Research and Development
The Divisions within the Business Area have focused their R&D activities on the development of technologies helping customers to maximize specific production parameters while at the same time reducing the use of media to a minimum (higher efficiencies and yields with less raw materials, use of natural resources, and lower energy consumption). R&D programs address the needs of capital equipment buyers as well as users to lower the total cost per ton produced.
Two major trends are driving customer investments today. First is the goal to reduce the investment cost per ton to its lowest possible level. This is leading to larger, single-line production units with no redundancy of systems. The second trend is to continue to make the production process more sustainable.
Andritz’s response to the sustainability requirement is evident in the new systems which have been adapted to the efficient processing of plantation fibers and technology which consume much less energy than its predecessors. As part of this, considerable R&D effort is being employed to more effectively utilize biomass as an energy source. Not only does this substantially reduce fossil fuel-based CO2 emissions, but it also enables many more pulping operations to become virtually energy self-sufficient.
Sophisticated simulation programs are being utilized to improve individual processes. Advanced control systems for all the fiberline process areas are being developed and tested.
The Divisions’ R&D programs in detail are as follows:
Wood Processing
Developing technology jointly with key customers is an essential step when implementing new products and applications. During 2006, new wood processing applications were under intensive development to contribute to the sustainability of the forest products industry.
Continued development of the RotaBarker™, a dry debarking technology which minimizes wood losses, now makes the technology suitable for processing softwood logs after it has proven the eucalyptus application. New types of debarking teeth are being tested to see if debarking efficiency can be improved even further.
Another new technology has been created for separating stones, sand, and other potentially damaging materials early in the process before damage is done to downstream equipment. The first new stone separator was recently installed in the debarking line of a mill in southern Europe.
Fiberline
Technology development in the Fiberline Division continues to focus on lowering the investment cost per ton of pulp produced. This is being accomplished through process simplification, increased specific capacity, standardization, and modularization. In addition, the work is continuing to make the pulping process more sustainable.
Recently, the development work in cooking and brownstock processing has resulted in higher yield and better fiber recovery from uncooked chips. For hardwoods, these yield improvements can result in up to 5% less wood usage for the same pulp output.
Less chemicals are now required for cooking and bleaching while benchmark pulp quality such as strength, cleanliness and brightness are being improved. Quality improvements in the pulping stage typically have a positive carry-over to paper production in terms of less raw material and chemical additives being required, in addition to there being fewer variations and process disturbances on the paper machine itself.
The milder conditions in reactors and simplified process designs are also consuming less energy. Reduced fresh water consumption and correspondingly lower effluent volumes have been achieved by introducing new fractional washing concepts and by pressurizing/closing process steps to prevent emissions to the atmosphere.
Many of these developments are now in practical application in the latest Andritz installations, for example at the Veracel mill in Brazil.
Recovery
Due to continuously rising energy costs for pulp and paper producers, a development program was launched to introduce advanced biomass-fired power boilers to the industry.
High oil and gas prices have triggered growing interest in using biofuels in lime kilns, which are still significant consumers of fossil fuels in the pulp mill. Technologists in the Recovery Division are reviving biomass gasification technology, which was developed for this purpose during the 1980s.
The next generation of High Energy Recovery Boilers (HERB) is taking shape through successful installations recently started up. Work continues on refinements such as new materials and new sub-processes.
Improved accuracy of CFD modeling (simulation of heat transfer and fluid streams within the recovery furnace) is being addressed in a large, partially publicly-funded project. The modeling helps designers better understand the internal behavior of the boiler in order to improve energy efficiency, minimize emissions, and minimize scaling. Andritz is also developing next generation automation to optimize the operation of a recovery boiler.
Chloride removal is becoming more important as mills close their chemical circulation loops to reduce emissions to the environment. A new, leaching-based chloride removal process is being developed to offer a lower cost alternative to the proven ash re-crystallization process (ARC).
Another contribution to sustainable development is the technology to reuse process fluids in other areas of the mill to minimize the consumption of fresh water. Key to this is the technology to split condensate streams inside the evaporation process and re-direct them to optimized areas of the mill.
Chemical Systems
The Chemical Systems Division is further developing its technologies to promote the environmental sustainability of a pulp mill. For example, a recently launched product for lime mud dewatering – the LMD-Filter™ – has been further enhanced to significantly reduce soda levels in the lime kiln feed. The new soda levels are well below previous achievements and serve to decrease emissions from the kiln even further. A two-stage LMD-Filter™ installed at a pulp mill in Austria has been operating with excellent results.
To address the customer requirement to manufacture more products at lower overall costs, the Division developed a larger kiln which can process 1,000 t/d of lime. The largest model is being delivered to a mill in Indonesia.
The Division’s new concept for green liquor handling has become widely accepted by customers. In 2006, the Andritz X-Filter filtration technology conquered a new market area, China. In Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Indonesia it has served in recausticizing processes for quite some time. Also, the application of centrifuge technology for dregs dewatering and washing is now being accepted by customers. The centrifuge eliminates using lime mud as a separation aid. The dregs from the centrifuge process are less bulky and better washed, which minimizes their impact in landfills. Also, the amount of material to be landfilled is reduced. Lime mud can be purged separately in an uncontaminated form, which allows it to be used as a soil amendment.
A new lime kiln at UPM’s Kuusaniemi mill in Finland will incorporate a burner which is a completely new technology. The LMD-Burner has lower NOx emissions and improved flame shaping, compared to existing technology.
Pulp Mill Services
The Division launched an aggressive program called LCP (Life Cycle Profits for customers) to support the sustainability targets of Andritz’s customers. It includes cooperation with the major research organizations in Europe and several projects to improve the maintenance of systems for pulping processes. The LCP projects are focused on developing predictive tools (such as online condition monitoring and diagnostics), proactive practices (such as efficient spare parts systems), and more durable materials for the equipment.
The other leading force for service development is the OPE® (Overall Production Efficiency) agreement where the target is to increase production and quality at each customer’s mill while reducing costs.
Many product innovations are taking place. A new type of sensor to measure acoustic emissions has been developed which gives more exact measurements. This sensor is being deployed to measure the wear in chipper knives and the condition of the sealing elements in DD washers. Special materials have been developed to lengthen the life of wear parts in wood handling and of rotors in screening applications. In the cooking process, two new style digester screen plates have been developed. For the lime kiln, a new advanced control system helps to reduce energy consumption, and an improved burner replaces oil with natural gas to reduce energy costs and emissions. New air port rodders in the recovery boiler improve efficiency and increase energy production of the boiler.
Fiber Preparation Systems
The Fiber Preparation Systems Division has been focusing its R&D for stock preparation on increasing system efficiency and reducing the amount of energy consumed. The results of this effort in the last year are the introduction of new low-consistency and high-consistency pulpers for both virgin and recycled pulp slushing as well as the new family of low-consistency refiners. There are also new under-machine pulpers.
Excellent operating results are being achieved with newly developed products such as SelectaFlot™ flotation, CompaDis™ dispersion, and Papillon™ refiners. After the acquisition of Pilão, the Division now has a TriConic® conical refiner in the Graz pilot plant to test the optimum refining solution for every customer application.
In support of sustainable development with reduced environmental impact, development work continues to introduce more competitive systems for wastewater, sludge, and reject handling.
Mechanical Pulping Systems
Development work in the Mechanical Pulping Systems Division focuses on reducing energy consumption and simplifying the processes to lower the investment/operating costs for customers.
Reducing energy consumption not only lowers costs, but also lowers the emission of greenhouse gases in support of the goals of the Kyoto protocol. In the area of energy efficiency, the Division has introduced to the market a pre-treatment process for wood chips prior to the refining stage (RT pre-treatment). Additionally, work is proceeding on the application of a low-consistency refiner as last stage, which will further reduce energy consumption and can also simplify the process.
The trend in sustainable development is to utilize different or new wood species in the production of paper – especially in countries where wood is a rare resource. One part of the Division’s R&D work is focused on the selection and testing of such species (eucalyptus, acacia, birch, maple, bagasse, reed, and kenaf). In combination with the use of new raw materials, emphasis is on reducing the total effluent dispatch from the mill. The Division is active in the development of zero-effluent technologies where all effluent streams from a mechanical pulp mill are collected, evaporated, and recovered. Fresh water consumption is significantly reduced and valuable chemicals can be recovered.
For the MDF industry, the Division is developing a new digester concept that reduces energy consumption and minimizes the moisture content of the fibers, resulting in lower energy costs for the overall process. Another project focuses on the development of an entirely new treatment process to turn mixed plastic waste into a raw material for new products, thus extending the value-added chain for this material.
With these developments, the Division supports environmental protection, material recycling, waste reduction, and sustainable management of limited resources.
Press and Calendering
Energy efficiency and cost savings continue to be major drivers for the paper industry. The R&D programs of the Press and Calendering Division are designed to accomplish both. Important to this is the continued development of extended nip calendering technology (X-Nip). In 2006, the Division not only installed a pilot machine in its technical center, but initiated detailed research to document which paper grades can be produced more efficiently and at higher quality with the X-Nip technology.
In addition, the Division developed a sheet transfer feeding system and sold the system to a customer. The Paper and Nonwovens research staff is working on new methods to produce speciality papers for gasoline filter systems. In this, the paper industry is benefiting from the Division’s extensive experience in the nonwoven area. Specifically finished nonwovens are laminated to specific paper grades, thus showing optimum product qualities. Similar research projects for development of new wet finishing technologies for nonwovens are on the research agenda.
Pulp and Paper Machines
Technology development for pulp drying lines continues to focus on lowering the investment cost per ton of pulp produced. The main research and development thrust is to increase the production capacity of a single drying line based upon Twin Wire Forming technology from approximately 3,500 t/d today to over 4,000 t/d or over 1,200,000 t/y of pulp. Energy consumption of the entire drying line has been reduced by simplifying the process and optimizing the biggest energy “consumers” in the line (e.g. thermal energy, vacuum sources).
Further development work for the process simulator on the sheet drying line has been carried out. A similar simulation tool for flash drying lines was installed for the first time at the Estonian Cell mill. In addition, there are developments to improve machinery uptime through advanced process control using BrainWave® sensors. An ACE™ (Andritz Control Expert) tool ensures stable and uniform operation of the machine automatically to minimize operator requirements and also minimize the steam and energy consumed.
Technology development for tissue machines centers around the deployment of a tool which dynamically simulates all mass and energy flows in tissue or TAD plants. Operators can be trained “virtually” to run the production line – doing start-ups, grade changes, and shutdowns in a safe, virtual environment.
Also in the tissue industry, a new generation of shoe presses became available with the acquisition of Andritz Küsters in 2006. Andritz received the first order for the PrimePress XT from a mill in northern Europe. The new shoe press shows improvements in all areas: machine direction profiles can be adjusted online, the smaller diameter makes it easier to retrofit on existing machines, together with other features to simplify and improve the reliability of the system.
A stable sheet run in the area between the creping doctor and reel is critical to runnability at high speeds. To secure this high runnability, especially for high speed tissue machines, the new PrimeRun system with advanced run components – air or dust deflectors, suction headers, active headers with low sheet contact, and guiding/stabilizing foils – has been developed and introduced to the markets.
The move by Andritz into TAD tissue production, starting with the first machine in 2004 and followed by two additional orders, is now successfully established. The Division is making steady improvements to allow more economic TAD production. Now a commercial solution is available which will reduce energy costs significantly.
Over the past few years, there has been a continuous rise in energy costs. Andritz has responded to this development in good time and marketed EconoFit and ECOS, two new control concepts which provide for permanent process analysis in paper drying, thus ensuring optimum energy use and reducing costs.
Paper Mill Services
Much of the R&D focus for paper mill services is on improving the efficiency of equipment already installed in a customer’s plant to lower the operating costs. To this end, the Division is developing engineered solutions to extend the operating life and add value to the production process. Examples of recent activities include programs to extend the maintenance cycles and refining precision of Twin 60 refiners, and developing new seals and bearings that can be retrofitted into the Bauer DD 485/495 refiner.
R&D programs for refiner plates focus on advancing the energy efficiency and continuously improving fiber quality. The acquisition of Andritz Pilão in Brazil further strengthens the company’s capabilities to produce high-quality conical refiner plates. Programs are underway to extend the operating life of cast plates and enhance the manufacturing techniques for fabricated plates.
In the stock preparation area, new techniques are being deployed for upgrading pulpers in virgin fiber and broke applications. Development work to improve the efficiency and durability of cleaner plants – from Andritz and other OEMs – continues to expand the market possibilities.
In the dewatering area, a major goal of the R&D program is to develop upgrade products to improve equipment performance and extend the maintenance intervals of disc filters, Twin Wire presses, and screw presses offered by different manufacturers. A patented coating for wear shoes on screw presses was developed to increase production rates and reduce abrasion significantly. A new filtrate valve and optimized filtrate channels of disc filters improves capacity and filtrate quality. Condition monitoring of bearings on Twin Wire presses alerts operators to potential problems before production is impacted.
The Division will also continue to link automation and optimization systems with its fundamental process/product knowledge as this has proven to be fertile ground for innovation.