of papermaking, sizing was carried out as an after-treatment. The technique, known as tub-sizing, consisted of passing the paper through a solution of gelatine. It has been superseded, except for speciality papers, by engine-sizing or beater-sizing, which as the latter name implies, consists of adding sizing agents to the beater. Rosin, together with aluminium sulphate, known as alum to the papermaker, were the original sizing materials added to the beater and this combination is still the most widely used. The 1960s saw the introduction of synthetic sizing agents for this purpose, with further developments continually ongoing. Todays sizing agents need no longer for the beater to be their only point of addition. Solutions of rosin and alum are now added batchwise, or continuously, at most points in the wet-end section, in order to accommodate other chemicals and to achieve optimum effect. Rosin Rosin is a brown, brittle substance, originating from wood through a number of processes, gum rosin being a residue from the stream distillation of pine tree gums. The most important modern sources provide wood rosin and tall oil rosin. The wood rosin is obtained from tree stumps, which are chipped, steam distilled to drive off turpentine and finally extracted. Tall oil rosin is a by-product of the kraft (sulphate) pulping process. It is recovered from the liquors, which also contain lignin. Rosin reacts with alkali to form a soap and saponification (neutralisation) with sodium hydroxide or carbonate will yield true solutions or a water-soluble powder. The powder is dry size, whilst the normal selling strength for the saponified rosin solution is 70%. In use, this is diluted to a convenient strength for either batch addition to the beater, hydrapulper, etc, or continuous addition. The rosin solution may be added before or after the alum (since the reaction between the two is rapid) to produce a finely dispersed hydrophobic precipitate on the cellulose fibres. Alum Alum to the papermaker is aluminium sulphate and not the double salt so-named by chemists. It is available in different qualities, the best grade having minimum iron content in order to maintain a low colour level for high quality and white paper. Alum is added to precipitate the rosin, but other cationic active chemicals can, of course, react with rosin. None appears to have as great a sizing-effect as alum, but they can, nevertheless, interfere with the rosin-alum interaction. The presence of cationic chemicals must therefore be taken into account when considering their points of addition. Some alum is usually added before the rosin when other cationic chemicals, including hard water, are present. Alum and rosin should never be mixed before addition to the stock and in the case where these are added at the same point, e.g. the beater or hydrapulper, it is best to allow the first addition to mix thoroughly with the pulp before making the second. Both can be added continuously at the same point provided that thorough mixing is possible at that point.
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The alum/rosin ratio is dependent upon the required degree of sizing and the individual machine conditions, but is usually in the range of 1.5/1.0 to 3.0/1.0 with saponified rosin. Emulsion sizes, in theory need no alum, but some is usually added to assist the breaking of the emulsion. Solutions of alum are acidic due to partial hydrolysis, which yields sulphuric acid. The acidity remains after the reaction with rosin and regulation of pH is one method of controlling paper properties including, of course, sizing. At common alum levels, the pH of the system is 4-5, but this does not always give the desired properties, so adjustments are sometimes made. Lower pH values are produced by simply adding more alum, whilst for higher pH values sodium aluminate is often used. As might be expected higher pH values can reduce sizing, and hence sodium aluminate is best added to the beater or hydrapulper in order to raise the pH of the returning backwater temporarily to a level which will aid the efficiency of other additives, before the pH is later reduced to its working level. Alum fulfils other functions besides sizing and pH control. These include fixation of acid, direct and pigment colours, assistance in filler retention and foam control, acid catalysis of wetstrength resins, pitch and slime control, and water and effluent treatment. Synthetic Sizes Almost without exception synthetic sizes are designed for use in neutral/alkaline sizing systems. Neutral sizing with synthetic sizes started in the early 1960s and although still used this is relatively minor compared to the use of rosin/alum under acid conditions. The number of suitable wet end sizes, which operate with pH at 7, is fairly limited, and future development work has been directed towards size press chemicals due to effluent controls. Hydrolysis is a potential problem area, but is overcome by making emulsions of the sizing agent with a cationic starch and using the mixture quickly after its preparation. Such chemicals can also be used in the presence of alum, thereby adding a degree of flexibility to the system. Maleic anhydride co-polymers and cationic acrylic co-polymers are also suitable for use at pH 7 and without external fixation. These types of sizing agents are also designed for size press application. Another proven neutral sizing system is based on free rosin, which has a low alum requirement. Even a small alum addition will give an acidic pH, but chalk may be added to counteract this. Unfortunately, chalk and alum interact and sizing is lost. However to remedy this, the chalk can be protected; the alum can be added later in the system; a cationic chemical can replace most of the alum. A combination of all three techniques can be applied simply and with high efficiency. Whichever neutral sizing system is used, it can create problems with dye retention, especially with direct dyes, which are most widely used in good quality papers. Although some dyes have a high natural affinity for cellulose, others require alum, and all show improved retention and fastness with alum or a cationic fixing agent. The absence of alum and the neutral pH in synthetic sizing systems give a similar effect to that produced in tissues which have not been sized and the same remedy can be applied i.e. the use of a cationic dye-fixing agent. Auxiliary Sizing Materials The materials described briefly below have little or no true sizing effect, but are added to the beater hydrapulper to provide other properties on final paper, such as dry strength. Starch has the widest application as a stock additive in this field. Unmodified qualities require cooking (heating in water at about 90C) before use, but pre-gelatinised grades are already
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cooked and are therefore water-soluble. Only about 50% of such starch is retained by the pulp, i.e. a 2% addition on the weight of the pulp will lose 1% to the backwater. Cationic starches give almost 100% retention and, although it is not normally expected, they offer the possibility of acting as retention aids. Starches are used to improve sheet strength (burst and tensile), pick resistance, handle, rattle and physical characteristics in general. It is therefore possible to use lower quality pulps to achieve a given effect or to improve the performance of better pulps. They also allow a reduction in beating or refining, thereby providing energy savings. Sodium Carboxymethycellulose (SCMC) is a more expensive alternative to starch although it is more efficient in providing the same properties. It is available in a wide range of viscosity grades, depending upon the chain length. The medium to high viscosity grades are those recommended for stock addition to the pulp. Alginates and mannoglacaton gums give similar effects to those imparted by starch but are generally more expensive. However, alginates give better creping properties to tissues and galactomannose gums are used for dry strength.
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6.2
Coating
Coating pigment on to the paper is a process that produces a printing surface that will reproduce the fine detail of a plate, and also give a considerably enhanced image. For example, illustrations in a magazine printed on a high quality paper use a wood-free coated paper, a Sunday paper colour supplement uses a mechanical coated paper and a newspaper uses uncoated paper. Pigment coating produces a surface which is receptive to ink, and will give a lift to an ink image, besides being both even and flat. It will also improve print definition by reducing the lateral spread of ink and give a better-printed result that can be obtained by printing on uncoated paper. Coating can also be used to produce special effects, to give protection against chemicals or moisture, as for example, in packaging papers that have low moisture vapour permeability, or in the manufacture of imitation tablecloths. In some of these applications pigments may be replaced by other materials. Coatings are also used in the production of speciality papers, such as, pressure sensitive carbonless papers, photographic papers and silicone release papers. Here again the pigments may be replaced by other materials such as dye capsules, silver halides, or silicone. The coating process can be performed either on-machine or off-machine, i.e. the coating unit is located on the paper machine or the paper reel is taken from the papermaking machine and run through a completely independent off-machine coater. Coating Process The steps in the coating process are: 1. Preparation of the mix 2. Application 3. Metering 4. Smoothing 5. Drying 6. Calendering or Supercalendering 1. Preparation of the mix In the coating kitchen, accurately weighed amounts of coating materials are dissolved, or cooked, or dispersed before being blended together, screened and led to the coating head. 2. Application Application is the presentation to the base paper of a film of coating material, so that transfer is readily effected. This is usually accomplished by a roll (an applicator roll) rotating in a bath of coating mix, or rotating against another roll that is rotating in a bath of coating mix; or it may be accomplished by direct application of mix to paper as in a fountain coater. 3. Metering This ensures that the correct amount of coating is applied to the base paper, or it ensures careful removal of excess coating to leave the correct amount. 4. Smoothing Originally on brush coaters, the coating was smoothed by a series of brushes graded from coarse to fine, driven across the paper by a reciprocating mechanism. Today smoothing is achieved by high-speed rotation of a stainless steel roll in contact with the coated surface. 5. Drying Coating is usually applied with a solids content of 12 - 70% and must be followed by drying. This is achieved by evaporation on drying cylinders or via tunnel driers whereby the paper is transported over rolls or on a felt through the drier, having air blown on to the paper at high temperature and velocity, until the excess moisture or solvent is evaporated.
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6. Calendering and Supercalendering Calendering of a coating surface will develop gloss and smoothness by the polishing action of the steel rolls. In a pigment coating system there are basically three raw material constituents: a) Base material or substrate (usually paper) b) Adhesive or binder c) Pigment Base Paper The base paper must have the following important properties: 1. The degree of sizing This regulates the receptivity of paper to a particular method of coating mix. 2. Finish and porosity These factors control the pick-up of ink and the bond of coating base, and finish may obscure a defect otherwise visible through the coating. For example, a wire mark can often be covered up with a coating. Thus, within these constraints the paper needs to be not too porous, and reasonably smooth. A soft bulky sheet will have an advantage over a hard sheet since it will have fewer tendencies to curl after coating, and it is also a better paper for subsequent printing. Brightness and opacity are also important. Nevertheless these two properties should be near to those of the coating, or the use of excessive coating weight may be demanded, to overcome low brightness or transparency of the base. 3. Runnability This is of the greatest importance. It was originally looked upon as requiring paper strength and clearly the base must be strong enough to be pulled through a machine when wet, but what is more important, it must also be uniform and free from defects. This is particularly significant on a high-speed off-machine coater, which must run for reel after reel, using a flying splice arrangement without stopping to be economical. Adhesive or Binder This is used as a vehicle for the pigment suspension in binding the particles together and to the base, and to a limited extent also fill in the voids between the pigment particles, thus reducing ink receptivity. The amount of binder used can vary between 10 - 30% of the dry weight of the coating, and is a function of a particular paper. This amount must clearly be optimised in each mix, since if too little is used, picking or dusting of the coating will arise on printing. If too much is used, it will cover the pigment in the coating mix, leading to too high an ink resistance and too low an ink gloss. The distribution of the binder through the coating determines its effectiveness. Binders fall primarily into the following groups: Casein This is a protein obtained from the acidification of milk. It has good film-forming properties and sizing effect, and with formaldehyde can produce a waterproofing effect. Animal Glue This was one of the original binders used but has been mainly superseded by cheaper adhesives, although it still has specialised uses where high gloss and water repellence are required. Starch This is the most important adhesive used. It is relatively inexpensive although its binding strength is lower than that of casein, thus allowing a higher proportion to be used in a mix. Starch is easy to work with and is capable of producing high-solids content mixes due to its low viscosity and is therefore commonly used for on-machine
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coating. It can be made water resistant, and is compatible with latex, with which it is used. Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) This is a water soluble resin produced by hydrolysis of Polyvinyl Acetate. It has very high bonding strength and can be made water resistant, and is best for producing solvent resistance. Cellulose Derivatives These are highly viscous water-soluble materials, with high oil resistance, such as Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC). They are therefore used when resistance to ink, varnish or lacquer is required. Synthetic Adhesives Typically these are styrene butadiene or acrylics, which when applied impart good gloss characteristics and reduce curl on one-side coatings. They are low in viscosity and have excellent binding properties. Also they are available with high solids content and can therefore be used to make a high solids-content mix, which requires less evaporative capacity to dry. Until recently, synthetic adhesives were used in combination with starch or casein. However, there is now a growing tendency to use synthetics by themselves, as sole binders, which eliminates the cooking equipment and energy required in the preparation of natural adhesives. Pigments Many attributes of coating pigments are similar to those of papermaking loadings i.e. They need to have good brightness, gloss, and opacity, and therefore a high refractive index. Be insoluble in the suspending medium, which is usually water. Upon coating provide a uniform, smooth surface of good appearance by filling in the irregular spaces in the surface of the base material. Additionally for coating purposes special properties are required i.e. Have a suitable particle size range and distribution, thus controlling light scattering and viscosity. Be absorbent and thus accept printing ink. Have a low adhesive demand. Be inert to other components of the mix or materials. Commonly used coating pigments are as follows: China Clay This constitutes approx. 90% of all pigments used in paper coating. The particle-size distribution in coating clay is carefully controlled by the manufacturer, a typical sample being 80% of particles < 2mm diameter. A decrease in average particle size causes an increase in gloss and opacity, but also an increase in demand. In preparation for coating, the clay in water suspension, must be mechanically agitated by stirring, and chemically treated by a dispersant, to prevent flocculation. Typical dispersants are Sodium Hexametaphosphate (Calgon) and Sodium Polyacrylate (Dispex). Calcium Carbonate This is another widely used pigment often used in conjunction with clay. It produces a wide range of properties, particularly brightness, opacity, smoothness and ink receptively, but has a high adhesive demand. Particle size is usually between 2 - 3mm, but can extend to 7 - 8mm, and it readily disperses in water with Calgon.
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Satin White This once popular material of co-precipitated calcium sulphate and alumina is now being used much less, as it is very expensive. It will produce a high gloss and bright colour but has a high adhesive demand. It is used in conjunction with other pigments. Titanium Dioxide This material has a high refractive index of 2.7, and is used to increase opacity and brightness, but is very expensive. It is used in small quantities on lightweight papers, because without its application they would be low in opacity. Special Materials Special materials in coating mixes produce special effects i.e. For carbonless copying papers dye capsules are incorporated in the coating, which break under pressure therefore producing an image. Incorporation of light-sensitive silver halides in the manufacture of photographic papers. Zinc oxide coating in the manufacture of electrostatic copying papers. It must be emphasised that although the term speciality coatings gives the impression of coatings of insignificant importance, this is not the case. These technologically sophisticated, high-priced papers represent a substantial tonnage of papers, and represent an important part of the market.
Typical paper rolling
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6.3
Stock Additives
Many chemical additives are made to the stock at different points before the paper machine. All or most of these additions were made in the beater, hence the commonly used term beater additives. In many mills beaters have been replaced by Hydrapulpers or similar disintegrators and refiners. The chemical additions are made at points right up to the wire, known as stock additives or wet end additives. For the majority of these additives, there are alternative points of addition, but some are much more effective if added at the right place. Thus, starches and pitch control agents are best added at the beater or Hydrapulper, and filler retention aids should be added as near to the paper machine as possible. Where contact between the fibres and the additive is particularly desirable, the beater or Hydrapulper is a very convenient point of addition - where such contact is less important or detrimental, many benefits are gained by later addition. In all cases the retention of the additive by the web is important, as poor retention results in inefficiency due to the use of expensive materials and contamination of the backwater. Routine additions at the beater or paper machine wet-end stage include sizing agents, mineral fillers, starch and associated products and dyes. Chemicals to give special effects, e.g. wet-strength, and to control such machine problems as foam, slime and pitch, are added as required and are described below. Although optimum total retention is a basic requirement, interaction at the wrong time can reduce efficiency. Other Additives Slimicides Bacterial contamination of the stock from the air, fresh water, virgin pulps and waste papers, is unavoidable. The wet end also provides ideal growth conditions for these bacteria. The result is a build up of slime, which, if not controlled, can cause breaks on the machine and dirt in the paper. The addition of a slimicide chemical, such as Methylene Bisthiocyanate, helps to avoid any slime build up. Anti-Foaming Agents Foam is another problem, where aeration of the stock is a common cause since it often has naturally foaming constituents, such as saponified rosin. Foam can occur anywhere in the wet end section, but in the early stages rarely causes problems. The main problem area is if foam reaches the wire, where it can cause pin-holes, fish-eyes and breaks in the sheet, as well as overflowing from the backwater pit. To prevent foam formation, anti-foaming agents are added such as, emulsified mineral oils, self-emulsifying fatty acid derivatives, colloidal silica and silicones. Filler Retention Aids Pigment fillers also require retention aids to prevent loss in the backwater, and cationic polymers are usually added, although some anionic and even non-ionic chemicals can achieve a similar effect. The polymers are completely different from dye retention aids, and are generally based on polyamides, polyacrylamide, or polyethylene imine. Wet-Strength Agents Various chemicals are available to improve the wet-strength of paper and these are used in such grades as wrappings, tissues, paper sacks, etc. Urea-formaldehyde and Melamineformaldehyde resins are commonly used and have a range of qualities, most of which require curing on the machine and running under acid conditions. Other chemical types can operate under neutral conditions, e.g. in tissues, such as, polymide resins, modified starches, emulsified elastomers, etc. It is important that the correct agent is used for particular papers. Pitch Control Agents Pitch (wood resin) is present in some pulps e.g. unbleached sulphite and mechanical wood, and at the start of the papermaking process. To prevent agglomeration, which leads to
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blocking of felts and wires and, in extreme cases, to breaks on the machine, the pitch must be either precipitated on to the fibre at an early stage, or held in a dispersed form until it is incorporated into the web at a later stage. Remedial action must take place in the beater or hydrapulper. Alum or other cationic chemicals will precipitate the pitch, whilst anionic dispersing agents are available to keep it in a dispersed form. Talc is also used to absorb pitch, whilst also acting as a filler. Fillers Fillers are essentially water-insoluble, white inorganic materials, which may be added to the stock. They were originally used in paper mainly to reduce the cost, and with the cheaper fillers e.g. china clay and chalk, this can still be of considerable importance. However, they also impart specific properties to the paper, such as improved printability, brightness, opacity, smoothness, soft handling and dimensional stability. By filling the interstices of the sheet, they provide for a smoother surface than fibre alone, and improve print definition as ink is absorbed more readily. Their interference with fibre bonding leads to a softer sheet and improved dimensional stability, but does tend to reduce strength and the degree of sizing. They also increase the number of air-cellulose interfaces, which by scattering light, improves opacity. Those with high refractive indices promote opacity in their own right. Commonly used fillers are as follows: China Clay China clay has the benefit of being chemically inert and therefore can be used in its natural state with any type of sizing agent, acidic or alkaline. Commercial quantities are available in a wide range of particle sizes and brightness levels, the finer and brighter grades being used in high quality papers. The use of china clay provides a smooth receptive surface that easily accepts printing ink, and although not as opaque as some more expensive fillers, it is satisfactory for many types of paper. Chalk Naturally occurring chalk tends to be of coarser particle size than china clay, hence it increases matt surface to the paper. However, as it reacts with the acidic alum used in conventional sizing, its use as a filler is restricted. Commercially Calcium Carbonate is available to the papermaker as ground, naturally occurring calcium carbonate or as synthetically prepared precipitated calcium carbonate. The precipitated calcium carbonate is produced in various ways, most common being the passing of Carbon Dioxide through milk of lime (Calcium Hydroxide) or by the reaction of soda ash (Sodium Carbonate) with milk of lime. Another source of calcium carbonate is from the alkali recovery stage in the Sulphate process. These socalled protected chalks are coated with starch and a polymer. As chalk is inexpensive compared to china clay, and with the introduction of neutral or alkaline sizing, this has led to an increased use of chalk as a filler. Titanium Dioxide Titanium Dioxide with its high refractive index provides excellent opacity and brightness to paper, especially useful for thin bible papers, laminate base papers and waxed papers. Titanium Dioxide is also used in combination with other fillers, such as China Clay, whereby in order to reduce costs the proportion of Titanium Dioxide is kept to a minimum. Thus a typical addition to a white lining for box boards is 10% China Clay, 3% Titanium Dioxide. The use of fillers in such liners is to make the brown shade of inner piles of waste paper from which the board is formed.
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The comparatively high cost of Titanium Dioxide has led to the use of synthetically prepared fillers e.g. Sodium Aluminium Trihydrate. These can be used to replace a proportion of the Titanium Dioxide with virtually no loss of opacity, thereby reducing costs. They are however, not suitable for such partial substitution of Titanium Dioxide in waxed papers. Titanium Dioxide absorbs ultra-violet radiation to a much greater extent than other fillers. It is therefore not economical to use fluorescent brightening agents in papers in which Titanium Dioxide is the only filler. The synthetically prepared fillers referred to above are often incorporated with Titanium Dioxide in such cases, since by reducing the absorption of the ultra-violet radiation they enhance the effect of the brightening agent.
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Paper Industry
System Builders
Eng. Cos
Batch Systems
Starch
Starch Cookers
Synthetic Adhesives
Starch Preparation
Titanium Dioxide
31
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Gear type pumps can be found on some applications but generally there presence is low, existing by default having migrated from the Chemical industry. A comparison of Rotary Lobe, Progressing Cavity and Gear pump technologies strengths and weaknesses is given below:
Progressing Cavity Lobe - elastomeric Lobe - traditional
Pump Technology
Strength
Ability to pump abrasive media Compact size Easy maintenance Easy re-start Low capital investment Low energy consumption Low shear pumping Reduced lifecycle cost (versus others compared) Reduced lifecycle cost (versus Progessing Cavity) Single seal required Growing presence and acceptance High efficiency Large global presence Robust construction Suction capability Traditional concept Wide current acceptance Wide range of displacements
Weakness
Ability to pump abrasive media Capital cost Dry running capability High spares cost Large size (versus others compared) Material compatibility Pulsation Pumped media contamination Two seals required Whole life cost Limited presence Limited range of displacements Still gaining acceptance Suction capability Bold typeface shows attributes that are considered relevent in this industry. Grey typeface shows attributes that are considered not relevent in this industry.
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Gear
The John Crane Safematic mechanical seal is a double acting, balanced, heavyduty design cartridge seal specifically engineered for use in the Pulp and Paper industry. The cartridge design provides easy installation and the double balanced design allows operation with pressurised or non-pressurised seal water. The SAF double acting balanced seal ensures reliable performance and long lifetime under demanding conditions.
The Sealol 680 mechanical seal is a low temperature, general duty Alloy-20 metal bellows shaft seal used on many applications in the Pulp and Paper industry. The self-cleaning design of the bellows ensures that as the seal rotates any suspended particles in the pumped media are thrown off, unlike spring-type seals that may clog up.
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Bearing Isolators
To reduce maintenance SSP rotary lobe pumps should be supplied fitted with bearing isolators as standard in the Pulp and Paper industry. The bearing isolator is a mechanical device that isolates the bearings from its environment ensuring that the bearings are kept properly lubricated and uncontaminated throughout its projected design life. The bearing isolator is designed to outlast the life of the pump bearings, thereby reducing maintenance costs.
Bearing isolators can be fitted to all pump drive ends, but due to gland area space limitations can only be fitted to the gland end of pumps fitted with particular mechanical seal types please consult our Customer Services for further advice.
3 off Series A pumps on paper coating in a major UK paper plant
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Fluid can be become dilatant at high concentration and shear rate Fluid can be become dilatant at high concentration and shear rate Seal selection dependent upon temperature and concentration
Seal selection dependent upon temperature and concentration Fluid can be become dilatant at high concentration and shear rate
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Customer
Location
Country
Jylharaisio Oy
Oulu
Finland
Tervakoski Oy Hokuetesu Paper Joutseno Pulp Stone Savannah River Union Camp Kruger Kyro Oy Jylharaisio Oy Appleton Paper Kruger Blandin Paper Repap Niagara Paper Kruger Niagara Paper ITT Rayonier Gillman Paper Kruger Kruger Hokuetesu Paper Brittains (TR) Townsend Hook Wausau Paper J.M.Huber Kaukas Oy Appleton Paper Potlatch Corporation Waldorf Paper Niagara Paper Tembeck Paper Kruger
Tervakoski
Finland Japan
Joutseno Augusta, Georgia Savannah, Georgia Quebec Kyroskoski Oulu Appleton, Wisconsin Quebec Grand Rapids, Minnesota Kimberly, Wisconsin Niagara, Wisconsin Quebec Niagara, Wisconsin Jessup, Georgia St.Marys, Georgia Quebec Quebec Hanley Snodland, Kent Brokaw, Wisconsin Wrens, Georgia Lappeenranta Appleton, Wisconsin Cloquet, Minnesota St.Pauls, Minnesota Niagara, Wisconsin
Finland USA Canada Finland USA Canada USA Canada USA USA USA Canada Canada Japan UK USA Finland
USA
USA
Quebec
Canada
Donside Paper Sittingbourne Paper Blandin Paper Kruger Jylharaisio Oy Enzo-Gutzeit Oy Jylharaisio Oy
Aberdeen UK Sittingbourne, Kent Grand Rapids, Minnesota Quebec Oulu Imatra Jylharaisio Finland USA Canada
Qty
6 5 1 1 1 1 2 4 10 6 6 5 12 5 1 2 3 6 10 1 2 4 1 3 1 2 1 2 10 4 4 1 2 2 3 1 2 4 2 4 3 4 2
Customer
Consolidated Paper Metsa-Seria Oy Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat Oy Tervakoski Oy 3M Blandin Paper Bois Cascade
Location
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Tampere Simpele Tervakoski Nekoosa, Wisconsin Grand Rapids, Minnesota International Falls, Minnesota Biron Division River Division, Whiting, Wisconsin
Country
USA Finland Finland
Consolidated Paper
Coating Supply
Gulf States Paper International Paper Mead Paper Niagara Paper Nicolet Paper Potlatch Corporation Simpson Paper Weyerhauser Blandin Paper Niagara Paper Champion Paper Consolidated Paper Consolidated Paper Inland Rome Kruger Mead Paper Blandin Paper Otis Speciality Paper Repap Niagara Paper Rhinelander Paper S.D.Warren Waldorf Paper Consolidated Paper Flambeau Paper
Demopilis, Alabama Texarcana, Texas Escanaba, Michigan Niagara, Wisconsin Depere, Wisconsin Cloquet, Minnesota Pasedena, Texas West Lynn, Oregon Columbus, Mississippi Grand Rapids, Minnesota Niagara, Wisconsin Sartell, Minnesota Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Kraft Plant Rome, Georgia Quebec Escanaba, Michigan Grand Rapids, Minnesota Jay, Maine Kimberly, Wisconsin Niagara, Wisconsin Rhinelander, Wisconsin Skowhegan, Maine St.Pauls, Minnesota Stevens Point, Wisconsin Park Falls, Wisconsin
USA
Coating Transfer
USA
USA Canada
Cooked Starch
USA
Dye
USA
Qty
1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 4 3 1
Customer
Kruger Kruger Blandin Paper Niagara Paper Kruger Jylharaisio Oy Hokuetesu Paper Brittains (TR) Blandin Paper Niagara Paper Kruger UK Paper Niagara Paper Jylharaisio Oy Appleton Paper Mead Paper Union Camp Flambeau Paper Consolidated Paper Consolidated Paper UK Paper Townsend Hook Consolidated Paper Jylharaisio Oy Kruger
Location
Quebec Quebec Grand Rapids, Minnesota Niagara, Wisconsin Quebec Oulu Hanley Grand Rapids, Minnesota Niagara, Wisconsin Quebec Sittingbourne, Kent Niagara, Wisconsin Oulu Appleton, Wisconsin Escanaba, Michigan Franklin, Virginia Park Falls, Wisconsin Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Sittingbourne, Kent Snodland, Kent Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Oulu Quebec
Country
Canada Canada USA Canada Finland Japan UK USA Canada UK USA Finland
Latex
Optical Brightener
1 1 1 3 4 5 3 2 4 2 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 2 2 3 2 5 2
Retention Aid
USA
Size
Canada Howe Sound Mead Paper Riverwood International Niagara Paper Blandin Paper Blandin Paper Kruger Blandin Paper International Paper Niagara Paper Bois Cascade Vancouver Escanaba, Michigan Macon, Georgia Niagara, Wisconsin Grand Rapids, Minnesota Grand Rapids, Minnesota Quebec Grand Rapids, Minnesota Jay, Maine Niagara, Wisconsin Rumford, Maine USA USA USA Canada USA
Starch Slurry
2 1 1 1 1 1 4 1
TiO2
Alfa Laval Ltd SSP Pumps Birch Road, Eastbourne East Sussex BN23 6PQ England Tel: +44 (0) 1323 414600 Fax: +44 (0) 1323 412515 www.ssppumps.com
B/302/0811