Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

February 2009

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Chemical Exposure

Our annual Chemical Report spotlights chemicals in the Canadian industry

Looking for a Silver Lining What does the economy have in store for us this year?

Journal of Record, pulp and paper technical association of canada Effects of structures and properties of surfactants on office paper deinking

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February 2009

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February 2009 Vol. 110, No. 2 A Business Information Group Publication ISSN 0316-4004

Features

CHEMICAL REPORT

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8 Chemical Report: What goes up must come down Our annual Chemical Report highlights chemicals, their costs and usage across the Canadian industry.

By Bob Douglas 13 Economic Outlook: Is there a silver lining?

Industry specialists give their views on the challenges and issues we will face this year and where we are headed in 2009.

By Perry J. Greenbaum

Columns

Departments

5 Editorial A promising project

By Yves Lavertu

6 Industry News 6 Paperclips 31 Pulp & Paper People Poll 31 Events Calendar 36 On the Move

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

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MISSION STATEMENT:

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Technical Papers 17 Effects of structures and properties of surfactants on office paper deinking A series of experiments were conducted to investigate how surfactant properties affect deinking of toner printed paper, and to select the best surfactant for office paper deinking.

By S. Goto and T. Miyanishi 23 The importance of energy management systems in the deregulated power market This paper describes the importance and effectiveness of energy management systems in the deregulated power market environment.

By D. Forsyth and B. Ahmad 27 Brightness and Strength Stability of High-Yield Pulps during Short-Term Storage This report presents a study on the stability of HYP in both sheet and pulp bale form.

By X. Zou, Y. Zhou, S. Raymond and D. Jolette 33 Improved product quality and increased production capacity with impulse technology Pilot trials show that impulse technology is a feasible technique for the production of linerboard, paperboard and fine paper.

By M. Bäckström, M. Drotz, A. Tubek-Lindblom and E. Blohm pulpandpapercanada.com

Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

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editorial

A promising project T

he Sherbrooke, Que.-based company, Enerkem, is getting ready to start up a one of a kind factory that will surely attract the eyes of many experts and actors from the political and economic world in 2009. The Enerkem installation in Westbury in Quebec’s Estrie region will be among the first in the world to make cellulosic ethanol on an industrial scale. The primary material the factory will use to produce these 5 million litres of ethanol is particularly interesting: it will use urban wood, such as old electricity poles.

In January, the company announced it would soon complete a crucial step in the project and start up its clean conditioned synthesis gas island, which is essential for subsequent ethanol production.

In a press release, the company stated once the factory is up and running, Enerkem will be the “first producer of liquid fuels and green chemicals to commercially use renewable, non-food, negative-cost feedstock.”

One can easily say this start-up is an important step for the Sherbrooke company itself. But if the project is deemed a success, its impact could be felt globally. It could have a major effect on the debate over what place ethanol has among biofuels, and all the issues surrounding this discussion.

World hunger, for example, is one urgent issue out of numerous others that has not lost any importance. This tragic reality recently found its way into the headlines again due to what has been deemed the global food crisis. The numbers reported on this subject are enough to make you dizzy: since August 2006, food prices in some parts of the world pulpandpapercanada.com

have gone up 83%.

A number of factors have been attributed to this price jump, including a high global demand for basic food staples, such as grains like wheat and corn.

Another related issue that has come into play is ethanol.

A number of specialists have become disenchanted with this biofuel, particularly ethanol derived from wheat and corn. In the beginning, the arrival of this type of ethanol was praised by a number of ecologists, consumers and leaders.

However, it is becoming more apparent every day that diverting a part of corn production towards ethanol creates a drop in supply, resulting in a price-rise for the grain.

The opposition toward this biofuel can be felt in Europe, however this sentiment does not seem to have made it to Canada. In spring 2008, for example, the majority of federal members of Parliament voted to require gasoline in Canada to have 5% ethanol content.

Well done! However, the catch is the legislation does not specify whether or not the ethanol to be used will be cornor wheat-derived.

Two-thirds of ethanol currently produced in Canada comes from corn, which unfortunately leads one to believe this is the type of ethanol that will be favoured, at least for the short term.

The C.D. Howe Institute in Ottawa believes the provinces rushed into this decision. According to the organization, only cellulosic ethanol can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In another report, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also criticized the

Yves Lavertu Editor in Chief news releases media@pulpandpapercanada.com letters to the editor ylavertu@pulpandpapercanada.com

Canadian attitude on the issue. According to the report’s authors, Canada has made the wrong choice on what biofuel to use. The OECD also singles out cellulosic ethanol as the one with any true future.

With its new factory that will produce biofuels from biomass and forest waste, Enerkem offers Canadians a different solution. The primary material used in production will not have the same disastrous effect as using corn for ethanol has.

Of course, this is not the only possible solution. However, the project underway in Westbury deserves some serious consideration by government and the scientific community. If Enerkem can demonstrate the feasibility and profitability of the process and materials used, this undertaking could become a model for similar projects around the world.

Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

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industry news mills

Go od news at Kruger

Montreal, QC – In January, Kruger Inc. announced it intends to cut production by 25,000 tonnes at its three newsprint mills in Newfoundland and Quebec this year, but the good news is no jobs will be lost.

The production curtailments will be spread throughout the first half of 2009 and affect Kruger’s mills in Corner Brook, Nfdl., Trois-Rivières, Que. and Sherbrooke, Que. people

G.H. Endress passes away

Arlsheim, Switzerland – Dr. Georg H. Endress, founder of the Endress+Hauser Group, passed away on Dec. 14, 2008 after a brief, grave illness at the age of 84.

The Endress+Hauser Group, which was founded by Endress and Ludwig Hauser in 1953, is a global leader in measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering.

The company employs over 8,300 people worlwide.

Endress’s children and their families, who each hold 12% of the shares in the company, will carry on his work as an entrepreneur.

PAPERCLIPS

mills

mills

Montreal, QC – AbitibiBowater says it will fight the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s expropriation of its assets in the province, but according to a Dec. 23, 2008 CBC News report, Premier Danny Williams does not feel threatened by the possibility of legal action.

When AbitibiBowater confirmed plans to shutter its Grand Falls-Windsor newsprint mill in December, the Williams government responded with legislation that enabled the expropriation of the company’s dams and power stations in the region. The seizure does not include the mill itself, which is scheduled to close in March.

In a letter to Williams, AbitibiBowater president and CEO David Paterson called the government’s move illegal, and added the company is consulting with Canadian and U.S. officials to see if the expropriation violates the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Williams, however, argued the province is within its rights. He maintains that by closing the mill, AbitibiBowater effectively broke a “covenant” with Newfoundland, and the province will not “give away” hydro assets to an organization that is no longer doing business there, the Associated Press reported in December.

Windsor, QC – Quebec’s Municipal Affairs Minister Nathalie Normandeau is questioning a ruling by the Tribunal administratif du Québec (Quebec administrative board) in December 2008 that reduced the valuation of Domtar Inc.’s Windsor mill by 20%.

According to a report by the Montreal Gazette, the poor state of the pulp and paper industry was behind the Tribunal’s ruling, which would see the mill’s valuation drop from about $116 million to just under $67 million – representative of a $900,000 reduction in annual property taxes.

Noramandeau was quoted as saying the ruling could set a “dangerous precedent” for other municipalities home to slumping industries.

In the article, Windsor Mayor Malcolm Wheeler said the ruling put the municipality in a dangerous situation.

The mill’s property taxes represent about 40% of Windsor’s annual budget. The Tribunal’s verdict would also require the municipality to pay Domtar $2.5 million to partially refund taxes paid over the past three years.

Windsor had 30 days from the ruling date in late December to appeal to the Quebec Court of Appeal.

AB to fight expropriation

Valuation ruling questioned

Out of this world rotors

Energy-saving technology inspired by aerospace Engineers at the University of British Columbia, in partnership with government and Advanced Fibre Technologies Inc. of Montreal, Que., have developed three high efficiency pulp screen rotors that not only reduce the energy required in the pulp screening process, but could potentially save Canada’s pulp and paper industry $20 million a year if applied nation-wide.

According to a Dec. 4 UBC Reports article, the approximately 300 pulp screens in British Columbia’s 20 pulp and paper mills consume 300 gigawatt hours annually, equal to about $16 million. These new uniquely shaped and hydrodynamic rotors – which, according to the article, were inspired by aerospace technology – reduce drag, operate at lower speeds, and use less energy. Trial results showed energy consumption was reduced by 52%.

If all mills in B.C. would convert to this new rotor technology, they could save about $8 million annually, UBC mechanical engineering associate professor James Olson

was quoted as saying. Consequently, if mills across Canada adopted the new technology, an estimated $20 million a year could be saved.

The article stated that while the savings could make Canada’s pulp and paper industry more competitive in the world market, reduced energy use could also lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The new rotors could also give the country’s pulp equipment manufacturing sector a boost, the article suggested.

With the success of the new technology in trials, the team behind the new rotors has won a number of awards: the 2007 BC Hydro New Technology of the Year Award and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Synergy Award for Partnership and Innovation, and the 2008 British Columbia Innovation Council’s Lieutenant Governor’s Award.

Source: UBC Reports, Dec. 4, 2008

……Good news at Kruger……Endress+Hauser founder passes away……AB to fight expropriation……Valuation ruling q s s s

industry news Domtar’s Windsor mill employs about 800 people. mills

Lebel-sur-Quévillon mill closed

Lebel-sur-Quévillon, QC – Over three years after suspending operations at its Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que. pulp mill, Domtar officially announced the permanent closure of the facility in December 2008.

While a number of solutions were considered, hopes of reopening the facility were dashed in the weak global pulp market.

The mill, which had a 300,000-tonne annual production capacity of softwood kraft pulp, was closed indefinitely in November 2005, affecting about 430 employees. government

UPM’s NB Crown licenses up

P&P HALF ADS 2

1/16/09

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New Brunswick – Finland-based UPMKymmene Corp. will lose its licenses to manage provincial Crown forest in New Brunswick on March 31.

economy

AB faces NYSE de-listing challenge Montreal, QC – AbitibiBowater’s share price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) rose to $1.07 on Jan. 7 after a period of trading below $1, however the Montreal, Que.-based company will have to keep it up or risk being de-listed.

In December, the NYSE notified AbitibiBowater that its stock had fallen below the continued listing criteria, with the company’s stock trading at an average price of under $1 for more than 30 consecutive days. The company was given six months from the notification date to bring its average share price back over $1. AbitibiBowater’s stock must also close above $1 six months to the day of the warning.

During the six-month period, AbitibiBowater will continue to be listed on the NYSE under the ‘ABH’ symbol, but will also carry a ‘.BC’ symbol to indicate the company is not currently in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards.

AbitibiBowater continues to meet the listing requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

UPM closed its kraft pulp mill in Miramichi in 2004 and dismantled it. In 2007, the company shut all other Miramichi operations, which included the paper mill and groundwood pulp mill, as well as a sawmill.

While their woodlands office in Mira-

michi and their sawmill in Bathurst are still operating, UPM has all of its assets in New Brunswick for sale.

When UPM leaves New Brunswick, the province’s natural resources department will be in charge of administering four of 10 woodland license areas.

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We look forward to hearing from (and seeing) you!

questioned……UPM’s NB Crown licenses up……AB faces NYSE de-listing challenge……Lebel-sur-Quévillon mill closed… s s s

chemical report

What goes up must come down It was a white-knuckle ride as prices skyrocketed and then crashed in 2008

C

anadian manufacturers of pulp and paper probably wouldn’t mind if they were living in less interesting times. Already straining to climb out of their own downturn – which was partly cyclical, partly structural and greatly exacerbated by the sudden appreciation of the Canadian dollar – papermakers were battered by rapid cost escalation through the first three quarters of 2008. Then in the fourth quarter, when energy and chemical prices declined, a rapid downturn in the global economy turned their attention to swelling inventories, forcing plant closures and production curtailments.

In its fall outlook, the Conference Board of Canada predicted the paper products industry would lose money for the fourth consecutive year, with losses totaling $435 million in 2008.

“The entire Canadian paper products industry is struggling as a result of stagnating North American demand and, more recently, because of the global economic slowdown,” said economist Valerie Poulin. “Although the weaker Canadian dollar and lower energy prices will bring some relief, the industry is not expected to turn a profit again until 2010 at the earliest.”

Pulp and paper production in Canada has been declining for the past five years, and is expected to drop further as demand wanes and plant closures continue. The Conference Board estimated that production declined by 6.6% in 2008 and expects to see it slip again in 2009, resulting in further losses totaling $329 million. The board held out some hope, suggesting that a better balance between demand and supply, combined with new product development, should improve the industry’s finances starting in 2010.

Numerous production cutbacks were 8

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

already in place before the Conference Board report was released in December.

A quick tally of announcements from Canadian firms during the fourth quarter lists at least 16 curtailments. Three permanent closures scratched 300 kt/ yr of pulp, 205 kt/yr of newsprint and 151 kt/yr of uncoated freesheet paper from Canadian capacity, while temporary downtime eliminated a further 220 kt of pulp and 77 kt of newsprint from the market.

Pulping chemicals

Most commodity prices peaked around the end of the third quarter in 2008, but caustic soda prices kept climbing to the end of the year, cracking the $1,000 US/tonne barrier in December. Caustic prices had showed a modest increase from about $315 US/tonne to nearly $450 US/ tonne during 2007. The rate of increase picked up somewhat in the first half of 2008, then accelerated further during the summer, especially after precautionary shutdowns by several facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast prior to the arrival of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. None of the plants suffered serious damage, but supplies – which were already tight following industry-wide rationalization in previous years – got very short.

Strong caustic demand was a key factor in the decision by the Canexus board of directors to proceed with the technology conversion project at the company’s North Vancouver, B.C. chloralkali plant.

Canexus will replace the existing 50-yearold diaphragm technology and assets at North Vancouver with more cost efficient and environmentally friendly membrane technology. The $208-million project is scheduled for completion in 2010. The increase from previous estimates reflects scope changes and cost escalations.

By Bob Douglas

Annual production capacity will increase by about 35%, to about 210 kt of chlorine and 230 kt of caustic soda.

“When complete, this project will confirm our long-term position as a reliable, low-cost chloralkali producer in the western North America market. The cornerstone benefit is a significantly reduced cost structure which will position us as the lowest-cost supplier to the region and enable us to support higher sales volumes from our expanded production capacity,” said Canexus president and CEO Gary Kubera.

The project will include the following: • upgrade of the brine treatment process area; • construction of a new cell building to house seven independent cell circuits; • purchase of five rectifier-transformers and relocation of an existing unit; • upgrade of chlorine processing equipment; • upgrade to storage tanks to ensure higher caustic soda quality; • additional rail car storage track to manage the higher shipment volume.

Construction plans will minimize interruption to current plant production.

Using a parallel plant concept with limited physical interfaces with the existing facility, startup of the new facilities will occur during a scheduled four-week turnaround during the first quarter of 2010.

Olin shuttered the Dalhousie, N.B. plant acquired with the 2007 purchase of Pioneer. The chlorine, caustic soda, and sodium hypochlorite operations were shut down by early June. The chloralkali facility was based on older mercury technology and had capacity to make 30 kt/yr of chlorine and 34 kt/yr of sodium hydroxide. The sodium hypochlorite unit had capacity to produce 0.6 kt/yr. The pulpandpapercanada.com

chemical report company will continue to supply its chloralkali customers from other Olin locations. A caustic soda storage and distribution terminal began operating in June at the Dalhousie site.

While caustic prices were on the rise, chlorine markets continued to languish, with prices sliding from $300 US/tonne to $215 US/tonne. Difficulty in selling chlorine had an indirect effect on caustic supply: Canexus noted that its North Van­couver plant was forced to reduce its operating rate to 93% during the third quarter to manage chlorine inventory levels.

Canadian lime production, which had declined steadily for three years, showed small gains in each of the first nine months of 2008, then a decline of more than 16% for the month of October, leaving year-to-date production less than 1% ahead of 2007. Upward pressure on prices intensified as energy costs escalated, but this situation eased as crude oil prices fell in the fourth quarter.

Markets for sodium sulphate – used in kraft pulping – remained balanced through 2008. Saskatchewan Minerals continued to adjust its energy surcharge according to the benchmark price of natural gas in Alberta. The surcharge was zero in the first quarter of 2008, $3/tonne in the second quarter and $9/tonne for the third and fourth quarters. Natural gas prices fell sharply in the latter months of 2008, resulting in a reduction in the surcharge.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is captured from the stack gases at base metal smelting operations and converted into sulphuric acid and liquid SO2. Base metal production in Canada was higher through most of last year than the already elevated levels reached in 2007. A decline seems inevitable in 2009, given the spreading economic slowdown, but the supply of liquid SO2 will likely remain more than adequate.

Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund and Vale Inco have renewed their agreement for the marketing of all sulphur byproducts produced by the Inco smelter in Sudbury, Ont. The new 10-year contract, similar to the previous agreement, took effect on Jan.1, 2008. This continues an exclusive relationship for the marketing of sulphur byproducts that pulpandpapercanada.com

has been in place between Chemtrade and Vale Inco (and their respective predecessor companies) for more than 75 years.

Bleaching chemicals

Spurred by a run-up in electricity rates, Canadian sodium chlorate producers took steps to match capacity to demand in 2005 and 2006. As a result, the market has been tight and capacity utilization has been high through 2007 and 2008. According to Canexus, price increases implemented in 2007 and in January 2008 almost entirely offset the 16% appreciation in the Canadian dollar between quarters. Healthy fundamentals led to increased sales volumes and higher realized prices during the first three quarters of 2008.

Canexus brought the most recent expansion of its Brandon, Man. sodium chlorate facility on-stream in February. The expansion quickly exceeded the 33 kt/yr project target and the company has identified de-bottlenecking opportunities that could boost annual capacity by an additional 40 kt over the next two to five years. The $53-million project expanded plant capacity by approximately 12% to 295 kt/yr. Brandon is the lowest-cost sodium chlorate plant in North America and the largest in the world.

In August, Olin closed the Dalhousie, N.B. sodium chlorate operation and withdrew from the chlorate business. The sodium chlorate unit was relatively new, but its capacity (22 kt/yr) was small.

Canexus acquired the customer contracts from Olin.

According to NorFalco, the notable development in the sulphuric acid market during 2008 was the apparent globalization of tight supply and demand conditions beyond the waterborne international trade into many more local markets.

Strong commodity demand and prices convinced buyers in the copper and fertil-

izer markets to offer increasingly higher prices in order to attract acid away from other markets, which in turn were forced to either compete on price or face reduced supplies.

Annual sulphuric acid demand in North America has reached about 42,700 kt. Fertilizer production accounts for 59%, while the non-fertilizer merchant market accounts for 24%, and regeneration of spent acid from oil refineries and other chemical processors (regen) accounts for 7%. Almost all of the remainder is captive industrial use.

Very strong fertilizer demand drove acid prices to record levels during 2008, but other segments of the market were also strong. In particular, Chemtrade said the regen industry was running at very high utilization rates during the year. Regen is used by refineries to produce alkylate, a key gasoline blendstock. Announced and anticipated refining capacity growth over the next three years would boost regen demand by 3% annually, equal to roughly 90 kt/yr across the continent.

Approximately 73% of the North American supply of acid is made directly Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

9

chemical report from sulphur, while 19% is recovered from smelter operations and 7% is regen. This explains the strong correlation between elemental sulphur prices and sulphuric acid prices. After rising slowly in 2007, sulphur prices climbed rapidly from $150 US/tonne in January to a peak of nearly $700 US/tonne in September. By yearend, they were below $200 US/tonne and still falling. The acid market remained buoyant during the period of high prices and was expected to remain so through 2009, but the rapid economic downturn will undoubtedly have a negative impact.

Hydrogen peroxide supply was relatively tight at the beginning of 2008 and capacity utilization in North American plants was high. Canadian production was running about 5% ahead of the 2007 rate for most of the year. Curtailments in pulp and newsprint production are expected to help balance the market somewhat, though plant utilization in North America should remain high, as capacity expansion in the near term will be limited to offshore facilities.

Two price increases were announced during the year for Canadian peroxide customers: $135/tonne in June and $95/tonne in September. Producers were also levying surcharges to recover high input energy and transportation fuel costs. FMC said its energy surcharge, based on the Henry Hub gas price listed on NYMEX, would be held constant at $0.25 US/lb through the first quarter of 2009. The company’s transportation fuel surcharge took the form of an additional per-shipment fee calculated each month.

The fee for truck shipments is based on the weekly average diesel fuel price published by the U.S. Department of Energy, while the fee for rail shipments is based on the DOE’s average daily price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil.

Akzo Nobel Chemicals International BV has been fined $3.15 million by the federal court after pleading guilty to criminal charges for fixing the price of hydrogen peroxide sold in Canada.

The company supplies hydrogen peroxide in Canada through its subsidiary, Eka Chemicals. The bureau’s investigation concluded that, between October 1998 and June 2001, Akzo Nobel and its coconspirators (FMC and Solvay) agreed to fix the price of hydrogen peroxide sold 10

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

in Canada. The offence involved list price announcements by various manufacturers (suppliers) of hydrogen peroxide in Canada and the U.S. from time to time.

Based upon facts obtained by the commissioner, the total value of hydrogen peroxide sales in Canada during the relevant period amounted to approximately $470 million.

Each of the leading suppliers of industrial gases raised merchant prices two or three times during the year, as energy and distribution costs soared. The price

Canadian manufacturers of pulp and paper probably wouldn’t mind if they were living in less interesting times. changes for oxygen were generally in the 10-15% range, but these often were accompanied by increased facility charges.

The major industrial gas producers (Air Liquide, Praxair, Air Products) also commented on record backlogs for onsite projects, some of which involve the pulp and paper industry.

Papermaking chemicals

Before the latest global economic downturn hit, the paper industry was anticipating a significant increase in its chemical consumption. Chemical usage worldwide was forecast to increase from 3,600 kt in 2000 to over 6,000 kt in 2020. This prediction was based on the growth of coating binders and other coating additives (lubricants, thickeners) resulting from the anticipated increase in production of coated grades. A predicted increase in internal and surface sizing applications reflects the expected need for improved printability and runability of uncoated, wood-free grades. Strength additives growth is expected to result from the need to assist the trends of basis weight reduction and filler level increase.

On April 1, IMin Partners – a private equity capital fund dedicated to investing in specialty minerals and chemicals businesses – purchased the kaolin business of Huber Engineered Materials and renamed it KaMin LLC. Headquartered

in Macon, Georgia, the business produces a wide range of engineered kaolin grades at three plants in the state. These materials continue to be sold under the numerous trade names acquired with the business. During the summer, some of these trade names were revised by replacing Huber with KaMin. KaMin announced a 10-15% price increase for all kaolin products in June, shortly after the paper pigments business of Imerys announced a 10% increase in its North American prices for ground calcium carbonate. The price increases for these minerals were driven by significant escalation in chemical, fuel, power and mining costs.

KaMin, Imerys and BASF had already introduced energy surcharges on kaolin and calcium carbonate products earlier in the year. The surcharges were linked to natural gas and/or crude oil prices, and most were significantly reduced or eliminated when energy prices tumbled in the fourth quarter.

The leading producers of titanium dioxide – Kronos Worldwide, DuPont Titanium Technologies, Tronox, Huntsman and Cristal Global – announced numerous price increases during the year.

All of the companies cited the rapid rise in energy, raw material and distribution costs.

Kronos stated the case most bluntly early in June: “Prior efforts to implement increases to cover these higher costs have not been successful, and currently almost all of the industry producers of TiO2 are operating at a loss. The first of what could be a number of plant shutdowns in the industry has recently occurred, and Kronos believes this situation, which if continued, could lead to significant reductions in industry-wide production capacity, [and] should be of concern for both producers and consumers of TiO2.”

By the end of 2008, titanium dioxide prices had apparently recovered to just over $1.10 US/lb, roughly where they had stood at the end of 2006. In between, they had bottomed at $0.99 US/lb late in 2007. Even while demand remained strong, producers were adamant that the current price would not be sufficient to justify reinvestment.

Rising petrochemical raw material and transportation costs prompted several price pulpandpapercanada.com

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chemical report

Mill consumption

Pulping chemicals Sodium sulphate Lime Sulphur Sulphur dioxide Sodium hydroxide Bleaching chemicals Chlorine Sodium chlorate Sulphur dioxide Sulphuric acid Hydrogen peroxide Sodium silicate Sodium hydrosulphite Sodium borohydride Oxygen Sodium hydroxide

2007 2008 (kilotonnes)

Supply forecast

49 235 50 15 229

48 234 49 15 228

balanced long balanced to tight balanced tight

18 568 54 471 216 56 49 15 361 539

18 565 54 468 215 55 48 15 359 536

balanced tight balanced tight balanced to tight balanced balanced to tight balanced balanced to tight tight

Papermaking chemicals Aluminum sulphate 34 33 balanced Rosin size 3 3 balanced Kaolin 713 702 balanced to long Other clays 87 85 balanced to long Titanium dioxide 16 16 balanced Calcium carbonate 287 278 balanced Starch 129 125 balanced SB latex 45 42 balanced Some of the chemicals listed above have more than one application. The figures represent total mill consumption. hikes for emulsion polymers during the spring and summer months. In total, the increases exceeded $0.20 US/lb. These polymers, which include several latex products, are used in the production of coated paper, where they bind clay and pigments to the surface.

Dow Emulsion Polymers decided in December to close its Varennes, Que. manufacturing facility, which was the last surviving styrene-butadiene (SB) latex plant in Canada. The Varennes unit had been indefinitely idled during the second quarter because of insufficient demand and rising costs. Dow customers are served by a multiple manufacturing grid system, so a significant portion of the Varennes production was exported to the United States, while imports of SB latex from the U.S. supplied a major portion of the Canadian market.

Dow’s cost-benefit analysis considered the facility’s position in the latex business 12

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

– including the competitiveness of its raw material position, the small scale of the operation and the age of the units – as well as the outlook for the global latex business, which is facing rapidly changing market conditions. With 14 production facilities worldwide, Dow intends to remain a global leader in the latex industry.

After going up by 21% in 2007, aluminum sulphate production in Canada was on track for another 16% increase in 2008. This growth kept the market in balance during a period of rising demand for water treatment applications, especially in the U.S. At the beginning of the second quarter, General Chemical Performance Products raised both schedule and subschedule prices on all grades of liquid and dry alum by $82 US/tonne (dry basis).

Specialties

Specialty chemical products used in pulp and paper operations continued to expe-

rience price increases in 2008. Many of these products are proprietary and are sold as part of a comprehensive service agreement, making them less subject to the price volatility associated with commodities.

The paper technologies and ventures group of Hercules raised prices for the majority of its polymers, sizing agents and strength additives early in January. Five months later, the company announced price increases of up to 30% in North America on all of its paper technologies products, with particular focus on functional chemistries, such as sizing agents, wet strength additives and retention/ drainage aids.

Nalco increased prices to the paper industry in Canada and the U.S. on July 1. Prices for most products rose by 20% or less, but select programs, including the use of defoamers, glutaraldehyde, phosphates and polyphosphates, antiscalants and pulp mill and pitch control surfactants, saw 30% increases.

There was a handful of blockbuster mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry during 2008. The most significant deal for the pulp and paper sector was Ashland’s $3.3 billion US-purchase of Hercules, one of the world’s leading suppliers of specialty chemicals to the pulp and paper industry.

“We will combine the paper and water businesses of each company to create one global paper and water technologies business with annual revenue of $2 billion,” said Ashland chairman and CEO James O’Brien. “In particular, Hercules’ leadership position in pulp and paper technologies bolsters our participation in one of the world’s largest water treatment markets. The combined businesses will provide the scale to leverage opportunities in other key water treatment markets including municipal, industrial and P&PC marine.”

Bob Douglas is publisher of Camford Chemical Report, a weekly newsletter on Canada’s chemical processing industries, and CPI Product Profiles, a series of 200 data sheets on markets for individual chemical products. He has more than 25 years of experience tracking developments in pulp and paper technologies and analyzing trends in chemical and energy supply, demand and prices. pulpandpapercanada.com

economy

Economic outlook:

Is there a silver lining?

For many the news is bad, if not uninviting. Yet, bad news can be an opportunity for change.

Companies that have resiliency, vision and leadership know how to survive, and even come out ahead during an economic downturn. A slowdown is a good time to review, re-evaluate and reinforce the corporate principles that your company values.

T

he bad news has been unrelenting in the last year or so. It has affected just about everyone and everything, including the world’s largest banks, manufacturers, consumers and homeowners alike, who have seen stock portfolios, investments and earnings drop. Everyone, it seems, is looking for ways to keep afloat in what appear to be an endless series of negative events. Crisis follows crisis.

A few months ago, some analysts thought Canada would be able, by some miracle of fiscal dexterity, to avoid a recession, a slowdown, or an economic contraction. Alas, Canadians will not escape unscathed. Canada’s economy will face all the worries of a slowdown in 2009, as the global economy slides into a recession, led by a weakened U.S. economy.

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that gross domestic product for its 30 member countries will drop by 0.3% in 2009. The OECD has forecasted that the U.S. economy will shrink in 2009 by 0.9%, Japan’s by 0.1% and the Eurozone by 0.5%. pulpandpapercanada.com

By Perry J. Greenbaum

The OECD reported that the Canadian economy will shrink in the first and second quarters of 2009, meaning we will be in a technical recession (economists define a recession as two consecutive quarters of gross domestic product contraction). That being said, real GDP growth in Canada will shrink by 0.5% in 2009, the first time in 17 years. The second half of 2009 should see some improvement, and real GDP will climb by 2% in 2010.

A time for caution

Still, business marches on. One of the questions on the minds of many manufacturers is how the financial crisis will affect credit to manufacturers. Although Canada’s large banks are in fairly good shape, they will undoubtedly become more cautious in their lending in the years to come, a point put forward by the head of Canada’s largest bank. “One of the things that we’ll be watching and that the marketplace will be watching very carefully is general credit,” said Gordon Nixon, chief executive officer of the Royal Bank of Canada in a recent Globe & Mail

article.

“The outlook for the world economy has deteriorated significantly and the global recession will be broader and deeper than previously anticipated,” the bank said. “While Canada’s economy evolved largely as expected during the summer and autumn, it is now entering a recession as a result of the weakness in global economic activity. The recent declines in terms of trade, real income growth, and confidence are prompting more cautious behaviour by households and businesses.”

Caution indeed is the watchword of the day. Can the government help? With all the news of government bailouts for the auto sector, some might pose that as a viable solution for the hard-hit forestry sector. Not so, says Avrim Lazar, president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada in Ottawa.

“Some have suggested that bailouts and subsidies are now needed. We disagree,” he said. “The last 30 years of economic history have shown over and over again that these types of measures simply do not work and often make matPulp & Paper Canada February 2009

13

economy ters worse.

“We believe that action is needed in three areas to both address the financial market crisis and ensure that the Canadian economy comes out of the crisis even stronger than before,” he continued. “First, governments should address immediate liquidity problems by ensuring that credit continues to be available to consumers and businesses within Canada. Second, they should make strategic investments in infrastructure and industry transformation and by encouraging businesses to do likewise; and third, they should implement policy measures that will improve the longterm competitiveness of the Canadian economy.”

That said, things could be better for the pulp and paper industry. “All product sectors are down in Canada,” said Kevin McElhatton, president and CEO of Montreal-based Pulp and Paper Products Council, a global market intelligence firm. “I don’t see any good news coming out of North America in 2009.”

Closures and job losses

That might be an understatement of sorts. The recession brings bad news for some, if not many families, as people will lose their jobs.

“The depth and duration of the economic slowdown and the impact it may have on office employment and demand for our products are the key questions,” Raymond Royer said in a recent Montreal Gazette article before stepping down as president and CEO of Domtar. “Domtar must continue to match its production

capacity in Canada and the U.S. with actual demand.”

Royer said Domtar is closing down a paper machine at its Dryden mill in Ontario for good because it is relatively high-cost. Almost 200 jobs will go.

Dryden will continue to produce highvalue pulp for which demand remains strong.

David Paterson, CEO of Abitibi Bowater, delivered more bad news recently: “Based on customer input, we expect a further decline in North American newsprint consumption. In light of these developments, we plan to reduce capacity in 2009 by taking 50,000 metric tonnes of downtime monthly.”

Analysts said the uncertain outlook

As a result, Voith Paper has closed many of its systems, roll service and fabrics plants worldwide to adjust its production capacity. Recently, in Canada it has announced closures of its press fabric plant in Hamilton, Ont. and the tail threading plant in Coquitlam, B.C. As well, Voith Paper has recently re-organized its corporate structure, reducing its business operations to four groups: fibre and environmental solutions, automation, paper machines, and fabric and roll systems.

As Gallo said: “Such decisions are very difficult, however we remain convinced that these are necessary measures to maintain financial stability and be able to continue to service our customers in

“An economic slowdown can create opportunities for open minded leaders who are ready for looking at new ways of doing business.”

– Bob Gallo, president of Voith Paper North America may mean more production cutbacks in 2009 — Royer said the axe would first fall on the highest-cost operations in Canada and the U.S. if more cutbacks were needed.

In real terms, 2009 looks like a year for pulp and paper companies and their suppliers to regroup and reanalyze business operations. Bob Gallo, president of Voith Paper North America in Appleton, Wis. agreed this slowdown will be brutal. “This economic slowdown will most likely be the most severe experienced in the last decade.”

the long term.”

His counterpart at Metso sees the economic slowdown as a realigning of values with current economic realities. “Our customers are operating with a pragmatic common-sense management,” said Jukka Tiitinen, president of Metso Paper North America in Atlanta, Ga. “Companies are postponing investments, even small ones, moving certain things into the future, to 2010.”

By all accounts, the economic slowdown, which started around July 2008, will last at least all of 2009, Tiitinen said.

“We might see some positive signs in the second half of 2009, but it’s more likely that it will be 2010 when things begin to improve.”

Some sectors remain vibrant

Even so, there are business sectors that reamin strong. One area that remains vibrant is the service and maintenance sector, Tiitinen said. “We have been able to pick up some business from old and new customers.” One of the strategies that Metso Paper has been employing is ensuring that it spends quality time with its key customers. “The companies that have been successful in the past are the ones that will likely be successful in the 14

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

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economy

Leading through a crisis

A smaller, stronger industry

Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, knows about the qualities needed to lead in a tough situation. Here he outlines six of the qualities needed to lead through a crisis: 1. Strong beliefs “You have to understand who and what you are,” Giuliani says. He gives as examples former President Ronald Reagan Rudy Giuliani and Martin Luther King Jr. Both developed their values over time and performed consistently as leaders. Based on personal beliefs – social, political or religious – leaders draw strength from core values to remain calm in a crisis. When there isn’t time to reflect and ponder a way forward, you have to rely on your consistent beliefs and values to guide you. “You can’t reflect,” he says, “you have to act.”

2. Optimism Not the Pollyanna view. Giuliani’s optimism refers to the ability to solve problems with a positive approach. “People follow solutions,” he says. “If I said to you ‘Things are very, very bad and they’re going to get worse … follow me,’ would you?”

3. Courage For Congressional Medal of Honour winners in times of war, firefighters who enter burning buildings, astronauts who risk their lives in pursuit of human knowledge, courage is a common denominator. “Courage isn’t the absence of fear,” Giuliani says, “It’s the ability to overcome it and do what you have to do.”

4. Relentless preparation Training ahead of crises helps leaders perform. Giuliani offers as an example the New York policeman who jumped into the icy East River to save someone from drowning, and then could barely make it through a subsequent news conference recounting the event. The officer was trained to serve and help people, he says, not to conduct press conferences.

5. Teamwork Being put in charge of any group of people can lead to delusions of grandeur.

Leaders must fight the urge to bask in their power and instead build a core team of skilled individuals and rely on them. “You have to say to yourself, ‘I have strengths and weaknesses and I know I’m going to need help’ when running any type of organization.”

6. Presence: Be there The ability to communicate ideas and decisions during a crisis draws from all the qualities above. “You have to be able to communicate at all levels, then what you’re doing is speaking to people,” he says, as opposed to ordering them. In the end, leaders have to be present in times of crisis, be they national or personal in scale. Support of others will be returned. “Then if you face a crisis you’re going to get more out of people than you ever realized.”

P&PC future,” Tiitinen pointed out.

In addition to service and maintenance, fibre-handling and processing equipment remains strong, as companies look to upgrade these areas. Another sector that defies expectations is tissue production, which both Metso and Voith say are least affected by the economic slowdown.

No doubt, opportunities exist. “An economic slowdown can create opportunities for open minded leaders who are ready for looking at new ways of doing 16

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

business,” Gallo of Voith pointed out.

“For example, while capital is very limited, some mills are still considering capital expenditure projects to install or upgrade equipment, such as roll grinders.”

As well, it is likely that all paper companies will be outsourcing roll maintenance and other non-core services to reduce cost. “Voith Paper and Voith Industrial Services see this as an excellent opportunity to do business differently with customers,” Gallo said.

Under such economic conditions, healthy companies look for good buying deals.

“There will likely be more consolidation if the federal government relaxes its competition rules,” said Michael Armstrong, vice-president (advisory services) for Vancouver-based PricewaterhouseCoopers, an international consulting firm. “The outcome is a smaller, leaner and, hopefully, stronger industry.”

Tiitinen of Metso agreed that we are likely to see some industry consolidation in the next two years. “The stronger companies will buy the weaker ones,” he says. “And they will be even stronger in the future.”

Gallo of Voith agreed. “It will create stronger paper corporations through forced re-organization. The North American paper industry must find new ways to reduce cost to compete with the increased production coming on-line, especially in Asia.”

There is a silver lining, however, in those storm clouds making their way slowly over us. As with people, there’s a benefit to slowing down and taking stock.

“It gives companies and their leaders time to ensure their priorities are right, to analyze the business and see what areas add value” Tiitinen pointed out. “And when business picks up, it will give companies better plans to implement.”

Or as Gallo of Voith Paper put it: “We strive to balance short-term requirements with our long-term vision of providing value-added technology leadership. This balance, joined with continuous market analysis, preparation, and quickly taking the necessary short-term actions, are what we consider to be strong and fair corporate leadership.”

It is said that leaders rise to the occasion during a crisis. Such might be the case now with the worries of a slowing global economy. “Positive leaders look at such situations as an opportunity to develop their best business areas,” Tiitinen said. “And when things improve, these companies will be ahead of the game.”

P&PC

Perry J. Greenbaum, a Montreal-based freelance writer, has been covering the forestry sector since 1996. He can be reached at pjgreenbaum@ gmail.com. pulpandpapercanada.com

deinking

Effects of structures and properties of surfactants on office paper deinking

By S. Goto and T. Miyanishi Abstract: A series of experiments were conducted to investigate how surfactant properties affect deinking of toner printed-paper, and to select the best surfactant for office paper deinking. New surfactants based on polyalkylene oxide dialkyl ether and butylene oxide alkyl ether with different hydrophilic lipophilic balance (HLB) and molecular weight were used. Solutions of these surfactants were analyzed through static and dynamic surface tension, contact angle, toner swelling, and dynamic penetration measurements on toner surfaces. The results revealed that the wetting of toners enhanced as the surface tension of surfactant solution decreased. Conversely, swelling of toner was independent of surface tension and depended on the structure of the surfactant molecule. The most efficient deinking of office paper was obtained when the surfactant showed lower surface tension and higher swelling of toner.

T

he importance of deinked pulp is increasing tremendously from the viewpoint of saving resources. Recycled paper for printing/writing grades requires high brightness and extremely low dirt speckles. As the market for those paper grades increases, the requisite quality of deinked pulp and recycled paper also becomes higher. Yet, in spite of recent advances in deinking processes and facilities, the problem of dirt speckles caused by contaminated toner and UV inks has increased.

It is possible to collect only toner-printed paper like CPO (computer printout), then treat it with special processes, such as two-stage kneading and multiple flotation systems [1]. However, the costs of paper sorting and deinked pulp production are very high, and the amount of well-sorted paper collected is small. As a result, the utilization of wellsorted toner-printed paper is limited. Office paper is a mixture of ledger and toner-printed paper, and increasingly contains toner-printed paper. Toner is a mixture of a plastic resin, carbon black, inorganic particles and other minor additives. The softening points of the plastic resins are around 70°C. Therefore, deinking at above toner-softening temperature is effective for toner detachment. Office paper also includes various types of inks and stickies. Increasing temperature makes stickies soften and results in stickies problem. Therefore, chemicals become more important for deinking.

Two types of deinking agents have been tested to deink office paper containing toner-printed paper. These are agglomeration agents and dispersants. Agglomeration agents promote the aggregation of toner particles into large aggregates and pulpandpapercanada.com

increase the efficiency of removal at fine screen and centrifugal cleaners [2, 3]. However, agglomerated toner particles behave like stickies and cause another problem. In addition, the effectiveness of these agents decreases with increasing ash content of furnish and the amount of print with conventional inks. Dispersants which have surfactant formulation result in the formation of smaller toner particles when used in office paper deinking. This reduction of particle size increases the efficiency of flotation and washing. Recent works [4, 5] report the effect of surfactant on office paper deinking. However, understanding the link between surfactant properties and their deinking performance is limited. We have previously reported about the link between the properties of surfactant and their deinking performance. Surface free energy measurements of printed inks showed that detachment efficiency of the inks from the newspaper and toner-printed paper became highest when the surface tension of deinking agent was similar to the Lifshitz-van der Waals surface energy component of the inks [6, 7].

The objectives of this study were to investigate how surfactant properties affect deinking of toner printed paper, and to select the best surfactant for office paper deinking. To accomplish these objectives, the following tests were carried out. At first, static and dynamic surface tensions of various types of nonionic surfactants were measured.

Second, the effects of surfactant on spreading the solution onto toner surfaces, swelling of toner cohesion layer, penetration of the solution into toner-printed paper and swelling of the paper were investigated. Third, the effect of surfactant chemistry on toner detachment was evaluated.

S. GOTO, Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan shisei-goto@np-g.com

T. MIYANISHI, Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan

Pulp & Paper Canada  February 2009 

17

T1

T2

deinking TABLE I. Structure and hydrophobicity of surfactants. R: alkyl group, EO: ethylene oxide, PO: propylene oxide, BO: butylene oxide and Me: methyl group.

Surfactant A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1 B2 C1 D1 D2 D3 E1 F1 G1

Structure

HLB

RO-POn-EOm-H RO-POn-EOm-H RO-POn-EOm-H RO-POn-EOm-H RO-POn-EOm-H RO-EOm-H RO-EOm-H RO-EOm-POn-H RO-EOm-BOn-H RO-EOm-BOn-H RO-EOm-BOn-H RO-EOm-Me RO-EOm-POn-Me MeO-POn-EOm-POn-Me

3.7 7.2 5.8 8.8 11.1 13.3 14.8 9.0 11.0 12.0 12.7 12.5 9.0 8.0

FIG. 1. Contact angles on toner surfaces vs. static surface tensions of surfactant solutions.

EXPERIMENTAL

Surfactants Seven types of surfactants used in this experiment were provided

by NOF Corporation, Table I. The HLB (hydrophilic lipophilic balance) value described in Table I was calculated based on the surfactant formulation using Griffin’s equation. A conventional synthetic non-ionic deinking agent for old newsprint, DI-767 (hereafter DI-7), Kao Corporation, was used in this experiment.

Those surfactants were dried overnight in the oven at 100°C to measure water content. Stock solutions of every surfactant were prepared at a concentration of 10 g/L in distilled water.

Toners Two types of toners were used. Toner A, Canon GP605 toner, was composed of styrene/acrylate copolymer, iron oxide and silica.

Toner B, Xerox toner for Document Center 450 and 550, was composed of polyurethane/polyester resin, carbon black, TiO2.

Toner-printed paper sheets were prepared using either Canon or Xerox copier, respectively.

18

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

TABLE II. Static and initial dynamic surface tensions of surfactant solutions.

Surfactant HLB

A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1 B2 C1 D1 D2 D3 E1 F1 G1 DI-7

3.7 7.2 5.8 8.8 11.1 13.3 14.8 9.0 11.0 12.0 12.7 12.5 9.0 8.0 NA

Surface Tension (mN/m) Static Dynamic 30.9 30.3 29.3 30.0 32.0 45.3 27.3 31.3 43.9 30.0 35.7 29.5 48.6 50.8 35.6

46.3 38.4 57.5 50.3 49.9 49.8 39.4 41.6 50.1 42.3 42.8 44.6 52.2 54.4 49.8

FIG. 2. Effect of surfactant on the swelling of toner-printed surfaces. A1 to DI-7: see Tables I and II.

Surface Tension Static surface tension of water containing 1 g/L of surfactant was measured with CBVP-Z (Kyowa Interface Science Co.) tensiometer based on Wilhelmy plate method. Dynamic surface tension of surfactant solution was measured with BP-D4 (Kyowa Interface Science Co.) maximum bubble pressure tensiometer. The value of surface tension at 100 ms is used as the initial dynamic surface tension in this experiment. Two or three sets of measurements were done at 25°C. Contact Angle Contact angles of surfactant solutions were measured using a dynamic absorption tester (DAT 1100, Fibro Systems AB).

Toner-printed paper strips were mounted on the apparatus and measurement was repeated 8 times to get average data.

Toner Swelling Test Surfactant was dropped onto the toner-printed paper surface. After 1 minute, the droplet was removed from the toner surface with a wiper. pulpandpapercanada.com

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T3

deinking

FIG. 3. Comparison of penetration time (tS-tB) of surfactant solution for PPC with Toner A, B and without toner.

B1 to DI-7: see Table II.

FIG. 4. Comparison of penetration ratio (S) of surfactant solution for PPC with Toner A, B and without toner. B1 to DI-7: see Table II.

FIG. 5. Effect of sodium hydroxide contents of surfactant solution for penetration ratio (S). A1 to DI-7: see Table II. DW: distilled water. NA: not available.

FIG. 6. Comparison of surfactants with similar static surface tension and DI-7 on toner detachment after hyperwashing. A3 to DI-7: see Table II.

Some surfactants swelled and/or dissolved the toner surface.

The density of black color from toner was measured using Macbeth RD918 densitometer. Toner swelling, the extent of relative toner removal, was calculated by the following equation: Toner swelling (%) = (D.B.init - D.B.wiped ) / D.B.init x 100 D.B.init: initial density of black color D.B.wiped : density of black color after wiping Dynamic Penetration Measurement Dynamic penetration measurements (EMCO DPM 30, emco GmbH) were conducted on PPC (plain paper for copy) with toner A, B and without toner by using various surfactants solutions. The DPM apparatus used ultrasound transmission and detection as its method of measuring the dynamics of the interaction between the substrate and the penetrating liquid. It gave 20

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

values for the time at the maximum signal intensity (tB), the time at maximum negative gradient of signal intensity (tS), and the value of the maximum negative gradient (S). The 2 cm x 3 cm PPC sample with or without toner was attached to the sample holder with tape and rapidly introduced into the sample solution.

Each surfactant was tested three times.

Pulping and Flotation Experiment A mixture of PPC printed with toner A and toner B (50/50 by weight) was disintegrated in a laboratory pulper at 15% consistency, 40°C for 6 min with surfactant 0.2% based on O.D. pulp and other deinking chemicals, sodium hydroxide 1%, sodium silicate 3%, hydrogen peroxide 1%. Disintegrated pulp was diluted to 3% consistency. Hyperwash was performed by fractionating a pulp sample. The fraction that passed through 24 to 150 mesh screens was collected and TAPPI standard handsheets were made.

For flotation experiments, 20 grams O.D. pulp was diluted to pulpandpapercanada.com

peer reviewed 1%. Each trial was run from 1 to 4 minutes and each surfactant had three different time samples. Flotation accepts were collected and handsheets were made from them. The rejects were collected and measured froth weight % based on initial weight of O.D. pulp as follows: Froth (%) = Weight of solid in reject / Weight of solid in inlet Dirt measurements of handsheets were done by means of image analysis on either Spec Scan 2000 (Apogee Systems Inc.) or Scan-Mark 800 (Conmark Analyzers Inc.). The number of dirt speckles in one square meter was obtained from the sum of particles greater than 0.05mm2.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Surface Tension of Surfactants The static and initial dynamic surface tensions of surfactants are shown in Table II. There was no clear correlation between HLB values and surface tension values. In case of a simple series of surfactant, the HLB value is a good key to understanding the properties of the surfactant. However, as Table I showed, to compare different series of surfactants and complicated formulations, the HLB value was inappropriate to discuss in this experiment.

Therefore, the following results were discussed based on surface tension values.

Spreading of Surfactant Solution on Toner Surfaces Contact angles of surfactant solutions on toner surfaces are shown in Fig. 1. It was clear that the contact angle decreased as the static surface tension decreased. Both toners A and B showed a similar tendency, and most surfactants gave lower contact angle onto toner B. These results confirmed that hydrophobic surfactants spread on hydrophobic surfaces very well.

Swelling of Toner Cohesion Layer with Surfactants A primary component of toner is a thermoplastic resin, which could be softened and/or swollen by using the appropriate solvent even if the treatment is applied at a temperature below the glass transition point of toner. Some kinds of surfactants, which have a particular formulation, work the same as solvent to swell resins.

Therefore, it is expected that those chemicals swell toner-printed surfaces even at low concentration in pulp slurry, and enhance toner detachment from fiber.

Figure 2 shows the result of toner swelling tests for the various surfactants listed in Tables I and II. The trend of toner swelling by surfactants was different on toner A and toner B. In most cases, toner B swelled much more easily, and this was due to the difference in toner components. Previous results of our pulping experiments indicated that toner B was easy to detach.

The swelling behavior of toner surface was independent of HLB value and surface tension of surfactant. The tendency was also different from the results of contact angle measurement. Surfactants E1, F1 and G1 gave high toner swelling on both toners.

Series B, C and D showed relatively high swelling on toner B, and series A showed poor results on both toners. Conventional surfactant DI-7 did not swell toners. Diether type surfactants, which have a hydrophobic terminal group at the end of hydrophilic moiety of surfactant molecule, swelled toner very well. The pulpandpapercanada.com

FIG. 7. Comparison of surfactants with similar toner swelling percentage on toner detachment after hyper-washing.

D1 to G1: see Table II.

influence of terminal group on the trend of toner swelling was in the following order: methyl > butylene oxide > propylene oxide > ethylene oxide.

Penetration of Surfactant Solution into Toner-Printed Paper When a sheet of paper comes into contact with water, the first phase is a wetting phase, where there is no liquid absorbed yet.

The second is a penetration phase where water is absorbed into the paper. The final stage is the swelling stage, where no liquid is absorbed but the water penetrates into the fibers. As the water diffuses into the layers of fibers, it begins to swell. This enhances detachment of ink from fiber.

In this experiment, DPM was employed to understand whether the surfactant penetrates and swells toner or fiber. The results of DPM, especially the values of S and tS-tB, were taken into consideration in relation to the surfactant parameters. It was assumed that with tS-tB being low, the surfactant would penetrate the toner and/or paper faster. It is believed that the maximum negative gradient S (the point of maximum absorption rate) and the time (tS) taken to reach this point are the most important characteristics of DPM curve.

Figure 3 shows the comparison of penetration time of the surfactant solutions into toner printed paper. In this experiment, the surfactants that gave high toner swelling value were used.

Covering the PPC surface with toner prevented rapid penetration of surfactant solution. Little difference was observed in the penetration time (tS-tB) between toner A and B. D3 and DI-7 gave almost the same static surface tension, whereas tS-tB was quite different. D3 gave the smallest tS-tB value. The surfactant which gave lower initial dynamic surface tension also gave shorter tS-tB. Figure 4 shows the results of penetration ratio (S). The tendency was similar to results on tS-tB. Surfactants F1 and G1 showed similar S value on toner surface. On the other hand, B1, D1 and D3 showed larger S value. These surfactants enhance penetrating and swelling of paper even when covered with toner.

Figure 5 shows the effect of the alkaline content of the surfacPulp & Paper Canada  February 2009 

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deinking tant solution on the penetration into the toner B surface. It was clear that increasing alkaline content increased S value.

Without surfactants, however, the alkaline solution gave poor S values and showed little difference between alkaline contents.

The S value obtained from DI-7 containing 1g/L sodium hydroxide was the same as surfactants A1 to E1 without alkali.

is obtained by using the surfactant which showed both lower surface tension and higher toner swelling. In flotation experiments, the results on residual number of dirt speckles after flotation showed the same trend. The surfactant that showed better toner detachment gave better toner removal after flotation.

Effect of Surfactant Chemistry on Toner Detachment Figure 6 shows the results of toner detachment with surfactant A3, A4, and D2 from the pulping experiments. These surfactants showed similar static surface tension and different toner swelling results.

Conventional deinking agent DI-7 was used as reference. D2, that showed the best toner swelling, gave the best performance on toner detachment.

Figure 7 shows results of toner detachment with surfactants types D to G. These surfactants showed high toner swelling % on both toners. In this experiment, A3 (0.2 % on O.D. pulp) was added to surfactants D1 to G1 as a cosurfactant. E1 performed the best in toner detachment whereas D1 and G1 performed very poorly.

These results suggested that the best performance on toner detachment could be obtained mostly by the hydrophobic surfactant. However, another experiment conducted to compare A1 and B2, (static surface tension is 30.9 and 27.3, respectively) showed that A1 is superior to B2.

The numbers of dirt speckles in one square meter were 8,300 and 12,600, respectively.

It is therefore, reasonable to conclude that the best performance of toner detachment

It was found that the wetting and swelling of toner varied with different surfactants. Wetting of toners increased as the surface tension of the surfactant solution decreased. Conversely, swelling of toner was independent of the surface tension and depended on the structure of the surfactant molecule. The most efficient deinking of office paper was obtained when the surfactant showed lower surface tension and higher swelling of toner.

CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Mr. M. Nanba

at NOF Corporation and Mr. M. Ohishi at Nichiyu Solution Inc. for providing surfactants, and Dr. M. Sugino, Ms. M. Saroranta, Mr. T. Izumiya and Mr. M. Suzuki for their help.

LITERATURE

1. FERGUSON, L.D. Comparison of North American, European and Pacific Rim Deinking Technologies.

Proc. TAPPI Pulping Conf., TAPPI Press Atlanta, 869 (1994).

2. ZHENG, J. et al. Role of Contact angle in the Octadecanol Agglomeration of Electrostatic Toners. J. Pulp Paper Sci. 27(3): 98-102 (2001).

3. WELF, E., VENDITTI, R.A. The Effect of the Chemical Structure of Agglomerating Agents on Toner Agglomeration for Deinking. Progress Paper Recycling 10(2):24-34 (2001).

4. BORCHARDT, J.K. et al. Deinking Toner Ink Containing Furnishes. Part 1. Flotation Deinking. Progress Paper Recycling 3(4):47-62 (1994).

5. RAO, R. et al. The influence of surfactant structure on ink detachment. Appita J. 52(3): 192-196 (1999).

6. GOTO, S., MIYANISHI, T. Surface Chemistry of Deinking Process: Correlation between Surface Free Energy of Ink and Deinking Agent on Office Paper Deinking. Kami Pa Gikyoshi 56(10): 104-113 (2002).

7. GOTO, S., MIYANISHI, T. Surface Chemistry of Deinking Process: Effects of Nonionic Deinking Agents and Fatty Acids on Foaming Properties in Flotation Deinking of Old Magazine. Kami Pa Gikyoshi 58(2): 88-97 (2004).

Résumé: Nous avons procédé à des essais visant à déterminer les effets des propriétés des surfactants sur le désencrage du papier imprimé avec du toner, et à sélectionner le meilleur surfactant pour le désencrage des papiers de rebut des bureaux. Nous avons utilisé des nouveaux surfactants à base de poly(oxyde d’alkylène) dialkyléther et d’oxyde de butylène alkyléther dotés de différents rapports hydrophiles-lipophiles (HLB) et différentes masses moléculaires. Nous avons mesuré la tension superficielle dynamique et statique des solutions de surfactants, ainsi que l’angle de contact, le gonflement du toner, et la pénétration dynamique des surfaces de toner.

Ces surfactants et un surfactant non ionique synthétique classique ont été examinés lors d’essais de flottation et de trituration en laboratoire. Sur la base de l’essai de désencrage en laboratoire, nous avons développé des agents de désencrage spécialisés pour le désencrage des rebuts de bureau, et ces agents ont été évalués lors d’un essai pilote de désencrage.

Reference: GOTO, S., MIYANISHI, T. Effects of structures and properties of surfactants on

office paper deinking. Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009: T1-5. Paper presented at the Recycling Conference 2004 in Quebec, QC, on September 27 - 29, 2004. Not to be reproduced without permission of PAPTAC. Manuscript received August 11, 2004. Revised manuscript approved for publication by the Review Panel on October 10, 2008.

Keywords: OFFICE PAPER, SURFACTANT, DEINKING, TONER, DIRT.

Don’t miss our next issue!

We’ll have a complete recap of the Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada (PAPTAC)’s EXFOR® & Annual Meeting 2009, which took place Feb. 3-4 in Montreal, Que. Learn about what mills can do to cut down on energy consumption and costs.

Find out who won the 2008 Safest Mill in Canada Contest.

Read about this and more in the March 2009 issue of Pulp & Paper Canada.

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February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

pulpandpapercanada.com

energy management

The importance of energy management systems in the deregulated power market By d. Forsyth and b. Ahmad Abstract: A combination of classical energy management techniques, mill-wide real time process control data and energy consumption data can be used to extract meaningful information in order to forecast and optimize the utilization of electrical energy in the deregulated power market environment. The development of computer networking and the standardization of communication protocols help manage such configurations in a timely manner. This paper describes the importance and effectiveness of such schemes in the deregulated power market environment. An example of Bowater Inc.’s Thunder Bay mill energy management system is presented to explain the key advantages of such schemes.

A

n energy management system (EMS) is not a new concept. It is as old as the power turbine itself. This is a system which can keep track of real time energy consumption data for the whole mill, forecast mill-wide energy requirements, provide optimized suggestions for purchasing power from different suppliers, help configure different contracts, generate bills and provide facilities to analyze the real time energy consumption data.

Energy plays an extremely important role in the overall unit production cost. For example, in the newsprint industry, the energy component accounts for approximately 30% of the total cost, while fiber and labor account for 30% and 20% of the cost, respectively.

An incremental improvement in the cost of energy can contribute to significant reductions in the overall production cost. Hence, the subject of energy management has gained priority for the managers of pulp and paper companies.

In order to take advantage of the open power market, bulk energy users should have a mill-wide energy management system. For example, the results achieved by one of Europe’s largest pulp & paper companies are described by Resnick: “UPM-Kymmene’s total annual savings can be roughly broken down in the following areas: 35 percent decreased electricity supply costs, 25 percent increased electricity sales profit revenue, 20 percent better load planning (cost savings achieved by avoiding penalties), and 20 percent decreased labor costs. The ROI for UPM-Kymmene was in the range of a few months, with the comparison based on having an Energy Management and Optimization system versus not having a system at all.” [1] pulpandpapercanada.com

Energy management systems are operational across many European paper mills. Some of the prominent sites are as follows: • UPM-Kymmene - Pulp and paper • StoraEnso - Pulp and paper • Mayr-Melnhof - Board • Metsä-Serla - Pulp and paper • Metsä Botnia - Pulp and paper ABB Inc. recently installed and commissioned a similar system at Bowater Inc. in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A REGULATED AND A DEREGULATED MARKET

In a regulated power market, costs are fixed, bundled and billed without any meaningful breakdown.

Consumers are not provided with a detailed itemization of the different cost components involved in generating and transmitting the power.

In the deregulated environment, consumers are provided with a breakdown of their energy costs. The deregulated market makes consumers appreciate the importance of energy conservation.

There is more than one supplier of energy and the consumers have the advantage of buying power from whichever provides them with the best pricing terms.

With deregulation, energy is like any other commodity; its unit cost increases or decreases according to the overall market supply and demand situation. In order to make intelligent decisions about its consumption, the power consumers need detailed real time information to help optimize energy usage.

With the emergence of a deregulated market, the complexities are enormous for an end user not schooled in operational-level risk management. In the early stages of development, the new market

D. FORSYTH, Bowater Inc. Thunder Bay, ON

B. AHMAD, ABB Inc. Burlington, ON bashir.a.ahmad@ca.abb.com

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energy management

FIG. 1. Main Application Components of the EMS. FIG. 2. Standard EMS Interfaces in a mill.

FIG. 3. EMS External Interfaces.

can be very volatile, and therefore proactive, timely decisions can save thousands of dollars per day. In the first 5 months of deregulation in Ontario, 22% of the total market value was traded in the highest 5% of pricing time. Avoiding these price spikes by utilizing an EMS is critical to industrial operations.

REQUIREMENT OF A DEDICATED ENERGY MANGEMENT SYSTEM

Some bulk power consumers feel that there is no need for a dedicated energy management system if they sign a fixed price contract. They feel that a fixed price contract will shield them against spot price spikes. The result of such protection is, on average, higher per unit energy cost. There are still other factors which cannot be fixed, such as the following per unit charges: • Uplift charges • Monthly settlement charges * Peak charges • Transmission & distribution charges • IMO administration charges • Spinning reserve charges Fixed contracts provide a high level hedge. In the long run, those consumers who appreciate the concept of energy management and arrange to obtain all meaningful information in a timely manner will be able to enjoy the advantage of a deregulated energy market in terms of lower average per unit cost.

Mill-wide energy management requires a dedicated hardware and software setup in order to provide user-friendly interaction and to process all the required data in the real time environment.

COMPONENTS OF AN EMS

The main software components of an EMS are shown in Fig. 1.

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FIG. 4. Active Power Total Display.

The Bowater EMS runs in Windows NT/2000 operating systems on a standard PC. A relational database (RTDB) is used as the platform, and a graphical user interface (RTDBExplorer), for operating the windows. RTDB provides a standard ODBC/SQL interface for the application to read and write data in the database. All the database (DB) queries are ANSI compatible.[3]

DATA COLLECTION IN THE EMS

Most of the bulk energy users have a variety of meters or radio telemetry units (RTUs) installed throughout the plant to collect and process the energy consumption data in the real time environment. Standard EMS interfaces are shown in Fig. 2.

Other real time data sources, such as the mill process control system, mill main power bus control (i.e. tie-line control system), are connected to the EMS through different media following the standard communication protocols such as: 1. Serial Link (e.g. GCOM) 2. OLE in Process Control (OPC) 3. Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) 4. MODBUS The Independent Market Operator (IMO) publishes on the Internet all the real time information related to the current Ontario power demand, spot price, expected demand and expected cost per MWhr. The IMO also publishes user specific pulpandpapercanada.com

peer reviewed

FIG. 5. IMO Spot Prices and History Table.

FIG. 6. Constant Load Input Window.

FIG. 7. Outage Display for one Paper Machine.

FIG. 8. Contract Configuration Window.

meter data (called MV Web data).

A standard configuration for the EMS to collect all the external data is shown in Fig. 3.

When the external data is integrated with the mill energy data in the EMS, the consumer can get a complete picture of the running cost of the whole mill energy consumption and the estimated cost of the future mill load.

In the Bowater EMS, critical decision support information is presented on a number of displays.

The display in Fig. 4 presents useful information, including the forecast margin at the end of the monitoring period, peak monitoring and its charges, hourly power optimization, level of transition rate option (TRO) for the running month, availability of resources to meet the power demand, and up to date per unit IMO spot market price.

Bowater has found that the active power total display alone provided its operational pulpandpapercanada.com

staff with all the important real time millwide data for the whole power situation in an easy-to-understand format.

The IMO spot price display is another important management tool for Bowater, Fig. 5. This display shows the historical trends of the spot price, actual power bought and its market value.

CALCULATION OF LOAD FORECAST

Merely collecting and processing the energy consumption information does not make an energy management system an effective tool, unless it can forecast electricity and heat consumption information in a reliable and repeatable manner with minimum errors.

There are many methods to calculate short-, medium- and long-range power consumption forecasts.

• Time series function • Neural networks • Artificial intelligence (AI) and

• Fuzzy logic In the EMS, there is a facility for processing the forecast variable(s) externally, using any of the above mentioned calculation methods, and integrating it in the EMS database.

Load forecasts are calculated for a desired period with the required resolution.

It is possible to configure different forecast levels (short-, medium- and long-term), each with its own resolution and duration.

The minimum interval is one minute, and the maximum is one week.

There are different data entry windows to carry out a variety of forecast calculations, an example is shown in Fig. 6.

Energy forecasting can be combined with production schedules to establish the optimum time for different maintenance schedules without affecting the production - or with the fewest interruptions. Fig. 7 shows paper machine No. 5 outage duration, along with its energy forecast and the past trend of energy consumption.

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energy management Energy forecasting and costing data are combined to determine the optimum production pattern which, in turn, can minimize the per unit production cost.

The forecasting of consumption is not limited to electrical power only. It may include steam flow and gas flow as well.

CONTRACTS AND BILLING MANAGEMENT

In the deregulated market environment, consumers have the advantage of buying power from more than one supplier. This, in turn, raises the issue of complexity in different contracts and the billing details.

One of the most important aspects of the EMS is to provide user-friendly tools to handle the contract and billing management.

The consumer is expected to enter, via user-friendly menus, only the essential details of different contracts; thus, the real detail calculation can be carried out within the system. Figure 8 shows a contract configuration window.

Since the EMS consolidates all the energy-related data, these data can be used to prepare daily reports which can then be combined, at the end of the predefined period, to prepare a comprehensive report. Later on, the same data can be used to compile the main energy bill and the internal billing allocation.

OPTIMAL LOAD ALLOCATION

For those bulk consumers who have sufficient power generation facility and have a number of power suppliers, optimal load allocation helps to develop, maintain, debug, and execute linear optimization models for load allocation applications. These models, when integrated with load forecast and trade data, determine the most economical and the most suitable plan to supply the forecast electricity demand in the mill. Figure 9 shows an example of the optimized electricity purchase of the whole plant during one day.

ADVANTAGES OF AN EMS OBSERVED BY BOWATER INC. (Thunder Bay) [2]

The Bowater Inc. mill in Thunder Bay has found the following advantages of an EMS: • It helps plan and execute an optimized energy program.

• Knowing the expected energy demand in the mill helps the mill energy trading group (or person) to coordinate contracted supply and maintenance outages. This information is also used to identify opportunities for load shifting and shedding to optimize equipment during periods of lower power rates.

• The ability to change daily production forecasts and immediately see the expected consumption of contracted supply and spot purchases, allows the mill to find “sweet spots” for pricing.

• Unattended price monitoring with built-in alarm systems to notify operators of high real time and forecast prices. Alarms are also initiated when a forecast tie-line peak has been calculated and operators then have time to adjust load or accept the new peak and associated costs. These alarms are then transmitted to the appropriate operations people, via pagers and e-mail, who can visit a client terminal for decision support data.

• The ability to trend real-time prices with load gives the mill the flexibility to react quickly to price spikes in order to minimize spot purchases. Information from all sources is coordinated and readily 26

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FIG. 9. Optimized Electricity Purchase Display.

available in usable and custom reports to scrutinize decisions and plan for tomorrow.

CONCLUSION

In order to operate their processes in a cost effective manner in a deregulated power market environment, bulk power users like Bowater Inc. (Thunder Bay) need a dedicated energy management system to help them make intelligent decisions about their power purchasing and consumption. The system should have appropriate user-friendly display information and features such as: alarms for abnormal spot and forecast price conditions, and tools for operational decision support, forecast optimization, managerial accounting and post decision analysis.

LITERATURE

1. RESNICK, C. Energy Management and Optimization Systems Providing Documented Savings and ROI. ARC Advisory Group. ARC Insights# 2001-047M, ARCweb.com (2002).

2. AHMAD, B., FORSYTH, D. Importance of Energy Management Systems in the Deregulated Market. Proc. PAPTAC (Mid West), Thunder Bay, Ontario (2002).

3. EM&O User Guide. Energy Management and Optimization. ABB Oy, Process Industries, (2002).

Résumé: Il est possible de combiner des techniques de gestion classiques de l’énergie, des données de contrôle de procédé en temps réel pour l’ensemble de l’usine et des données sur la consommation d’énergie afin d’en tirer des renseignements utiles qui permettront de prévoir et d’optimiser l’utilisation de l’énergie électrique dans le contexte du marché actuel. Le développement du réseautage informatique et la normalisation des protocoles de communication aident à gérer ces configurations en temps opportun. La présente communication décrit l’importance et l’efficacité de cette méthode dans le marché déréglementé de l’électricité. Le système de gestion de l’énergie de l’usine de Bowater Inc. à Thunder Bay est présenté à titre d’exemple, afin d’expliquer les principaux avantages de cette méthode.

Reference:

FORSYTH, D., AHMAD, B. The importance of energy management systems in the deregulated power market. Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009: T6-9. Paper presented at the 89th Annual Meeting in Montreal, QC, January 28-30, 2003. Not to be reproduced without permission of PAPTAC. Revised manuscript approved for publication by the Review Panel on October 10, 2008.

Keywords: ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS), DEREGULATED POWER MARKET.

pulpandpapercanada.com

pulp properties

Brightness and strength stability of high-yield pulps during short-term storage

By X. Zou, Y. Zhou, S. Raymond and D. Jolette Abstract: High-yield pulps are often stored in a warehouse before they are actually used to make paper products. There is a concern about the change in HYP properties during short-term storage. In this report, we present a study on the stability of HYP in both sheet and pulp bale form. Results show that HYP is very stable in terms of strength under normal storage conditions. Although HYP loses brightness faster than kraft, it loses only 0.7 units in brightness per year on average. In some cases where significant yellowing does occur, but is limited to the outer layer of the pulp bale, the effects on the properties of the overall bale are still minimal.

H

YP stands for high-yield pulp, also called bleached chemithermomechanical pulp (BCTMP). HYP can be made in strength and brightness similar to hardwood kraft pulp, and therefore it is often used to substitute for hardwood kraft. Due to its unique properties, HYP is increasingly being used in many paper grades. However, when sold as market pulp, HYP may sometimes be stored in a warehouse for a certain time period before it is actually used for papermaking. In such situations, there are concerns about the degradation of optical and strength properties. There is a perception that due to the presence of a high percentage of lignin, HYP may lose brightness and strength, even during short-term storage. With the increasing production and wider use of HYP, there is a need to quantify the changes in strength and brightness under normal storage conditions.

It is well known that lignin-containing pulps or papers lose brightness rapidly when exposed to ultraviolet light [1]. They also lose both brightness and strength when exposed to accelerated aging at elevated temperatures [2-5]. In terms of brightness stability under storage, McLellan et al. examined the thermal reversion of handsheets made from groundwood, TMP and high-yield sulfite pulps stored under ambient conditions for up to 550 days [6]. They found that a loss of brightness does occur in the dark, but depends strongly on temperature and relative humidity (RH). For example, virtually no loss of brightness was observed when the sample was stored either at 0% RH (23°C) or at a low temperature of 4°C (50% RH). In another study, Jordan et al. found that the average sheet of Canadian newsprint loses about 2 brightness points after storage for two years in an office filing cabinet [7]. The rate of darkening varied from a minimum of 0.4 brightness point per year for some pulpandpapercanada.com

newsprint to a maximum of 1.4 brightness points per year for others. Recent work also showed that during storage and shipping, nitrogen oxides (NOx), even at a low concentration, can cause rapid yellowing of mechanical pulps and strength loss of both mechanical and chemical pulps [2].

These studies focused on either strength loss during accelerated aging or yellowing of newsprint or handsheets under storage conditions. There is no information on how fast HYP loses brightness and strength, particularly in the form of pulp bales. Therefore there is still a concern that during storage, HYP may lose its papermaking potential, such as bonding ability, leading to a reduction in strength properties of the sheets.

The objective of this study is to quantify the change in strength and brightness of HYP during natural storage. Such quantitative information can help in predicting storage effects and deciding the maximum storage time that can be tolerated.

X. ZOU, FPInnovations Paprican Division Pointe-Claire, QC xzou@paprican.ca

Y. ZHOU, Tembec Inc. Temiscaming, QC

EXPERIMENTAL

Samples and Storage Conditions In the first part of this study, we re-tested the handsheets which were used in the previous Canadian Permanent Paper Research project [4].

Handsheets from five different pulps were tested, including TMP, HYP and kraft, all produced

by Canadian pulp mills. These handsheets were placed in opaque envelopes and stored in a constant temperature and humidity room (23°C and 50% RH). Detailed information about these sheets can be found in Begin et al. [4].

In the second part, we examined high-yield pulps stored in dry pulp form in a warehouse.

Three typical high-yield pulps (aspen, birch and maple) were selected. Aspen and birch pulps have an ISO brightness of around 85, while maple pulp has a brightness of around 80. These pulp samples

S. RAYMOND, Tembec Inc. Temiscaming, QC

D. JOLETTE, Tembec Inc. Temiscaming, QC

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FIG. 1. Change in zero-span tensile strength after 5 years of storage.

FIG. 2. Change in tear index after 5 years of storage.

FIG. 3. Change in tensile index after 5 years of storage.

FIG. 4. Change in stretch after 5 years of storage.

were sealed in black plastic bags (not exposed to light) during warehouse storage. It should be pointed out that the temperature and relative humidity of the warehouse were not controlled.

Samples were taken out every month or so for handsheet preparation and testing. We have traced the pattern of change in the sheet properties of three high-yield pulps that had been stored for up to 14 months.

Testing Bulk and strength properties such as zero-span tensile strength, tear, tensile, stretch, burst and MIT double folds were measured.

Optical properties such as brightness and b* were also measured.

All these properties were measured in accordance with PAPTAC standards.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Samples Stored in Sheet Form Strength and brightness results after five years of storage at 23°C and 50% RH are shown in Figs. 1 to 4. The softwood (spruce) and hardwood (aspen) high-yield pulps are compared to hardwood (aspen) bleached kraft pulps because HYP is often used to substitute for hardwood kraft. As can be seen, there is no statistically significant change in strength properties for both HYP and kraft, including zero-span tensile strength, Fig. 1, tear index, Fig. 2, tensile strength, Fig. 3, and stretch, Fig. 4, after five years of natural storage.

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TABLE I. Results of MIT double folds.

Sample HYP (Aspen) HYP(Spruce) Kraft (Aspen)

Initial

After 5 years of storage

10 ± 2 471 ± 123 23 ± 5

8±1 456 ± 57 20 ± 6

The MIT double folds were also measured because it is very sensitive to any degradation of strength during aging or storage.

As can be seen from the results in Table I, it is difficult to detect statistically significant changes in MIT double folds for all three samples after five years of storage. It should be mentioned that sheets of hardwood pulps (both HYP and kraft) have lower fold endurance due to their short fibre length.

The brightness results are shown in Fig. 5. In addition to two high-yield pulps and one hardwood kraft pulp, the results from a TMP and a softwood kraft pulp are also included. As can be seen, both aspen and spruce HYP lost 3.5 points in brightness, and TMP lost 2.5 points, while aspen kraft lost only 0.5 points after five years of storage at 23°C and 50% RH. This compares well with the results obtained from newsprint by Jordan et al. [6].

They observed that newsprint loses brightness ranging from 0.4 to 1.4 points per year. It is interesting to note that spruce kraft lost 1.5 points in brightness after five years of storage, more than aspen kraft. pulpandpapercanada.com

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FIG. 5. Change in brightness after 5 years of storage.

FIG. 6. Change in bulk of HYP during storage.

FIG. 7. Change in tensile index of HYP during storage.

FIG. 8. Change in tear index of HYP during storage.

These results show that HYP in sheet form is very stable (in fact, as stable as kraft pulp) in terms of strength properties during storage up to five years. Although HYP sheets yellow faster than kraft sheets, they lose only about 0.7 units in brightness per year on average. This is considered insignificant because, in most cases, HYP is stored no longer than one year before being used for papermaking.

Samples Stored in the Pulp Bale Form We also investigated the stability of the HYP in pulp bale form. This is based on the following considerations: 1. Different from sheet form, pulp does not contain any chemical additives from the papermaking process, such as alum or other chemicals. Some chemical additives may adversely affect the paper stability.

2. Pulp is always well wrapped and stored in a warehouse without exposure to light.

3. HYP is shipped and stored in the bale form. Unlike a piece of paper, if a change of properties occurs as a result of exposure to environmental changes, it mainly happens on the outer layer of the bale. Most of the pulp in the middle is usually unaffected.

The results from storage of up to fourpulpandpapercanada.com

teen months are shown in Figs. 6 to 10. High-yield pulps from three different wood species (aspen, birch, and maple) were used for this study. Samples were taken out from the outer layer every month to test the pulp properties and monitor the change in strength and optical properties.

Bulk was determined because it is an important performance parameter for high-yield pulps. As can be seen in Fig. 6, there is no consistent decreasing trend for bulk, although the data seem to fluctuate to some extent. This kind of fluctuation is not an indication of the systematic change in pulp properties, but rather due to the inherent data variations associated with handsheet making.

Results in Figs. 7 and 8 show that there is no statistically significant change in strength properties such as tear index and tensile index over a period of fourteen months of storage. It should be pointed out that the there is quite a bit of fluctuation of strength properties. Coefficients of variation (COV) calculated from the data in Figs. 7 and 8 are: 8% for tensile index and 6-8% for tear index, whereas the corresponding COV for the standard handsheet testing is 5-6%. These results indicate no significant loss of papermaking

potential (i.e. bonding) during storage for up to fourteen months.

For optical properties, Fig. 9 shows that there was no statistically significant change in brightness with time for aspen HYP (slope = -0.0003, R2 = 0.33), but a very small decrease in brightness for birch HYP (slope = -0.0031, R2 = 0.48) and maple HYP (slope = -0.036, R2 = 0.67). b* is another important optical property for HYP as it gives an indication of the yellowish appearance. Figure 10 shows that there is a slight increase in b* for all three high-yield pulps (slope = 0.015 and R2= 0.52 for aspen; slope = 0.018 and R2 = 0.59 for birch; slope = 0.019 and R2 = 0.82 for maple). These results again indicate that the optical properties of HYP do not change significantly during shortterm storage if exposed to normal storage conditions. However, some caution may be needed, as discussed in the following section.

Effect of Limited Yellowing in Pulp Bale on the Overall Brightness The above results were obtained with sheets or pulp well wrapped (i.e. no exposure to light or NOx). However, in practice, the wrapping of a HYP bale may sometimes Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

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pulp properties

FIG. 9. Change in brightness of HYP during storage.

FIG. 11. Relationship between the amount of yellowed pulp and depth.

be damaged during transportation or storage. Damaged bales may then be exposed to light, or even to NOx if the ventilation is poor in a warehouse [2]. In such situations, significant yellowing may occur in the outer layer of the bales or isolated areas [2]. In most cases, there is only a thin layer of yellowed pulp strips with several points drop in brightness, with the major part of the bale not affected. However, in some extreme cases, yellowing could be observed 0.5-1.0 cm deep into the bale with a drop of 10-20 points in brightness. The question, therefore, arises whether the yellowed pulp significantly affects the pulp properties of the full bale including brightness and strength.

The percentage of yellowed pulp to the whole pulp in a bale (bale size: 60 3 80 3 50 cm) can be estimated by assuming that yellowing occurs uniformly on all sides, which may be the worst scenario. As expected, the amount of yellowed pulp increases almost linearly with the depth of the yellowed layer, Fig. 11. For example, if the yellowed layer has a depth of one centimetre (as an extreme case), the amount of yellowed pulp is about 5% of the overall bale. It should be pointed out that in a practical situation, yellowing occurs only in the damaged areas and thus the percentage of yellowed pulp should be much smaller.

To see how the amount of yellowed pulp affects the overall optical properties, we mixed the “yellowed” pulp with “normal” pulp at different ratios, and then measured the brightness and b*.

A yellowed maple pulp was obtained by artificial exposure to UV light in the lab (resulted in a drop of 9 points in brightness). A yellowed aspen pulp was obtained from a warehouse after exposure to NOx during storage (a drop of 14 points in brightness in the outer layer up to 1 cm deep). The results are shown in Figs. 12 and 13 for both brightness and b*. As expected, the loss of bright30

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

FIG. 10. Change in b* of HYP during storage.

FIG. 12. Effect of yellowed pulp on overall brightness.

FIG. 13. Effect of yellowed pulp on overall b*.

ness in the whole pulp is proportional to the percentage of yellowed pulp in the bale and the degree of yellowing. For example, if 5% of the maple pulp in a bale loses 10 points in brightness on the outer layer, the total loss of brightness will be approximately 10 x 5%, i.e. 0.5 point. In most cases, there is only a yellowed strip on the bale surface and therefore the loss of brightness in the whole pulp is even smaller, and too small to be detected.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Under normal storage conditions (23°C, 50% RH, in the dark and free of NOx), sheets made from HYP do not lose strength over a five year period. Although HYP sheets lose more brightness than kraft sheets, there is only a slight decrease in brightness (about 0.7 points per year). When HYP is stored in a warehouse in dry pulp bale form, no significant change is observed in either strength or optical properties over a period of 14 months. HYP may lose more brightness if exposed to light or nitrogen oxide due to damaged wrapping than under normal storage conditions. pulpandpapercanada.com

peer reviewed However, if such exposure occurs only to a limited extent in the outer layer, the impact on properties of the overall bale is minimal.

LITERATURE

1. LEARY, G.J. Recent Progress in Understanding and Inhibiting the Light-Induced Yellowing of Mechanical Pulps. J. Pulp Pap. Sci. 20(6): J154-J160 (1994).

2. ZOU, X. During Storage and Shipping, Nitrogen Oxide Can Cause Yellowing and Degradation of Pulp and Paper Products. Pulp & Paper Can. 105(3): 12-15 (2004).

3. GURNAGUL, N., HOWARD, R., ZOU, X., UESAKA, T., PAGE, D.H. The Mechanical Permanence of Paper: A Literature Review. J. Pulp Pap. Sci., 19(4): J160-J166 (1993).

4. BEGIN, P., DESCHATELETS, S., GRATTON, D., GURNAGUL, N., IRACI, J., KAMINSKA, E., WOODS, D., ZOU, X. The Impact of Lignin on Paper Permanence. A Comprehensive Study of the Aging Behaviour of Handsheets and Commercial Paper Samples.

Restaurator 19: 135-154 (1998).

5. BEGIN, P., DESCHATELETS, S., GRATTON, D.,

GURNAGUL, N., IRACI, J., KAMINSKA, E., WOODS, D., ZOU, X. The Effect of Air Pollutants on Paper Stability. Restaurator 20:1-21 (1999).

6. MCLELLAN, F., COLODETTE, J.L., FAIRBANK, M.G., WHITING, P. Factors Affecting Ambient Ther-

mal Reversion of High-yield Pulps. J. Pulp Pap. Sci. 16(6): J173-J179 (1990).

7. JORDAN, B., O’NEILL, M., SOMERVILLE, N. The Brightness Loss in Newsprint from Natural Aging. J. Pulp Pap. Sci. 21(1): J9-J12 (1995).

Résumé: La pâte à haut rendement (PHR) est souvent stockée dans un entrepôt avant d’être utilisée pour fabriquer du papier. On s’inquiète du fait que les propriétés de la PHR pourraient être modifiées lors du stockage de courte durée. Dans le présent rapport, nous présentons une étude sur la stabilité de la PHR en feuilles ou en balles. Les résultats indiquent que la résistance de la PHR est très stable dans des conditions normales de stockage. Bien que la PHR jaunisse plus rapidement que la pâte kraft, elle ne perd en moyenne que 0,7 unité de blancheur au cours d’un an. En certains cas où le jaunissement est plus prononcé, mais limité aux couches extérieures de la balle de pâte, les effets sur les propriétés de l’ensemble de la balle demeurent minimes.

Reference:

ZOU, X, ZHOU, Y., RAYMOND, S., JOLETTE, D. Brightness and strength stability of high-yield pulps during short-term storage. Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009: T10-14. Paper presented at the 89th Annual Meeting in Montreal, QC, January 28-30, 2003. Not to be reproduced without permission of PAPTAC. Manuscript received November 25, 2002. Revised manuscript approved for publication by the Review Panel on October 24, 2008.

Keywords: BCTMP, BRIGHTNESS, HIGH-YIELD PULP, OPTICAL PROPERTIES, PULP PROPERTIES, STABILITY, STORAGE, STRENGTH, YELLOWING.

events calendar March 2-6 • Hands on Workshop for Pulp and Paper Basics Raleigh, N.C. (www.tappi.org) April 14-17 • International Colloquium on Eucalyptus Pulp Laboratorio Tecnológico Del Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay (www.4thicep.com/english/index.html) May 11-13 • 10th International Conference on Wood & Biofibre Plastic Composities & Cellulose Nanocomposites Symposium Madison, Wis. (conferences@forestprod.org) May 11-15 • Papricourse 2009 FPInnovations-Paprican, PointeClaire, Quebec (H. Avedesian, 514-630-4101, ext. 2349; heather. avedesian@fpinnovations.ca) May 11-15 • BCIT Pulp and Paper Technology Summer Institute, Prince George, British Columbia (www.pulp.bcit.ca) May 18-20 • 2009 TAPPI 12th European PLACE Conference Budapest, Hungary (www.tappi.org; memberconnection@tappi. org; 1-800-446-9431) May 31-June 3 • PaperCon ’09 St. Louis, Mo. (www.tappi.org; memberconnection@tappi.org; 1-800-446-9431) June 1-4 • International Mechanical Pulping Conference Sundvall, Sweden (G. Hay; 514-392-6964) June 10-12 • International Paper and Coating Chemistry Symposium McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. (G. Hay; 514-392-6964) June 10-13 • PACWEST Conference Delta Sun Peaks Resort, Kamloops, B.C. (M. Barnes; 604-988-9829; barnesmm@shaw.ca) June 11-12 • International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Pre-Symposium Trondheim, Norway pulpandpapercanada.com

June 15-18 • International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Main Symposium Oslo, Norway (G. Hay; 514-3926964) June 21-23 • Forest Products Society 63rd International Convention Doubletree Hotel Boise-Riverside, Boise, Idaho Sept. 13-18 • XIVth Fundamental Research Symposium Oxford, UK (frc14oxford2009.org.uk; www.frc14oxford2009.org.uk) Sept. 28-30 • International Conference on Wood Adhesives Lake Tahoe, Nev. (cfrihart@fs.fed.us) Oct. 11-14 • TAPPI Engineering, Pulping, Environmental Conference Memphis, Tenn (www.tappi.org) Oct. 18-21 • 15th Asian-Pacific Corrosion Control Conference Manila, Philippines

pulp & paper people poll Each month, Pulp & Paper Canada takes a poll on a timely issue concerning the pulp, paper and forestry industry.

The results are published here.

Last month, PPC asked readers the following: Do you plan on attending PAPTAC Annual Meeting and EXFOR 2009 in February in Montreal?

A) Yes B) No C) I am uncertain

31% 64% 5%

Visit www.pulpandpapercanada.com to vote in this month’s poll!

Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

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Join us

at McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

for the

7TH

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

Paper and Coating Chemistry Symposium

June 10 –12, 2009 Hamilton, Ontario Canada

Visit

c.ca a t p a p . www

ents v E g n i n Com o k c i l c and ram. g o r P y r imina l e r P e h for t

For further information, please contact: Andrea Borrelli 514-392-6961 aborrelli@paptac.ca

dewatering

Improved product quality and increased production capacity with impulse technology By m. Bäckström, m. Drotz, a. Tubek-lindblom and e. Blohm Abstract: Impulse technology is a high-intensity web consolidation technique in which water is removed from a wet paper web by the combined action of mechanical pressure and intense heat. Pilot trials show that impulse technology is a feasible technique for the production of linerboard, paperboard and fine paper.

Improved dewatering, combined with enhanced mechanical and surface properties, are benefits that can be obtained.

I

mpulse technology is a novel highintensity web consolidation technique in which water is removed from a wet paper web by the combined action of mechanical pressure and intense heat. The common feature to all high-intensity processes is the use of the positive effect of increased web temperature on both dewatering rate and web consolidation. The concept stems from Douglas Wahren’s invention and vision of combining pressing and drying into a single operation [1,2]. The concept was called “impulse drying” and envisaged a very efficient dewatering of the paper web by exposing it to a heated surface. Later, it was realised that high temperature provides the potential to modify or improve the paper surface. To encompass this extended opportunity, the concept of “impulse technology” was established.

According to the original description of the process, steam would form in the first part of the press nip when the sheet comes in contact with the hot roll [1]. The resulting steam pressure was expected to act as an extra dewatering force, displacing free liquid water from the paper into the felt. This theory is often referred to as “steam-assisted displacement dewatering” [1,3,4,5]. Experimental work at STFI-Packforsk by Lucisano [6] suggests that little or no steam is formed in an impulse nip prior to the point of maximum applied load.

The concept of “flashing-assisted displacement dewatering” was instead proposed as the mechanism for impulse technology [6]. Hot liquid water flashes to steam as the nip is unloaded and the hydraulic pressure decreases. The forces developed upon flashing can be used to displace liquid water, which results in effective dewatering.

Increased dewatering capacity is always interesting from a production point of view. As a rough estimate, one percentage increase in sheet pulpandpapercanada.com

dryness after the press section corresponds to a 4% increase in drying capacity and a 4% reduction in steam per ton [7]. In addition, impulse technology can improve the mechanical properties of the paper, which is of keen interest since it can lead to decreased total fiber usage or substitutions of less expensive raw materials.

Different paper grades have different requirements, both from the manufacturing as well as from the end users’ point of view. For example, burst strength and compression index are important properties for linerboard, whereas density is not a critical property due to the role of liner in corrugated fibreboard. On the other hand, the relation between bending stiffness and surface smoothness is the key relation for paperboard. The demands on fine paper are somewhat different, since good printability combined with sufficient stiffness is important. The two paper sides should also be equal in surface characteristics.

The objective of this paper is to show that impulse technology is a feasible technique for industrial scale papermaking. Results from pilot trials show that impulse technology could successfully be applied to the production of linerboard, paperboard and fine paper. The specific demands for different grades were met by different pressing strategies in the impulse units.

M. BÄCKSTRÖM, STFI-Packforsk Stockholm, Sweden marie.backstrom@stfi.se

M. DROTZ STFI-Packforsk Stockholm, Sweden

A. TUBEK-LINDBLOM STFI-Packforsk Stockholm, Sweden

EXPERIMENTAL

The press section of the research paper machine EuroFEX at STFI-Packforsk was rebuilt in order to perform impulse technology trials. After the rebuild, the press section consists of one double felted roll press, followed by two SymBelt presses delivered by Metso. The shoe length is 250 mm.

The rolls in the two shoe presses are inverted in relation to each other. Thus, both sides of the web can be brought into contact with a hot roll,

E. BLOHM STFI-Packforsk Stockholm, Sweden

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dewatering which is essential for the symmetry of the final sheet. The rolls in the shoe presses can be heated by induction, using externally placed coils, to high temperatures (300°C or higher). The press felts were manufactured by Albany International and designed to withstand the high temperatures in the impulse technology process.

Paper drying was performed off-line either on a single cylinder or on a multicylinder dryer. In the single cylinder dryer, the paper was dried totally restrained in the CD direction. When drying in the multicylinder dryer, the draw in the machine direction was as low as possible and no special arrangement was used to restrain the sheet in CD. All mechanical properties were evaluated on paper samples from the single cylinder dryer and the surface properties were evaluated on paper samples from the multi-cylinder dryer.

Linerboard Linerboard with a basis weight of 110 g/m2 was produced using a roll forming unit at a machine speed of 350 m/min. Dried commercial unbleached pulp refined to 20-30 °SR was used. Starch, silica and CPAM were added for strength and retention, and AKD was added for sizing.

The linear loads were: first press, 60 kN/m; second press, 400-600 kN/m; third press, 400-800 kN/m. The temperatures were varied from ambient to 200°C in the second, and from ambient to 240°C in the third press.

Paperboard A three-ply paperboard with a basis weight of 140 g/m2 (50/40/50) was produced at a machine speed of 350 m/min. The middle ply and the outer ply were formed in the roll former, and the second outer ply was formed in the fourdrinier former. The stock used for outer plies was a mixture of bleached softwood and hardwood sulphate pulp beaten to 23-25 °SR with 5% filler (GCC, Hydrocarb 60). Starch, silica and CPAM were added for strength and retention, and AKD was added for sizing. The stock for the middle ply was gently beaten, dried unbleached softwood pulp (20-22 °SR). The linear loads were: first press, 60 kN/m, and at different combinations in the second and third press, from 100/100 kN/m to 500/1000 kN/m. The temperatures were varied from ambient to 200°C using both one and two impulse units.

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Fine paper Woodfree printing paper with a basis weight of 80 g/m2 was produced using a mixture of 40/60 bleached softwood/ hardwood pulp. The beating degree of the pulp was 27 ºSR. Starch and silica were added for strength and retention, and AKD was added for sizing. The paper was formed in the STFI-former, which is based on a combination of roll and blade dewatering. The machine speed was 600 m/min. The linear loads used in the press section were: first press, 60 kN/m; second press, between 300 and 1000 kN/m; and third press, between 300 and 1000 kN/m.

The temperatures in the shoe presses were varied from ambient to 280°C.

FIG. 1. Density as a function of outgoing solids content after the 3rd press for linerboard.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Linerboard Since density is not a critical property, the pressing strategy in the production of liner focused on using as high temperature and pressure in the impulse units as possible, as long as delamination could be avoided.

Linerboard was produced at different process conditions with both one and two impulse units. The temperature in the impulse units was varied between ambient and 240°C. The density was strongly dependent upon the solids content out of the impulse nip, Fig. 1. At wet pressing conditions, the out-going solids content was approximately 46-49% and when impulse technology was applied using one impulse unit at 240°C, a solids content of 58% was reached. The density increased from 725 kg/m3 to 900 kg/m3 when the temperatures were increased in the impulse units.

This quite dramatic increase in solids content after the press section implies that impulse technology has the potential to increase the capacity of a drier-limited liner machine by approximately 40%.

In addition to improved dewatering, a 30 to 40% increase in burst index was observed in the linerboard trials at elevated temperatures, Fig. 2. The improvement was well in range with what has been reported by Palokangas [8] for the Condebelt process.

Figure 3 is an example of how the pressing strategy may affect the compression index. This particular case illustrates the importance of selecting the right temperature combination in the two press nips. When the temperature reached 240°C with one heated nip, the compres-

FIG. 2. Burst index as a function of solids content after 3rd press for a linerboard.

FIG. 3. Compression index (geometrical) as a function of solids content after 3rd press for a linerboard. Filled and unfilled symbols illustrate the linear load in the 2nd nip. The temperatures in the impulse units are given in brackets for each sample. The linear load in third press was 800 kN/m.

FIG. 4. Scott Bond as a function of solids content after 3rd press for a linerboard. pulpandpapercanada.com

peer reviewed

FIG. 5. Bending resistance as a function of surface roughness for conventional and impulse pressed paperboard.

Surface roughness was measured on hot roll side on the 2nd impulse unit.

sion strength deteriorated. With a proper temperature combination in both nips increases of approximately 15% have been observed.

Dramatic increases in Scott Bond values were observed for the linerboard, Fig. 4. Scott Bond measures the strength in the thickness direction of the sheet and can also be used as an indicator of delamination. The increase in Scott Bond was substantial, from 300 J/m2 up to 550 J/m2.

Paperboard The paperboard trials focused on using high temperatures in the impulse unit to smooth the paper surface while preserving the stiffness of the paper by having moderate linear loads in the impulse units. Figure 5 shows the relationship between bending resistance and surface roughness for conventional and impulse-pressed paperboard with unbleached kraft pulp in the middle ply and a mixture of bleached soft- and hardwood kraft pulps in the outer plies.

The results show that impulse pressing is a viable technique to effectively shift the relationship between the bending stiffness and surface roughness towards lower surface roughness values, i.e. impulse technology yields smoother paperboard at constant bending stiffness. The out-going solids content was increased by 3-5% when the temperature was increased from ambient to 180°C in the two impulse units.

Fine paper Impulse technology employing only one impulse unit results in more severe twosidedness than conventional wet pressing since the surface roughness of the hot roll side of the impulse-treated paper is always substantially reduced, whereas the surface roughness of the felt side is unchanged or pulpandpapercanada.com

FIG. 6. The PPS value for both paper sides (roll and felt side) at different linear loads. The temperature in the first impulse unit was 200°C and in the second impulse unit 160°C.

TABLE I. Properties of impulse-pressed fine paper produced at two different temperature combinations in 1st and 2nd impulse nip. The paper was pilot calendered and offset laboratory printed on a Prüfbau-equipment. Comparison is made with a reference pressed at ambient temperature.

Reference

Temperature 2nd / 3rd press (1st / 2nd impulse unit), °C Dryness after pressing, % Apparent density, kg/m3 PPS, µm Calendering load kN/m (to reach PPS=3,5 µm) Gloss, 75° (at PPS=3,5 µm) Ink demand (at PPS=3,5 µm) Print contrast at 70% coverage, print density 1,05 (at PPS=3,5 µm)

slightly increased.

By setting the right combination of linear loads and temperatures in the two impulse units, it was possible to produce a smoother paper with the same surface roughness on both paper sides, Fig. 6. To obtain an equally-sided paper with respect to surface roughness, the linear load in third press (second impulse unit) should be lower than the linear load in second press (first impulse unit). This somewhat unconventional pressing strategy also increased the out-going solids content by 8% in relation to conventional pressing.

Due to the reduced surface roughness on the impulse-pressed paper, the required linear load in the calendering process could be reduced, which preserved the stiffness of the paper. Printing evaluation showed improved printing properties for the impulse-produced paper, Table I. Corresponding results regarding surface roughness and printability have been observed for linerboard as well as paperboard.

Impulse pressing

25/25

230/200

200/220

50,4 866 7,4 335

62,5 944 5,4 130

62,7 912 5,3 130

37 1,43 28

42 1,33 32

42 1,22 27

CONCLUSIONS

The results from EuroFEX trials show that impulse technology is a viable technique to increase production and improve product quality. Key properties for linerboard, paperboard and fine paper have been improved by using different pressing strategies.

An implementation of the technique offers: • Improved dewatering. Increase in production up to 40% if the dryer section is the limit • Improved mechanical properties • Smoother surface • Improved surface-stiffness relation • Improved printability In this paper, energy aspects have not been dealt with; the energy balance data showed that energy savings are possible.

Naturally, cost savings are very sensitive to the price of the energy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to acknowledge Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

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dewatering the Swedish National Energy Department (STEM) and the participating companies in the impulse technology project.

LITERATURE

1. WAHREN, D. Förfarande och anordning för konsolidering och torkning av en porös bana. Swedish Patent no. 7803672-0 (1978).

2. WAHREN, D. Method and apparatus for the rapid consolidation of moist porous web. USA Patent no.

4,324,613 (1982).

3. ARENANDER, S., WAHREN, D. Impulse drying adds new dimensions to water removal. Tappi J 66(9): 123-126 (1983).

4. ORLOFF, D.I., PATTERSON, T.F., PARVIAINEN, P.M. Opening the operating window of impulse drying- II Pressure differential as a source of delamination. Tappi J 81(8): 195-203 (1998).

5. LINDSAY, J.D. The physics of impulse drying: New insight from numerical modelling. Proc. 9th Fundamental Research Symposium-Fundamentals of Paper Making, vol 2, pp 679-729 (1989).

6. LUCISANO, M. On Heat and Paper: From hot

pressing to Impulse Technology. Doctoral Dissertation, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Sweden (2002).

7. FALES, G. A new hot press in Mexico intrigues US

visitors. Pap. Age 104(9): 8-9 (1998).

8. PALOKANGAS, A. Condebelt -modern drying sets new demands on fabrics. Pap. Technol. 38(6):35-42 (1997).

Résumé: La technologie par impulsions est une technique de consolidation de la feuille à haute intensité selon laquelle on procède à l’évaporation de l’eau d’une feuille de papier par pressage à l’aide d’un rouleau chauffé par induction. Des essais pilotes indiquent que la technologie par impulsions peut servir à la production de carton couverture, de carton, et de papier fin. Elle permet d’améliorer l’essorage ainsi que les propriétés mécaniques et les propriétés de surface.

Reference: BÄCKSTRÖM, M. DROTZ, M., TUBEK-LINDBLOM, A., BLOHM. E. Improved

product quality and increased production capacity with impulse technology. Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009 T15-18. Paper presented at the 92nd Annual Meeting in Montreal, QC, February 6-10, 2006. Not to be reproduced without permission of PAPTAC. Manuscript received November 22, 2005. Revised manuscript approved for publication by the Review Panel October 9, 2008.

Keywords: WET PRESSING, IMPULSE DRYING, DEWATERING, PAPER PROPERTIES, LINER PAPERBOARD, WOODFREE PAPER.

on the move John D. Williams officially took over as president and chief executive officer of Domtar Corp. on Jan. 1, replacing Raymond Royer, who retired after a 12-year career as the company’s CEO. Williams comes to Domtar from SCA Packaging Europe, where he served as president since 2005. He is a graduate of King’s College, London Williams University. Prior to becoming president of SCA Packaging Europe, Williams held increasingly senior management and operational positions in the packaging business and related industries.

Weyerhaeuser Company has elected Charles R. Williamson as non-executive chairman to replace Steven R. Rogel, who plans to retire on April 15. Rogel has served as Weyerhaeuser’s chairman since 1999.

Williamson has been on the board since 2004 and has served as lead director since 2006. He currently chairs the executive committee and serves on the finance and compensation committees.

Previously, Williamson was the executive vice president of Chevron Texaco Corporation until he retired in 2005. He has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Unocal Corporation until Chevron Texaco acquired it. He is also a director of Talisman Energy Inc. and PACCAR Inc. Weyerhaeuser Company also recently announced that Wayne W. Murdy will join its board of directors following the planned retirement of Rt. Hon. Donald F. Mazankowski, who has been a director since 1997. Mazankowski was a member of Parliament from 1968 to 1993, and served as Deputy Prime Minister. He was also Minister of Finance between 1991 and 1993.

Murdy has served as chairman and, since 2001, as chief executive officer of Newmont Mining Corporation until he retired in 2007. Before joining Newmont as chief financial officer in 1992, Murdy spent 15 years in senior positions in the oil and gas industry, including Apache Corporation and Getty Oil Company. He is also a director of Qwest Communications International Inc. 36

February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

Tennessee-based Verso Paper Corp. has appointed Eric Press to its board of directors following the voluntary resignation of Joshua Harris.

Press is a partner of Apollo Management VII, L.P., an affiliate of New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Before joining Apollo in 1998, Press had been an associate with the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz from 1992 to 1998, and was also a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group from 1987 to 1989.

In addition to Verso Paper Corp., Press serves on the boards of directors of Affinion Group Inc., Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., Metals USA Inc., Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. and Quality Distribution Inc. Dominic Gammiero has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Western Forest Products on an interim basis following the recent resignation of Reynold Hert.

Hert will continue to assist the company in certain areas going forward to ensure an orderly transition.

Gammiero, a Western Director and an executive with 30 years of forest industry and capital market experience, including 10 years in British Columbia, will act as interim president and CEO until a permanent replacement has been found.

Desmond Smith recently joined BRUKS-Rockwood as vice president of the company’s newlyformed BRUKS-Rockwood West Coast office in Snohomish, Wash. Smith has worked in the areas of bulk materials handling, wood chipping, and Smith materials screening for over 24 years, most recently as vice president and general manager of Acrowood Corporation in Everett, Wash. In his new position, he will develop business opportunities in the western USA and Canada, while also supporting the overall sales and marketing efforts of the BRUKSRockwood office in Alpharetta, Ga., and BRUKS group offices in Sweden. pulpandpapercanada.com

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IMMEDIATE DELIVERY

CALL: 800-704-2002 10HP TO 250,000#/hr

250,000#/hr Nebraska 750 psig 750OTTF 150,000#/hr Nebraska 1025 psig 900OTTF 150,000#/hr Nebraska 750 psig 750OTTF 150,000#/hr Nebraska 350 psig 115,000#/hr Nebraska 350 psig 80,000#/hr Nebraska 750 psig 80,000#/hr Erie City 2000 psig 800OTTF 75,000#/hr Nebraska 350 psig 70,000#/hr Nebraska 750 psig 750OTTF 60,000#/hr Nebraska 350 psig 40,000#/hr Nebraska 350 psig 20,000#/hr Erie City 200 psig 10-1000HP Firetube 15-600 psig ALL PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE COMBINATIONS SUPERHEATED AND SATURATED

RENTAL FLEET OF MOBILE TRAILER-MOUNTED BOILERS 75,000#/hr.

75,000#/hr.

60,000#/hr.

50,000#/hr.

40,000#/hr.

30,000#/hr.

75-300HP

Nebraska Optimus Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska Firetube

350 psig 750 psig 350 psig 500 psig 350 psig 350 psig 15-600 psig

750°TTF

ALL BOILERS ARE COMBINATION GAS/OIL

ENGINEERING • START-UP FULL LINE OF BOILER AUXILIARY SUPPORT EQUIPMENT. Electric Generators: 50KW-30,000KW

WEB SITE: www.wabashpower.com 847-541-5600 • FAX: 847-541-1279 E-mail: info@wabashpower.com

wabash

POWER EQUIPMENT CO.

444 Carpenter Avenue, Wheeling, IL 60090

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

BELT PRESS DEWATERING SYSTEMS Telephone 416. 391. 2322 E-mail mail@dickeng.com Web site www.dickeng.com

• 0.8 – 3.0 METER BELT WIDTHS • HEAVY-DUTY CONSTRUCTION • PACKAGED SKID SYSTEMS • FREE LAB TESTING • FACTORY START-UP SERVICE

Phoenix Process Equipment Co. www.dewater.com (502) 499-6198

Careers

Clean Any Tank...

PulP & PaPer Jobs Freeman Staffing, Inc. specializes in the placement of engineers (all disciplines), production type supervisors, managers, mill and/or plant managers and corporate executives in the pulp & paper industry, North America-wide. For specific current job searches call us or contact our web site. All resumes are treated with complete confidentiality.

Freeman Staffing, Inc.

(800) 221-9629 or FAX (360) 653-8271 email: markp@freemanstaffing.com

web site: www.freemanstaffing.com pulpandpapercanada.com

• Any Chest, Digester, Pulper, Vessel or Tote • Fastest & Most Efficient Technology • Rotary Impingement GAMAJET® Cleaning Systems, Inc., 604 Jeffers Circle - Exton, PA 19341 Gamajet.com • sales@gamajet.com • 1-877-GAMAJET

Pulp & Paper Canada February 2009

37

Professional Connections Equipment

Good things come in small packages.

You just proved that advertising works. To inquire about advertising in Pulp & Paper Canada Contact

Kimberley Carrera 416-510-5206 Fax: 416-510-5140

Product Showcase Best Gloves BEST GLOVES research and development has led to a full line of work gloves featuring the latest in glove technology. Each is covered in a specific coating designed with the appropriate protective requirements necessary to service a wide variety of industrial and work applications. Fully integrated – from knitting to sewing and dipping the company takes pride in the quality of its extensive product line.

Best Glove Manufacturing Limited 253 Michaud Street Coaticook, QC, J1A 1A9 Customer Service 1-800-565-BEST

Advertiser Index Advertiser Allnorth Consultants Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Best Glove Manufacturing Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Buckman Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Deublin Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dick Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Freeman Staffing Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gamajet Cleaning Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Indeck Power Engineering Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kadant Canada Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kemira Chemicals, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAPTAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Phoenix Process Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jeffrey Rader Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sandwell EPC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wabash Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Weavexx Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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February 2009 Pulp & Paper Canada

Website Page # www.allnorth.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.bestglove.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 www.buckman.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 www.deublin.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 www.dickeng.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.freemanstaffing.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.gamajet.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.indeck.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 www.kadant.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 www.kemira.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 www.pactac.ca. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 www.dewater.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.jeffreyrader.com/ppc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 www.sandwell.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.wabashpower.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.smartrolltechnology.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 pulpandpapercanada.com

Count on a value-added partner.

At Kemira, we add value for our customers by helping them improve their processes and increase their profits through better use of scarce resources (water, energy, fibers) and minimizing waste through recycling. Our new customer segment approach allows us to focus our R&D efforts to the specific needs of our customers and tailor our offering of products and services to meet those needs.

Just add Kemira. You can count on us for all of your papermaking needs.

1380 County Road #2, P. O. Box 615, Maitland, Ontario KOE 1PO Tel. 800 688 5992 www.kemira.com

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Š2008 Buckman Laboratiories