“Demand for high-quality board, tissue and graphic paper grades is growing as sustainability remains at the forefront of the industry. Companies are actively looking for new ways to streamline processes, improve energy efficiency and reduce waste. Aikawa Fiber Technologies (AFT) is also on this path,” says Timo Koivisto From AFT.
Energy efficiency is achieved by, among other things, choosing the right equipment for the processes, optimizing the operation of equipment, and designing durable consumables for critical applications.
“When developing its POM process, AFT has removed excess volumes from the short cycle and efficiency has increased significantly. The process has very low pressure and density fluctuations. The stable supply pressure, which is higher than other systems, provides the most stable supply pressure for pumps in the short cycle. As air is removed immediately from the wire water, the short cycle water is air-free. This keeps the system clean and prevents dirt and blockages from forming. The process is completed by high-quality pressure sorting. The sorting process has focused on minimizing energy consumption and impurities, successfully eliminating harmful pulsation and maximizing capacity, giving the headbox and paper machine the most comprehensive protection possible,” says AFT. Kimmo Nurminen.
By minimizing mass fluctuations and pulsations, the energy efficiency of the system is also improved. The efficiency of the pumps also improves as the air volume is reduced.
“In addition, in the POM system, typical short-cycle sub-processes can be placed more freely in the customer's existing premises by taking into account energy efficiency and piping design in the most optimal way,” says Timo Koivisto.
“A Nordic packaging board machine compared the power consumption of POM short-cycle and alternative short-cycle and found that POM uses over 20 percent less energy compared to the alternative system. Air removal consumes energy, but at the same time POM increases material and overall efficiency as efficiencies improve and chemical dosing is reduced.”
The rotor at the heart of sorting
“AFT’s mass screen rotor technology has led to significant energy savings in many different applications. Energy savings are also achieved with reasonable investments, as slowing down the rotor speed usually only requires replacing the rotor,” says Kimmo Nurminen.
“AFT’s rotor range covers all the most typical applications in the paper and pulp industry. Among others, the GHC2 rotor offers an optimal balance between turbulence and an efficient suction pulse, so the energy saving potential is around 30 percent.”
According to AFT, energy consumption in low-consistency grinding can be reduced by optimizing grinding intensity, reducing the idle power consumption of the grinder, reducing the number of grinders used, and replacing old grinders with new, more efficient technology. For this, AFT offers the MaxEdge™ disc grinder.
“The blade pattern of the disc is an important part of the grinding process and is easy to modify. The size of the blade pattern and the geometry of the groove determine the grinding intensity of the fiber treatment based on the energy used. The properties of the blades affect both the grinding and the idle power consumption. AFT Finebar technology offers flexibility in blade design so that the grinding process can be adapted to the customer’s needs,” says AFT’s Olli-Pekka Riippa.
