Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company - Insurer Innovation Award 2024
Chemical Pulping Aid Programs Part 2
1. Pulping Aids Part 2: Liquor or Fiber Follower? “Which is Best and Why?” Fiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
5. Perform Extraction on Fiber to Detect PresenceFiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
6.
7. Fiber followers could interfere with performance chemicals, formation and or drainage.
8. Specific requirements of pulp or paper may prohibit use of any chemical additional chemical residuals such as high quality alpha pulp.
9. Some liquor followers could interfere with processing of soap.Fiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
20. Slightly Longer Time to Cycle Up in Liquor Fiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
28. Potential Impact to Other Performance AdditivesFiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
29. Product Solubility At Point of Use Visual Test: Fiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
30. Liquor vs. Fiber Follower: Which Is Right for You? It All Depends Fiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
31. What Can a Pulping Aid Do in the Pulp Mill? Fiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
32. What Can A Pulping Aid Do For The Paper Mill? Fiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
35. Chemical Handling and Your System ControlFiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
40. Blended Products: Pulp Aids With AQFiber Wise Consulting LLC sbarnhard@fiber-wise.com “Increasing Value Through Information” http://fiber-wise.com/
Editor's Notes
Hello Everybody and Welcome to Part 2 in a continuing series of discussions regarding Pulping Aids other than AQ. First I would like to thank everyone who reviewed Part 1. The response was unexpected. Actually I corresponded with LinkedIn to make sure there wasn’t some sort of glitch with the amount of traffic to my profile but they assured me it was real.Then the trickle of emails began followed by a flood of correspondence. Based on the level of interest in specific areas I have decided to change the order of topics being presented and try to have shorter but more frequent segments posted for your review. I should also point out that as some of you have requested, I can make mill visits to access the potential of this application for your mill site as well as review any current pulp aid program from a totally independent perspective. The cost of these visits are nominal and the deliverables include a written report reviewing what to expect in terms of performance and savings, how to monitor, how to control, where to feed and many other important aspects so that the full value of this application can be captured.Part 2 of this series deals with the two different product categories for this application: Liquor followers and Fiber followers. As a side note, as a consumer this is one question I would ask all suppliers of all products added to my system (to include papermill pulpmill and waste system). Does the chemical follow the fiber or does it stay in the liquor or water? This might not be important whenever a new application begins but could be significant when other subtle changes occur and trying to find a cause and affect. Many years ago Bill Baxter a great technical manager who worked for Georgia-Pacific asked me as a key supplier in the mill to begin solving problems by determining the root cause of a problem and not just treating a symptom.
Why is it so important if a Pulping Aid is a Liquor or Fiber Follower?Well in terms of being a supplier it might help explain some weird results or better yet…why didn’t the application meet the trial objectives? Most suppliers of this technology generally only carry one type of pulping aid and some variation of that chemistry like blends with AQ and different solids…..and I am not sure why. Of course this might be related to whatever product they discovered initially and they never explored alternatives. Also with few exceptions not many suppliers of these additives have a pilot digester in-house. And I mean not just access to a pilot digester but actually own and operate one. This is important because the amount of research for different molecules and various wood or grass species is significant. And not saying this happens but you don’t necessarily want to be the pilot plant for new molecules. But does that mean you should eliminate from working with suppliers that don’t have a pilot digester?.....No but it does mean that for your fiber source, your chip quality, your cooking conditions you will not have any indication of what to expect prior to your mill trial. Getting back to our current slide….the liquor follower will have a significant impact on ie the evaporators….by keeping the organic deposits minimized it also reduces some of the matrix or foundation for scale development. The result is fewer wash or boilouts and better overall efficiency as measured by steam and liquor flow metrics. In most cases the reduction of either traditional or silicone defoamers is measurable. This seems most dramatic when using liquor followers but again it really depends upon the specific chemistry being used.a liquor follower will also have an impact on machine productivity but more on an indirect way.But because it is not on or with the fiber the impact to machine productivity will be in different ways…But once again does it mean that a liquor follower is better than a fiber follower…no. But it does mean that you should carefully look at your objectives and understand that for example if machine cleanliness is a key objective then a fiber follower might be a good way to go because not only do you get the benefit of its pulping impact but it caries thru to the paper machine and will provide some dispersing qualities.While visiting a mill in the southeast US I spoke with a mill that only used its pulping aid on certain grades. The papermill supt always knew when it had been turned off because he had documented reduced productivity due to a variety of related issues.And this brings up another key issue when looking at this application…..key mill management must be willing to apportion the cost of this program especially if documentation shows widespread benefit. But this again is based on mill culture and management relationships.
Why is it so important if a Pulping Aid is a Liquor or Fiber Follower?Well in terms of being a supplier it might help explain some weird results or better yet…why didn’t the application meet the trial objectives? Most suppliers of this technology generally only carry one type of pulping aid and some variation of that chemistry like blends with AQ and different solids…..and I am not sure why. Of course this might be related to whatever product they discovered initially and they never explored alternatives. Also with few exceptions not many suppliers of these additives have a pilot digester in-house. And I mean not just access to a pilot digester but actually own and operate one. This is important because the amount of research for different molecules and various wood or grass species is significant. And not saying this happens but you don’t necessarily want to be the pilot plant for new molecules. But does that mean you should eliminate from working with suppliers that don’t have a pilot digester?.....No but it does mean that for your fiber source, your chip quality, your cooking conditions you will not have any indication of what to expect prior to your mill trial. Getting back to our current slide….the liquor follower will have a significant impact on ie the evaporators….by keeping the organic deposits minimized it also reduces some of the matrix or foundation for scale development. The result is fewer wash or boilouts and better overall efficiency as measured by steam and liquor flow metrics. In most cases the reduction of either traditional or silicone defoamers is measurable. This seems most dramatic when using liquor followers but again it really depends upon the specific chemistry being used.a liquor follower will also have an impact on machine productivity but more on an indirect way.But because it is not on or with the fiber the impact to machine productivity will be in different ways…But once again does it mean that a liquor follower is better than a fiber follower…no. But it does mean that you should carefully look at your objectives and understand that for example if machine cleanliness is a key objective then a fiber follower might be a good way to go because not only do you get the benefit of its pulping impact but it caries thru to the paper machine and will provide some dispersing qualities.While visiting a mill in the southeast US I spoke with a mill that only used its pulping aid on certain grades. The papermill supt always knew when it had been turned off because he had documented reduced productivity due to a variety of related issues.And this brings up another key issue when looking at this application…..key mill management must be willing to apportion the cost of this program especially if documentation shows widespread benefit. But this again is based on mill culture and management relationships.
Why is it so important if a Pulping Aid is a Liquor or Fiber Follower?Well in terms of being a supplier it might help explain some weird results or better yet…why didn’t the application meet the trial objectives? Most suppliers of this technology generally only carry one type of pulping aid and some variation of that chemistry like blends with AQ and different solids…..and I am not sure why. Of course this might be related to whatever product they discovered initially and they never explored alternatives. Also with few exceptions not many suppliers of these additives have a pilot digester in-house. And I mean not just access to a pilot digester but actually own and operate one. This is important because the amount of research for different molecules and various wood or grass species is significant. And not saying this happens but you don’t necessarily want to be the pilot plant for new molecules. But does that mean you should eliminate from working with suppliers that don’t have a pilot digester?.....No but it does mean that for your fiber source, your chip quality, your cooking conditions you will not have any indication of what to expect prior to your mill trial. Getting back to our current slide….the liquor follower will have a significant impact on ie the evaporators….by keeping the organic deposits minimized it also reduces some of the matrix or foundation for scale development. The result is fewer wash or boilouts and better overall efficiency as measured by steam and liquor flow metrics. In most cases the reduction of either traditional or silicone defoamers is measurable. This seems most dramatic when using liquor followers but again it really depends upon the specific chemistry being used.a liquor follower will also have an impact on machine productivity but more on an indirect way.But because it is not on or with the fiber the impact to machine productivity will be in different ways…But once again does it mean that a liquor follower is better than a fiber follower…no. But it does mean that you should carefully look at your objectives and understand that for example if machine cleanliness is a key objective then a fiber follower might be a good way to go because not only do you get the benefit of its pulping impact but it caries thru to the paper machine and will provide some dispersing qualities.While visiting a mill in the southeast US I spoke with a mill that only used its pulping aid on certain grades. The papermill supt always knew when it had been turned off because he had documented reduced productivity due to a variety of related issues.And this brings up another key issue when looking at this application…..key mill management must be willing to apportion the cost of this program especially if documentation shows widespread benefit. But this again is based on mill culture and management relationships.
So let’s see what this program can do……………read read read read on one breath!!!!The real question is “Is there anything this program can’t do?” I can hear the thoughts of many of your right now…it’s ok you’re not going to hurt my feelings…remember I am not trying to sell this application but rather discuss it. Yup it sure sounds like a modern day snake oil.We all know that all of the features listed here cannot be simultaneously achieved because that’s not how the pulping process works and one thing I have forgotten to mention but you already know what I am about to say….. There is a cost associated to these chemical programs so that a payback must be achieved. I will be the first to admit that I am not a pulping expert but I do have some experience in this area. I know that for a pulping aid program to be successful you must choose the correct combination of features, have the right chemicals, apply and control the chemical program properly to the system.But now for a little humor and maybe what I call an overlooked opportunity…. Most of the chemical companies selling pulping aids today overlook the positive impact to the paper side of the mill.So at the risk of sounding like a promoter on television…. “if you consider this application right now we’ll throw in the following features for your papermill”
When you combine the many features and benefits of the Pulping Aid Application it just seems like the increased productivity and bottom line improvements are a “slam dunk”…… but not so quickly. As in all applications you have to find the right chemical product for your fiber source…The right application point because it does change for each facility….Find a supplier that is willing to work hard for you….And if we are talking about an integrated mill then there must be a good working relationship between the pulpmill and papermill. The production manager and mill manager need to look at the total savings from both production areas and proportion out the cost of the program to each. I have seen many a pulp mill manager say hey I am not going to bare the full burden of this program cost but only receive 50-75% of the savings….I can’t really blame that manager for feeling that way. So this is just an accounting issue that can be adjusted for if the application is successful.Finally I believe you should still consider equipment solutions to see if any of those could be more cost effective. But in these times when capital money is tight, a chemical solution might be a shorter path to lowering costs and possibly improving bottom line profitability. And in the long run could justify capital expenditure.
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