Beyond 1, 2011 - Innventia.com

More documents

Recommendations

Info

$Engineering fracture mechanics analysis of paper ... - Innventia.com$

From concept to innovation with FEX In the development of research results into final products and processes, pilot-scale trials play a significant role. The Innventia pilot plant for paper production, FEX, has been assisting in bridging the gap between laboratory and reality since the 1980s. The plant has continually been augmented with up-to-date technologies. A new flexible stock preparation department was recently added to it. “Our aim is to generate an environment, where our customers can come and develop their processes and products in an industrially relevant way,” states Torgny Persson, Director of Material Processes, one of the Business Areas at Innventia. Instead of interrupting production and carrying out expensive tests and trials in their own mills, paper and pulp producers and suppliers are able to test new concepts and processes in the FEX Pilot Plant. Also many research projects utilise the plant to verify their results and produce demonstrators from a project. For example, with the aid of FEX, it is possible to show what a paper is like in reality, when using the stratified forming technology during paper production. Innventia worked with this in Ecotarget, a large EU Project that finished in 2008. “With the aid of full-scale trials, we can prove that the research results work in reality, which is worth a lot when it comes to taking research results even further. With our new plant for producing nanocellulose on a large scale we can prove it also there. Without doubt, this has been of enormous interest to our customers.” In addition to a paper machine, the pilot plant at Innventia includes, among other things, refiners, hydrocyclones and screens for fractionation. Practically all the sections are full-scale machines, but their size is as small as possible. This means that, during pilot trials, the conditions that exist are exactly the same as those at a mill, viz. the same dynamics, the same speeds and the same conditions. Torgny continues, “Our knowledge, expertise and experience in this field are first rate. We know exactly what to do in the laboratory and what can’t be tested in the pilot plant.” “We’re certain that the results from our pilot plant are correct. Let’s say that a parameter increases by fifteen percent, we can’t guarantee that it will increase by exactly fifteen percent in the industrial process. But we can guarantee that the trend is correct. If there’s an improvement in a trial held in the pilot plant, then there’ll be an improvement in the actual situation in the mill.” There are very few pilot paper machines of the same calibre as FEX in the world that can run at full speed. A great many experts are attached to the “With the aid of full-scale trials, we can prove that the research results work in reality,” says Torgny Persson. 6 | Beyond #1/2011 Current awareness from the Innventia Group
A matter of proof The day Beyond meets with Dr. Mario Wiltsche from Andritz, he is attending a meeting at Innventia with other industry partners. This time, it concerns a Research Cluster Board meeting but, previously, his reason for coming here was often FEX, the pilot paper machine. “Pilot trials are very important for our business. When developing new products, the concept needs to be proven and optimized. Pilot trials provide the basis for a successful market release,” says Mario Wiltsche. For him, one of the advantages at Innventia is the perfect environment for going from laboratory scale to pilot scale. As an example, he mentions the development of the Andritz gapformer PrimeForm TW, for board grades, when two major series of pilot trials were carried out in order to optimize this novel concept. During these trials, Andritz brought its components to FEX, which had been rebuilt for such work. “Actually, we are planning a couple of similar trials right now,” Mario Wiltsche comments without, giving any further details. Pilot trials are also important for Andritz customer relations. They meet their customers for joint trials at FEX. “For instance, we need to validate the guaranteed production capacity and the paper quality, achievable by means of a particular machine concept, so we can show our customers that their requirements can be met.” Mario Wiltsche knows Innventia and its pilot facilities very well. He concludes, “We are glad to have the opportunity of making our trials here, not only for the use of the machine but also to have Innventia’s considerable knowledge-base available, in the form of experts, such as Bo Norman, Daniel Söderberg and Lennart Hermansson, some of the ‘giants’ in sheet forming.” pilot plant, including researchers and world-class specialists, together with the knowledge and know-how for best preparing and operating a paper machine. “I see this as one of our greatest strengths, the combination of scientific and practical expertise. We cover everything from the highest scientific level to knowing how to operate the machines In connection to FEX there are many lab resources, such as this unit for measuring flocking. These resources are also of great importance for process and product development. for obtaining the best results in a process. The dialogue between the researchers and those operating the machines are extremely valuable for our operations here.” After the extensions made to FEX, which were inaugurated a year ago, the pilot plant is special in another way. Thanks to the flexible extensions, it is possible to imitate almost every stock preparation system. It is very easy to adapt the pilot plant to meet customer requirements. “The pilot plant can offer amazing opportunities for testing different kinds of refining in the refining loop. In our new stock preparation plant, we are able to look at fractionation and screening. It’s possible to divide a stock for paper into different fractions and treat these fractions in various ways. The different parts are put together with hoses instead of pipes, which makes it easy to combine them in a variety of ways. The latest news is that we since a month ago also have pilot plant for producing nanocellulose.” In recent years, the trend has been to increase the focus on cost-effective products, such as an increased content of fillers in paper products and energy efficient processes. “It also become more common for companies to work together, Torgny concludes. This means that a company and its suppliers jointly carry out trials.” c o n t a c t: torgny.persson@innventia.com Istället för att avbryta produktionen och göra kostsamma tester i det egna bruket kan pappers- och massatillverkare testa ut nya koncept och processer på FEX, Innventias pilotanläggning för papperstillverkning. Anläggningen inkluderar bland annat malning, fraktionering med hydrocykloner, silning och en pappersmaskin. Vid pilotförsöken råder exakt samma förutsättningar som man har i verkligheten på ett bruk: samma dynamik, samma hastigheter och man får samma förlopp. Även många forskningsprojekt använder anläggningen för att verifiera sina resultat och kanske ta fram en demonstrator från projektet. Med hjälp av FEX gick det t ex att visa hur papperet blir i verkligheten när man använder stratifieringsteknik, något som Innventia arbetade med inom det stora EU-projektet Ecotarget som avslutades 2008. 10 – 14 June, 2012 International Paper Physics Conference www.paperconferences2012.com 8th International Paper and Coating Chemistry Symposium Current awareness from the Innventia Group Beyond #1/2011 | 7
Page 1 and 2: current awareness from the INNVENTI
Page 3 and 4: Niklas Berglin is responsible for t
Page 5: Profile Per Tomani c o m i n g eve

Beyond 1, 2011 - Innventia.com

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?