Pulps with softer tissue and stronger performance. Tuomo Niemi's, Fibre Technology Manager at Metsä Fibre, presentation at Tissue World 2013.

1. Metsä Fibre19/3/2013 T. Niemi
Botnia Nordic+
Softer tissue,
stronger performance

2. Metsä Fibre
Tissue softwood pulp
 The recent development of tissue furnish
has been driven by a need to reduce the
proportion of softwood pulp in order to
improve the softness of tissue products.
 The best softwood pulps show a combination
of high initial tensile strength and fast tensile
development.
 Fast tensile strength development also helps
to reduce energy consumption both in refining
and drying.
 A low refining requirement facilitates
improved paper softness and reduces
dusting due to a lower level of fines.
19/3/2013 T. Niemi

3. Metsä Fibre
Polysulfide as a solution – Botnia Nordic+ pulps
 Metsä Fibre will implement an advanced polysulfide pulping process at Joutseno
Mill in 2013, thereby introducing an entirely new softwood pulp with improved
properties to the market.
 The increased pulping yield will realise clear benefits for tissue making, due to the
high content of hemicellulose (galactoglucomannan) in cell walls.
 The altered hemicellulose profile enhances the flexibility of fibre, thereby improving
tensile strength before and after creping. This enables furnish optimisation in tissue
paper manufacturing.
 The new process maximises yields when producing bleached softwood pulps.
Part of the mill’s production will target the tissue market.
19/3/2013 T. Niemi

4. Metsä Fibre
Polysulphide Pulping
 PS-cooking is an established method that was
patented back in the 1940s. The first mill
applications began in the 1960s.
 PS-cooking liquor will be made at Joutseno Mill
by a commercial Moxy-process involving
catalytic oxidation of white liquor.
 The Joutseno PS pulping process was
developed at Metsä Fibre through intensive
and innovative research work.
 The new pulping process satisfies
sustainability criteria with respect to both
environmental and resource efficiency
considerations.
19/3/2013 T. Niemi

5. Metsä Fibre
Improved performance of Botnia Nordic+ pulps
 Polysulfide modification increases the hemicellulose content of pulps. This improves
the performance of pulp in paper and board manufacturing processes.
 The current Botnia Nordic Pine and Strong grades have been compared to the
estimated quality of Botnia Nordic Pine+ and Strong+ grades made using the
polysulfide process on a laboratory scale.
 Both qualities were simulated under the following constant parameters:
Botnia Nordic Pine+ Botnia Nordic Strong+
• Brightness: 89.0% 88.0%
• Fibre length: 2.15mm 2.35mm
• Raw material: Roundwood SW Saw mill chips SW
19/3/2013 T. Niemi

6. Metsä Fibre
Changes in pulp characteristics
19/3/2013 T. Niemi

7. Metsä Fibre
Case example – Furnish optimisation for
softness
Furnish ratio Bulk Tensile
index
Softness
potential
30% / 70%
Botnia Nordic Pine / Cenibra Euca
1.66 43.2 ref.
15% / 85%
Botnia Nordic Pine+ /Cenibra Euca
1.66 43.2 ++
19/3/2013 T. Niemi
Refining SW 50 kWh/tonne
HW 30 kWh/tonne
SW/HW Pulp price ∆€ 60 => Saving potential: EUR 9/paper tonne!!

8. Metsä Fibre
Sustainability – Less is more
 The new process enables pulp manufacturing using less
wood per tonne of pulp
 Wood consumption is also lower in HW pulp production
than in SW
 When the HW content of the total furnish is increased from
30/70 SW/HW to 15/85 SW/HW :
‒ Overall wood consumption for one tonne of paper is reduced
‒ This means consuming some 20,000m3
less wood annually
on a 60,000 tonne/a tissue machine
 The Metsä Fibre mill in Joutseno is CO2-neutral thanks
to an internal bark gasification plant. The overall energy
self-sufficiency of the facility is 170%
19/3/2013 T. Niemi

9. Metsä Fibre
Conclusions
 New Botnia Nordic+ pulps will have a high initial tensile
strength and fast tensile development in refining
 This allows furnish changes leading to significant cost
savings and improved softness potential.
 Use of raw material in the total furnish will be more efficient,
contributing to sustainability throughout the value chain
 Together with CO2-free pulp production and energy self-
sufficiency, Botnia Nordic+ will make the Metsä Fibre mill
in Joutseno one of the world’s most advanced pulp
manufacturing facilities
 Botnia Nordic+ pulps will arrive on the European pulp
market in mid 2013
19/3/2013 T. Niemi

10. Metsä Fibre19/3/2013 T. Niemi
FIBRES OF
SUCCESS
We are the proud winners of Excellence Finland 2012 and the
Quality Innovation of the Year Competition in the large
companies category, organised by Laatukeskus Excellence
Finland. In addition, Laatukeskus Excellence Finland granted
Metsä Fibre the European five-star Recognised for Excellence
award. Metsä Fibre won the Excellence Finland quality award
with the highest ever total score.
www.metsafibre.com