Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

Pulp& Paper Canada

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MAY/June 2013

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What’s

happening in the

woods?

• Harvesting for biomass • Running lean with GIS

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May/June 2013 Vol. 114, No. 3 A Business Information Group Publication Print edition ISSN 0316-4004 On-line edition ISSN 1923-3515

Canada

Over 100 years of serving the industry

Cover story

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Canfor leverages data management to streamline forest management An enterprise data management system reduces costs and increases productivity through centralized access to GIS-based resources.

12

14 Harvesting for biomass

The first step to successful harvesting of biomass is to think of the roadside residue as a valuable product, not waste.

20 14

FEATURES

10 Bioproducts still seeking buyers

With new sources of both lignin and nanocellulose coming on line, the two biochemicals are starting to see commercial success.

16 G oing lean – The shape of IT’s future

The role of the lean IT department is to study processes, research the latest technological tools, then implement the best ones to optimize production processes.

IN EVERY ISSUE

4 Editorial 6 News 8 Opinion: FPAC 8 Opinion: FPInnovations 18 Technology News 20 Technology News – Recycling 21 Classified Ads 22 Bio-Economy

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MISSION STATEMENT: To promote the pulp and paper industry in Canada by publishing news of its people and their innovations in research, technology, management and financing, as well as forecasts of future trends.

Serving the industry since 1903.

For breaking news, visit www.pulpandpapercanada.com Cover image: courtesy of Esri

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

May/June 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

3

Editorial

Canada in 2050: energy superpower or crippled by climate change?

S

etting aside the more significant issue of energy from biomass, let’s look at the larger energy picture for a few minutes. The Conference Board of Canada recently released a free, downloadable document called Energy Futures for Canada, which lays out four possible scenarios for Canada in 2050.

The report is based on strategic foresight methodologies, meaning it aims to develop a series of plausible futures instead of one probable or most-likely future.

Because energy infrastructure is typically capital intensive and long-lived, the experts brought in for the strategic foresight discussion focused on Canada as it could be 30 years down the pipe.

In their view, in 2050, Canada is either: • a global manufacturing powerhouse because environmentalists, First Nations and governments have prevented the export of our energy resources, so we have cheap, abundant domestic energy (the Made in Canada scenario); Cindy Macdonald Editor • a nation flush from the sale of resources, but running out of its saleable commodities (the Superpower scenario); • a prosperous producer of clean energy with additional benefits arising from the opening of the Arctic waters to shipping as a result of climate change (the Green Machine scenario); or, • a nation plagued by rising sea levels and extreme weather events, its economy hobbled by GHG targets that limit the use of fossil fuels, with no viable renewable energy alternatives (the Hockey Stick scenario).

The Hockey Stick scenario envisions severe climate change, and notes that “A world hostile to hydrocarbons would take a heavy economic toll on Western Canada in particular. But the resulting strains on worldwide economic growth would also damage our trade-dependent economy...” To prepare for such a future, the authors suggest Canada should be emphasizing technology investments that reduce the environmental impact of producing and using carbon-based fuels.

Technology enables Canadians to live well despite climate change in the Green Machine scenario. To prepare for this situation, the report states that Canada’s priority in the short term should be to put a significant price on carbon and use some of the resulting revenues for research.

In the Superpower scenario, a high Canadian dollar, tied to high resource prices, would pose a challenge to Canadian manufacturers and service providers.

Canada’s energy is stuck within our borders under the Made in Canada forecast, but this could be an advantage for domestic firms. It could also enhance Canada’s investment appeal due to plentiful, affordable energy supplies, the report concludes.

Energy Futures for Canada offers no single, definitive forecast; instead, it underscores how policy decisions and global growth will have long-term impact on Canada. And note, biomass energy isn’t even on the radar.

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Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

Editor CINDY MACDONALD 416-510-6755 cindy@pulpandpapercanada.com Publisher Jim Bussiere 416-442-5600 ext. 3606 jim@pulpandpapercanada.com President, Business Information Group BRUCE CREIGHTON Vice President, Publishing ALEX PAPANOU Executive Publisher, Manufacturing Tim Dimopoulos

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Industry News

Paper Excellence buys sixth Canadian mill: Skookumchuck Tembec Inc. has reached an agreement to sell its NBSK pulp mill located in Skookumchuck, B.C. to Paper Excellence Canada Holdings Corp. for a purchase price of $89 million.

Skookumchuck was Tembec’s only NBSK asset. President and CEO James Lopez says the deal “supports the continuing transformation of the company and the reshaping of its business portfolio.” Tembec manufactures lumber, pulp, paper and specialty cellulose from operations in Canada and France.

The purchase adds to Paper Excellence’s extensive kraft pulp operations. In Canada, the privately-held corporation owns Mackenzie Pulp, Howe Sound Pulp & Paper, Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp, Prince Albert Pulp (non-operating), and Northern Pulp Nova Scotia. With the addition of the Skookumchuck mill (255,000 tonnes of capacity), Paper Excellence’s Canadian capacity for NBSK pulp is 1.2 million tonnes.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013.

Tembec acquired the Skookumchuck pulp mill in 1999 as part of the acquisition of Crestbrook Forest Industries Ltd. The mill started up in 1968, and currently employs 290. Its pulp is shipped to North American and Asian customers primarily for tissue applications.

Newfoundland prepared to loan Kruger $90 million Newfoundland officials have confirmed that all or almost all of a $90 million business fund set aside in the provincial budget is destined to be a loan to Kruger’s Corner Brook mill. The terms of the potential loan have not been revealed.

According to CBC.ca, the loan will be aaccessible when the company finishes negotiations with labour unions at the mill.

The Corner Brook paper mill also received a boost from the Newfoundland government when the provincial cabinet quietly extended a tax exemption until at least 2017, reports The Telegram. The St. John’s newspaper estimates the tax break is worth about $6 million.

According to the paper, the government waived the “managed land tax” for a period of five years, from the 2012/13 budget year through to 2016/17.

Promising students win forest industry jobs The Forest Products Association of Canada’s (FPAC) social media campaign to recruit deserving students to work this summer at leading forest products companies has wrapped up with seven candidates offered paid summer interships.

“We realize the need to explore new approaches, including social media, to attract high quality talent as we build the 6

Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

considerably lower than at that time, the company is exploring the production of market pulp.

According to the Daily Herald, the mill faced a higher level of equipment failure than expected, and Paper Excellence will spend an additional $75 million to deal with issues arising from the mill’s five-year shutdown.

In the meantime, the mill’s green power plant is currently exporting about 9.5 MWh to SaskPower, and employs 24 people.

In total, the mill is currently employing 113 people and spending about $1.8 million per month between personnel and materials, the majority of which goes directly back into the local economy, reports the Daily Herald.

Chipper and natural gas will save Northern Pulp $16 million/year forest products industry of the future,” says the president and CEO of FPAC, David Lindsay.

Lindsay says the Green Dream internship contest was a success with about 16,500 votes cast during the contest, close to 180,000 page views at theGreenestWorkforce.ca and 170,299 YouTube Views of the Greenest Workforce videos.

Prince Albert mill delays start-up, may switch to paper pulp The Prince Albert Pulp Mill is producing green power, but start-up of pulp production is still 12 to 18 months away, a representative recently told a local gathering.

Dale Paterson, vice-president of operations for Paper Excellence, which owns the Prince Albert mill, provided an update on the mill’s status at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Based on that presentation, the Prince Albert Daily Herald reported Mar. 29 that Paper Excellence is investing in a technology that is less costly and will allow the refurbished mill to produce both traditional paper pulp and dissolving pulp.

The capital expenditure on this new technology is expected to be between $85 and $90 million less than the company previously anticipated, Paterson said.

When Paper Excellence purchased the operation in 2011, the plan was to produce dissolving pulp at the site by the fall of 2013. Now, with dissolving pulp prices

Three capital projects in the works for Northern Pulp Nova Scotia are expected to save the NBSK mill about $16 million per year. The projects include the conversion of two boilers and a lime kiln to burn natural gas, and the construction of an onsite chipping facility.

The Nova Scotia government announced in early April more than $20 million in loans to the pulp mill, to help fund these projects. In addition, the provincial government is contributing $2.5 million to assist Heritage Gas to extend its pipeline to Pictou County, N.S., where Northern Pulp is located.

Chipping on-site “will allow us to reduce waste significantly by using a lot more of the trees,” Don Breen, general manager, told the Chronicle Herald.

Breen estimates the chipping facility will save the company $8 million annually. The conversion to natural gas is expected to save the mill $8 million annually in energy costs.

The Chronicle Herald also reported that the province is loaning the company $12 million to install equipment that is projected to remove 80% of the particulate matter in the mill’s air emissions. A portion of the loan, $2.5 million, is forgivable, provided certain employment targets are met.

Despite recent upgrades to its boiler and odor control equipment, Northern Pulp Nova Scotia received an order this spring from the Nova Scotia Department of Enviwww.pulpandpapercanada.com

Industry News ronment to perform an engineering study and bring the mill’s emission levels back under allowable limits.

“Their levels for particulate and total reduced sulphur were in excess of the limits specified in their approval,” said regional director Jay Brenton, according to a story on CBC.ca. He went on to say that a directive issued on March 8 “requires the company to take an engineering study of their recovery boiler system and to choose an option to address the exceedances.”

Northern Pulp has an annual capacity of 275,000 tonnes of NBSK pulp.

Mountain pine beetle genome decoded

Photo by: Ward Strong, B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations

The genome of the mountain pine beetle – the insect that has devastated B.C.’s lodgepole pine forests – has been decoded by researchers at the University of British Columbia and Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre.

The genome is described in a study published recently in the journal Genome Biology.

“We know a lot about what the beetles do,” says Christopher Keeling, a research associate in Prof. Joerg Bohlmann’s lab at

Fortress sells wallpaper business to focus on dissolving pulp Vancouver-based Fortress Paper Ltd. is selling its subsidiary, Dresden Papier, to Glatfelter for EUR160 million (CDN$213 million). Dresden Papier produces nonwoven wallpaper base paper at a facility in Germany.

Fortress Paper says the sale is part of a strategic plan to achieve significant liquidity to enhance future growth opportunities.

Whitecourt Pulp among IFIT funding recipients A green energy project at Millar Western Forest Products’ Whitecourt pulp mill in Alberta is one of the projects to receive funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program (IFIT). The project will receive $6.75 million. Whitecourt Pulp will generate green energy from pulp mill effluent by using innovative anaerobic hybrid digester technology. It is the first time this technology has been used in Canada’s forest sector on a commercial scale.

Another IFIT participant is Tekle Technical Services (TTS) of Drayton Valley, Alta. The company will receive $4.5 million toward the creation of Canada’s first facility to manufacture engineered biocomposite fibre mats incorporating wood fibre.

The lightweight fibre mats can be used to make dozens of products including compression-moulded panels for the automotive industry.

N.S. biomass co-gen plant soon ready for start-up

Mountain Pine Beetle.

the Michael Smith Laboratories. “But without the genome, we don’t know exactly how they do it.

“Sequencing the mountain pine beetle genome provides new information that can be used to help manage the epidemic in the future.”

In recent years, the insect has moved further north and east, over the Canadian Rockies, and is now approaching the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. It is also beginning to infest other pine trees – jack pine, a jack-lodgepole hybrid, limber pine, and the endangered whitebark pine. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Construction is complete on the $183-million biomass power plant at Point Tupper, N.S., reports the Chronicle Herald newspaper. The facility is expected to start generating electricity next month.

The biomass-fuelled co-generation plant will produce steam for the Port Hawkesbury Paper mill in Port Hawkesbury, and electricity for Nova Scotia Power.

Greenpeace admits it was wrong about Resolute Forest Products Greenpeace is making peace with Resolute Forest Products, and withdrawing allegations the activist group made last December with regard to Resolute Forest Products and the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement.

Greenpeace Canada acknowledged its

People…

• Catalyst Paper has announced that president and CEO Kevin J. Clarke will step down from his position by June. A search for his successor is underway.

• Fernando Preto is the new executive director of the Canadian Bioenergy Association (CanBio). Most recently, he was lead scientist, biomass and renewables, CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada.

• Alain Lemaire ceded the position of president and CEO of Cascades to Mario Plourde, formerly the chief operating officer of the company.

Alain Lemaire (left) and his successor Mario Plourde.

error in a statement to media, admitting that it was incorrect to say “that Resolute had breached the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement by approving and developing roads in “areas of suspended harvest” and that Resolute was secretly engaged in logging contrary to the terms of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement.”

The group “sincerely regrets its error.”

A spokesperson for Resolute Forest Products said at the time the allegations were made that Greenpeace’s statements were “erroneous, deceptive and misleading.”

AkzoNobel divests chlorine dioxide technology Purate, the water treatment business of AkzoNobel Pulp and Performance Chemicals (formerly Eka Chemicals) will be sold to US-based Ecolab Inc. Purate is a technology for small-scale production of chlorine dioxide. Among other uses, Purate is sold to the pulp and paper industry and used for bleaching of pulp.

May/June 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

7

Opinion

Lignin: from waste by-product to super-bioproduct

By Jennifer Ellson, senior communications specialist, fpinnovations

C

anada’s forest industry is in the process of transforming itself with a move towards bioenergy, biochemicals and bioproducts, and FPInnovations’ research is leading to potential eco-efficient solutions that could play a significant role in an economy increasingly concerned with sustainable development.

From bioplastics to inks, textiles and cosmetics, FPInnovations is spearheading the development of innovative applications and products based on next-generation pulps, papers and bioproducts.

FPInnovations’ research teams work in close collaboration with their university and industry partners to support members and clients in the development of new value-added products that capitalize on emerging markets for natural, renewable products and reinforcing agents. One central challenge consists of innovating, while working on integrating the production of

these bioproducts into the existing forest industry value chain.

One example is FPInnovations’ lignin pilot plant located in Thunder Bay, Ont., which has now been producing up to 100 kg/day. Lignin is a complex wood fibrederived molecule that is extracted from hardwood and softwood kraft black liquor and has the potential for high-value commercial uses. The possible applications are varied and include adhesives for composite wood products, raw material for carbon fibre, bioplastics and an alternative to a number of petrochemical-based products.

Initial characterization and production trials were financially supported by Natural Resources Canada’s Transformative Technologies Pilot-Scale Demonstration Program. Large quantities of high-quality lignin are already being tested in pre-commercial trials for adhesive applications at client facilities. A patent application concerning an innovative lignin extraction process has been developed by FPInno-

vations’ researchers. The resulting one-ofa-kind proprietary “LignoForce System” involves a black liquor pre-treatment oxidation process that significantly reduces the plant’s consumption of chemical products – therefore reducing costs while enhancing end-product quality. Presented at international conferences, the process has taken the pulp and paper world by surprise and has received much praise from world-renowned lignin researchers and leaders.

The Canadian forest industry will greatly benefit from this technology as it can be integrated into existing machinery at pulp and paper facilities with a relatively small investment and enables the production of 50 tonnes per day of a profitable high-quality product, further strengthening the forest sector’s revenue diversification strategy.

Additional reporting by Jean-Luc Bernier, Scientific Writer, FPInnovations.

The growing global reach of the forest industry

By Isabelle Des Chênes, vice-president market relations and international trade, FPAC

D

id you know that forest products are Canada’s number one export to China and that wood exports from British Columbia to China increased by 3,500% in the past decade? This is but one example of how the Canadian forest products industry is boldly increasing its global reach.

The hard work aimed at diversifying markets continues as part of the transformation and renewal now going on in the Canadian forest sector. Last year, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) launched Vision2020 which sets out three ambitious goals for the sector in the area of performance, people and products.

First, we hope to deliver a further 35% improvement in our environmental footprint; second, we want to renew the workforce with at least 60,000 new recruits including women, Aboriginals and immigrants; and finally, we want to generate an additional $20 billion in economic activity from new innovative products and by growing markets.

The forest products industry in Canada has always been a successful exporter. In fact, pulp and paper was Canada’s number one export commodity for about three quarters of the last century. Today the forest products industry annually exports nearly 8

Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

$30 billion worth of products to global markets, making it one of this country’s leading export industries and one of the most successful exporters of forest products in the world. The continued expansion of existing markets and diversification into new markets remains an essential component of the industry’s transformation strategy. For this reason, the industry is supportive of the federal government’s aggressive trade agenda, including the negotiation of new trade agreements.

FPAC is also pleased with Ottawa’s ongoing support for market diversification under the Expanding Markets Opportunities program.

The Canadian forest products industry learned about the need to diversify markets the hard way. The recent housing market collapse south of the border was devastating to the Canadian industry.

American trade action that resulted in the softwood lumber agreement was another wake-up call for the industry. That’s because ten years ago, about 80% of our forest products exports went to the U.S. The most recent figures have seen that reduced to 63%.

Diversified markets are key to building a resilient Canadian forest economy capable of withstanding changes in demand from traditional markets. Realizing the ambitious goal of Vision2020 to grow new markets can only help ensure a prosperous and exciting future for the industry ahead. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

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9

Market Trends

Bioproducts

still seeking buyers

They aren’t big moneymakers yet, but lignin and nanocellulose are starting to see commercial success.

By Cindy Macdonald, Editor

S

cientists know that thousands of products can be made from trees. Traditional forest products only scratch the surface of what is possible. But, of all those non-traditional possibilities, only a handful are likely to become marketable products.

The potential market for bio-based products has received much attention in recent years, as negative feelings grow regarding fossil fuels and their derivatives, and government policies favor “renewables.” So far, the much vaunted bio-economy only intersects with the pulp and paper sector at a few points: lignin, cellulose nanomaterials and green electricity. A handful of Canadian companies have captured an early lead in these markets.

Full steam ahead for lignin For lignin, commercial prospects have taken a leap forward now that North America has a new source for large quantities of this material. Domtar Corporation successfully started-up a commercial-scale lignin separation plant at its Plymouth, North Carolina, mill in February.

This is the first new source of kraft-derived lignin to come on the market in more than 25 years. Domtar is targeting the product at a wide range of industrial applications as a bio-based alternative to the use of petroleum and other fossil fuels.

A kraft lignin separation process generally removes some lignin from the black liquor of a kraft pulp mill, and then returns the ligninlean liquor to the mill. Domtar is using Metso’s LignoBoost 10

Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

process to produce its BioChoice™ lignin, with a targeted rate of 75 tons a day.

“LignoBoost has generated a great deal of interest in the pulp and paper industry globally and this is a major breakthrough for all parties involved in this first-of-a-kind project,” says Gene Christiansen, a senior manager with Metso’s power business line for North America.

There’s been a “fantastic” amount of interest in the kraft lignin, from Europe, the U.S. and Canada, says Bruno Marcoccia, Domtar’s director of research and development. The company has been shipping both test and commercial-scale quantities of lignin for product development trials.

Marcoccia says the existing market for lignin is about 1 million tons, mostly in the form of lignosulfonates from sulphite pulp mills. There’s a small amount of kraft lignin available to the market, but not much.

“This plant,” he says, “represents a very significant increase in the total amount of

kraft lignin available in the market.”

A green, renewable alternative “It’s the nature of the commercial applications that’s really quite exciting,” Marcoccia continues. “What gets very exciting is the applications for displacement of fossil fuels and fossil fuel derivatives.”

Understandably, even the very simplest of applications has a natural cycle for testing and evaluation, Marcoccia notes. He predicts the world will see the emergence of non-traditional products made with lignin with 18 months or two years.

“The possibilities for making a real difference in terms of offering manufacturers a bio-based alternative to the use of petrochemicals is truly exciting,” says Hasan Jameel, a professor in North Carolina State University’s Department of Forest Biomaterials. “This is a big win for sustainability on two counts – Domtar improves the efficiency of its pulp-making process, and at

The LignoForce system developed by FPInnovations incorporates an oxidation step. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Market Trends

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

untried product has proven challenging.

CelluForce, a joint venture of Domtar and FPInnovations, is an early leader in the production of cellulose nanocrystals (formerly known as nanocrystalline cellulose). After about 18 months of production, CelluForce has built up enough inventory to temporarily cease manufacturing but continues its business development activities.

In Alberta, another pilot plant for cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is nearing completion at the Edmonton site of the research organization Alberta Innovates Technology Futures.

“We’ve been interested in CNC for a number of years,” says Steve Price, executive director, Alberta Innovates BioSolutions. But, he says Alberta Innovates was never interested in a facility as large as the Celluforce demo site. The aim, he says, is only to have enough CNC to act a feedstock for CNC trial applications.

The Alberta Innovates facility will use an acid hydrolysis process, similar to that developed by FPInnovations. The plant was going through commissioning in April, and a few small technical issues need to be resolved, says Price “We are starting to see interest from other elements of the engineering community,” he notes. “It’s going to happen. There will be more investment in CNC research.

“It’s slow to grow, but I do believe we’re on the threshold of an application boom.”

One promising avenue for CNC is drilling mud (drilling fluid), a viscous fluid mixture that is used in oil and gas drilling operations to suspend cuttings, lubricate and cool the drill bit, and stabilize the well bore.

According to Price, trials of a drilling mud application are expected to proceed this season. Success in this application would spark a demand for large quantities of CNC. It’s been a long, hard road for those companies and people involved in building new markets for forest-based chemicals.

“Are we there yet?” everyone is asking. The answer is no, but we’re close.

PPC

Photo courtesy CelluForce

the same time, the market gets a reliable, high-quality source of this underused material with so much potential.”

In a recent paper describing FPInnovations’ LignoForce™ lignin removal system, Lamfeddal Kouisni listed the potential uses for lignin: adhesive in wood products, polyol in polyurethane foams, chemicals, thermoplastic composites, packaging, carbon fibre, carbon black, activated carbon, dispersant/flocculant, epoxy resins, adhesive in foundry CelluForce can produce up to 1000 kg per day of resins, adhesive in pellets. nanocrystalline cellulose, a material that’s measured In the early months of production, the in nanometers.

Plymouth mill was using the lignin as a fuel within mill operations. “It is such a “Someone has to take the risk and be good fuel that the operators are delighted first. Then you’ll see, a lot of buyers will with it,” Marcoccia comments. “They’ve want two suppliers. So I expect this will been using it to enhance boiler operations.” spur demand.”

In Ontario, a slightly different process is Browne says the high oil prices of the being used to produce lignin at the Resolute near past have focused the attention of the Forest Products mill in Thunder Bay. The chemical industry on alternative feedstocks.

LignoForce demo plant is being operated “I think there’s room for lignin and other

by FPInnovations, and is capable of pro- wood-based chemicals to undercut or at ducing 12.5 kg/h of lignin. least to match that [petrochemical feedTom Browne, program manager, bio- stock] price.” refinery, with FPInnovations, explains There are customers already willing to that the LignoForce process challenges buy lignin for traditional applications, says conventional wisdom about lignin sepa- Browne, but getting lignin into new applicaration by incorporating oxidation. This tions, or getting new wood-based chemicals reduces carbon dioxide demand signifi- into a product is much more challenging. cantly compared with conventional lignin “But the ‘green’ cachet is not to be separation methods. Carbon dioxide can be underestimated,” he adds. about 50% of the operating cost of lignin A high-purity lignin is also being proseparation. Browne says the oxidation also duced by Lignol in Burnaby, B.C. The increases filtration rates for the lignin, and company recently achieved a commercial reduces acid requirements during precipi- breakthrough with a contract to supply ligtation and washing. nin for use in thermoplastic compounds.

Details of the LignoForce process were Lignol’s modified solvent-based pre-treatpresented for the first time at PaperWeek ment technology allows the rapid, highCanada 2013. The process is now ready to yield conversion of cellulose to ethanol and be commercialized. Browne says a number the production of biochemical co-products, of mills have expressed strong interest, and including high purity HP-L™ lignin. discussions are ongoing.

Browne anticipates that the commercial Tiny product seeking big market supply of lignin available from Domtar will On the cellulose nanomaterials front, the be a boon for the market. “It’s a good thing. situation is much the same. Trial quantities There’s always been this underlying ques- of cellulose-based nano-scale materials have tion around lignin applications: if I can’t been available for some time, but securing buy lignin, what’s the point? commercial applications for a previously

May/June 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

11

Case Study

Canfor leverages data management to streamline forest management Enterprise data management system reduces costs and increases productivity through centralized access to GIS-based resources

By Esri Canada

T

he Canadian forest sector has faced numerous challenges over the last decade including cyclical downturns in the global economy, a sharp decline in newsprint demand, the growth of overseas competition and epidemics such as the Mountain Pine Beetle. In response, Canfor, an integrated forest products company and one of the world’s largest producers of sustainable wood products, recognized a need to do more with less.

Canfor consolidated datasets from across office locations and leveraged enterprise geographic information system (GIS) technology to develop a centralized enterprise data management (EDM) system. In addition to streamlining operations, GIS enabled the development of innovative web applications that support a core commitment to sustainability and regulatory compliance.

Esri’s ArcGIS is used to determine estimated cycle times for trucks to various mill areas.

Woodlands information team needed to be more lean

owns a bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp (BCTMP) mill, all located in B.C. In the early 1990s, Canfor adopted a computerized maintenance management system to digitally maintain and manage operational data. However, data was stored disparately across more than 10 office locations and the systems in place required time-consuming manual entry with little opportunity for mass updates or data integrity checks. With more than 45 million acres to manage, the woodlands information “Current realities require our management (WIM) organization to deliver woodlands team was tasked with an immense amount information services within the context of manual work to of a lean production system.” pull together maps Kerri Simmons, RPF, Canfor and data for the production of annual

Canfor’s lumber operations have a current annual production capacity of approximately 4.8 billion board feet of lumber. The company holds approximately 10 million cubic metres of annual harvesting rights for its solid wood operations under various forest tenures located in the interior region of British Columbia and northern Alberta.

Canfor also has a 50.2% interest in Canfor Pulp Products Inc. (three mills) and

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Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

”

reports, stakeholder communications and cutting permits.

Adding to this challenge was a sudden economic downturn that compelled Canfor to streamline workflows and run a leaner operation. To continue to meet the growing and diverse needs of internal clients, the WIM team would need to centralize access to data and standardize the production of maps, reports and analyses across the enterprise.

“Current realities require our organization to deliver woodlands information services within the context of a lean production system. Enterprise GIS allows us to achieve our goal of providing reliable products, customer service and support with a focus on reduced lead time and elimination of waste,” says Kerri Simmons, RPF, WIM coordinator with Canfor’s Forest Management Group. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Case Study

ArcGIS provides the visibility necessary to effectively plan harvesting activities and communicate this information with stakeholders.

Solution: quick access to GIS-based resources

Photos courtesy of Esri

Canfor leveraged Esri’s ArcGIS technology to develop a centralized forestry management solution known as the enterprise data management (EDM) system. The EDM system integrates with other enterprise applications and incorporates operational data from three

separate databases which are updated on a daily basis. Esri’s ArcPad is used to collect GIS data remotely and sync it back to the master database in near real time.

The EDM system is used to manage growing workloads and centralize the distribution of tasks across silviculture, harvesting and permitting areas, replacing traditional spreadsheets and whiteboards.

Accessible to everyone within the Forest Management Group, the EDM system provides quick access to GIS-based resources and customized templates so that a number of communications can be produced, sent and tracked on the fly. These might include emergency harvest notifications, notification of intention to treat, cutting permits or annual public reports.

Using ArcGIS for Desktop, staff can track where trees have previously been cut and monitor the impact of proposed cutting activities, to protect against overharvesting. Maps are then produced from a central location to communicate proposed cutting sites with relevant stakeholders. GIS analysis also makes it possible to distinguish important terrain elements so that planning boundaries and land ownership can be accurately outlined for resource management plans.

Extending GIS capabilities across the department to planners, silviculture foresters and field staff has freed up valuable time. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Woodland staff handles more requests for less cost Through enterprise GIS, Canfor’s WIM team is able to meet information requests from forestry staff that have nearly tripled over the last several years, while reducing staff size and costs. Extending GIS capabilities across the department to planners, silviculture foresters and field staff has freed up valuable time so that everyone working within the division can focus on high priority projects.

Analysis capabilities within ArcGIS for Desktop support sustainability by providing the ability to pre-plan harvest activities, predict future outcomes and analyze past harvesting. The EDM system also supports First Nations information sharing: reports are regularly produced that employ maps to communicate proposed cutting sites, helping to protect traditional areas and demonstrate due diligence.

Enterprise GIS has provided a foundation to develop a number of innovative applications that further streamline operations. The Harvest Management Application builds and tracks harvest plans and allows for predictive modelling, while the Material Replenishment Process application tracks inventories from a proposed cut block through to harvest completion.

Finally, GIS has played a central role in mitigating and monitoring the spread of the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic. As the epidemic progressed, Canfor was able to utilize specific spatial layers to track beetle epicenters, monitor migration and use this information to plan future harvest activities.

The use of enterprise-wide data management for geographic information has reduced Canfor’s costs and increased productivity. It also facilitates the company’s commitment to sustainability and regulatory compliance.

PPC Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower organizations to make timely, informed decisions. GIS is a valuable tool to analyze potential sites, manage assets, achieve regulatory compliance, carry out environmental research and ensure the effective routing of crews and equipment. Combining GIS with mobile technologies brings GIS technology into the field.

More information is available at esri.ca.

May/June 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

13

Fibre Supply

harvesting For Biomass

By Cindy Macdonald, editor

The first step is to treat harvesting residue as a valuable product, not waste

R

oadside harvest residues are the low hanging fruit of the biomass supply chain. Companies are generally spending money to get rid of roadside residue, or move it back to the cutover, so finding a use for this former waste product is desirable. However, the drawbacks to roadside residue, for biomass purposes, are: it has a low bulking factor, it may be contaminated, and it likely has high moisture content.

FPInnovations’ Denis Cormier, speaking at PaperWeek Canada 2013 about the biomass supply chain, noted that the first rule of harvesting residual biomass is that it must be treated as a product, not waste. It must also be harvested and transported in an

Biomass cost (assuming a transport distance of 100 km)

Harvesting

Tops and limbs roadside 0

Skidding

0

18

Delimbing

0

0

Comminution

18

15

Transport

27

27

Fixed costs

10

12

Total

55

Costs ($/odt)

Incidental biomass trees 23

95

economical way, because low feedstock cost is an expectation of the biomass energy sector.

Feedstock cost is a key factor in the competitiveness of a bioenergy project. Delivered wood cost to the mill can be 40-60% of final product cost, Cormier explains. As there is currently no high-value end product for biomass, low cost feedstock is critical.

Optimize chipping or grinding activities In order to have effective biomass harvesting, the forest products industry needs to modify its practices to optimize the use of residuals. Cormier points to the example of Tembec, in Ontario. The company uses a modified first-pass shelterwood system. It changed from tree-length harvesting to full-tree harvesting with a chipper, and gained higher fibre utilization and higher productivity.

The basic problem with transporting biomass is that it is a low value, low bulk density product. By breaking it down at the source through chipping or grinding, it is more compactable and payload is maximized.

Pre-piling roadside harvest residue will help the drying process and will help with later comminution operations (i.e. chipping or grinding).

Cormier recommends tailoring the comminution equipment to the customer. Options are, in order of most sensitive to contamination to least sensitive: disc chipper, drum chipper, horizontal grinder, high-torque shredder. This same order reflects the com-

Source: D. Cormier, FPInnovations

14 

Pulp & Paper Canada  May/June 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Fibre Supply

water. His rule of thumb for calculating cost is based on distance between the cut block and the facililty. For the first 50 km, expect about $17/odt. For each additional 50 km, Cormier allows at least $10/odt.

For the energy market, says Cormier, suppliers should be compensated for delivering clean, dry biomass. If they

are paid on a green tonne basis, there is little incentive to improve practices.

Cormier concludes that new, breakthrough technologies are required to bring down the cost of comminution and transportation in the biomass supply chain.

PPC Cormier is research leader, silvicultural operations/biomass for FPInnovations.

Notice of Appointment Mario plourde

Well-planned roadside operations improve the economics of transporting harvest residuals.

Photo courtesy: FPInnovations

President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades

parative particle size uniformity of this equipment. A disc chipper will be most uniform, a high-torque shredder the least uniform.

Cormier counsels that forest operations should maximize comminution productivity.

He advises operators to use a proper grapple to handle dense and entangled residue, and to properly plan the placement of the grinding station as well as the maintenance schedule of the grinder to reduce waiting times for both the grinder and the trucks. Cormier also suggests working buffer capacity into the system, perhaps by putting the grinder output into piles on the ground. There will be a slight loss of material but this method tends to be slightly cheaper than processing direct-to-van, he says.

One constraint of using biomass from forest operations is that the collection of the material is linked with the sequence and dispersion of the harvest for conventional forest products.

As such, regulatory requirements must be followed and seasonal variability may affect quality and volume.

On the subject of transportation, Cormier advises: remain local and avoid transporting www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Cascades is pleased to announce the appointment of Mario Plourde to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Plourde is Chief Operating Officer of Cascades and has been managing the company’s operations since 2011. He works in close collaboration with the President and heads up the management team responsible for operations of the various business segments of the company’s three major groups (Tissue Group, Containerboard Group and Specialty Products Group).

Since his arrival at Cascades in 1985, Mr. Plourde has occupied various positions including Controller, Plant Manager and General Manager. In 1997, he was appointed Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the Specialty Products Group, and was President of this group from 2000 to 2010. ‘‘He belongs to the new generation of competent and dedicated leaders at Cascades, and he is a true believer in our values. My brothers and I have complete trust in Mario Plourde, and we firmly believe that he will perpetuate the company’s philosophy as he leads it into the future,’’ said Mr. Alain Lemaire, Executive Chairman of the Board.

Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres. Cascades employs more than 12 000 men and women, who work in over a hundred modern and versatile production units in North America and Europe. With its management philosophy, close to half a century of experience in recycling, and continuous efforts in research and development as driving forces, Cascades continues to deliver the innovative products that customers have come to rely on. Cascades’ shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CAS.

May/June 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

15

Opinion

Going Lean

The Shape of IT’s Future

P

By Mike Harwood, Zellstoff Celgar

ulp and paper mills face a number of production chal- operations approach. It is a shift from “keeping on the lights” lenges, from ongoing personnel changes to maintenance to one of operational excellence that maximizes speed, ensures workload and reliability issues. In spite of these, the pro- standardization, and guarantees quality at a lower cost. The focus duction process must be as efficient as possible at all times, is to free up existing capacity (formerly consumed by waste, failso what can IT do to help? Meet “Lean IT.” With an informed ure demand, poor processes, etc.) to support strategic corporate vision, technological innovations can be applied to the modern goals and directions.” manufacturing workplace to help employees work more knowlThe formula for Lean IT in a manufacturing environment edgeably and hence more efficiently. The outcome will invariably may look something like this: be increased mill reliability.

Mill relationships Lean manufacturing strategies trim the fat in the production + manufacturing understanding process. The goal is to improve performance by maximizing + efficiently managed IT resources efficiencies and eliminating waste in how workers and materi= efficient IT processes, addressed business\ als are managed in the production process. Lean manufacturproduction need, improved mill reliability ing is reflected in the types of capital projects selected, the key performance indicators (KPIs), the goals to standardize The success of the entire equation rests on the ability of IT processes, and the push towards improving employee engage- to nurture relationships and isolate and understand the needs ment to ensure a mindset of continuous improvement. Lean of those working in the production process. This is where the is not necessarily achieved by radical outsourcing or solely on “Lean IT” department excels. headcount reduction, but by IT’s contribution within a eliminating process redun- Five steps towards a lean IT department manufacturing environment dancies and shifting managwith high employee turn-over ing efforts towards activities 1. Continually research emerging technologies (cloud computing, mobile access, or mass retirement requires a etc.) based on their measurable value to the production process. that continually improve more hands-on approach. IT business outcomes. must compensate for the loss 2. Target a shift of 2% to 3% of operating cost each year towards lean IT which So how is this within the of knowledge with trending will be reflected in IT budgets, IT projects, and IT-related training. realm of the IT department? data (business intelligence) The role of the Lean IT depart- 3. Critically examine internal IT processes to identify waste to free up resources and increasingly automated for use in the mill. ment is to put the entire mill processes (but not completely production process on a automated in all cases). The 4. Plan and incorporate targeted technologies that address the production need body-building program, to goal is to use data and processwithout adding technology complexity to production. reduce the fat and to increase es as a base for business practhe muscle of is operations. 5. Say “no” to some requests that fall outside of the lean IT framework. tices and decisions to obtain The IT department studies a dependable predictive and the processes, researches the preventative environment that latest technological abilities, and then selects and implements produces high quality every time. the best ones to streamline production processes. For example, You can think of the Lean IT department as a winning pit crew with an understanding of the work that reliability teams are for NASCAR racing. Each member of the crew is knowledgeable, doing, IT can pinpoint technologies that can assist in their tasks, skilled and experienced. Each specialist works with other specialperhaps automating workflow or increasing remote access to ists to achieve a common goal: maximum racing performance. alarms and triggers.

For Lean IT in a manufacturing environment, each IT member New technologies and procedures – such as cloud computing, can specialize in a variety of areas within mill production so that mobile access, outsourcing, getting the latest smart phone – must the best technology can be selected and implemented for maxinot be chosen just because they are the latest and greatest, but mum production performance. The goal is to use appropriate because they have a strategic fit within the established lean IT technologies to assist in obtaining a dependable predictive and structure and have a measurable production value. Cost of the preventative environment that produces high quality every time. technology may be secondary to its value to production.

Becoming a Lean IT department involves a whole new way of According to Steve Bell, author of Lean Manufacturing – thinking about IT. It’s not just about rebooting misfiring computEnhancing and Sustaining Your Lean Transformation, “tradi- ers and jamming printers any more. Lean IT has grown up and tional IT departments may have trouble adjusting to a lean IT is ready to make a real difference in a production environment.

16

Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Technology News

Stylus roughness tester predicts printing properties

A paper laboratory instrument that measures the micro-surface roughness of paperboard and linerboard is now available from Lorentzen & Wettre, a member of the ABB Group. The L&W Stylus Roughness Tester Emveco evaluates a property called microdeviation, which is a measure of the topography of the paper or board surface, and a characteristic that correlates well to how a paper or board will print.

This new product is a replacement of the well-known Emveco Stylus Roughness Profiler System 210-R, used in the industry for many years.

All measurement and analysis is done inside the instrument; no extra software or computer is needed. The testing procedure is fully automated. The reference head moves at a constant speed relative to the sample and the stylus follows the contours of the surface. Each measurement takes less than 10 seconds.

“Stylus measurements has proven to be an excellent predictor of how well a flexo printed surface will print with minimum ink consumption with remaining print uniformity,” says Thomas Fürst, product manager, Lorentzen & Wettre.

ABB, www.abb.com

BASF offers 4-in-1 functionality for the wet end

Under the brand name Xelorex™, BASF has launched a unique solution for the production of paper and board. Xelorex reduces complexity in the wet-end through its 4-in-1 functionality. It enables papermakers to achieve and improve the effects of retention, drainage, fixation and strength with just one product of the Xelorex product family. Further, it has the potential to replace up to 100% of other

18

Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

wet-end chemicals. Application of Xelorex also leads to proven enhancements of a variety of dry strength parameters. This can mean a 10–30% improvement in this area, depending on the basis weight and the paper grade.

Manufacturers of both packaging and graphical papers benefit from the additional productivity increases that Xelorex yields. The improved initial wet web strength (IWWS), fewer stickies and clean water circuits lead to a higher efficiency due to less downtime. The reduced draw also allows mills to run machines at significantly increased speeds.

Xelorex translates to improved costefficiency for papermakers as it targets a variety of cost drivers in the papermaking process. Through its powerful dry strength performance, expensive long fibers can be replaced with lower-cost short fibers. It also enables the increased use of recycled fibers. In addition, Xelorex supports an increased filler loading, as it leads to a better integration of filler particles into the paper web. The increased filler loading means a cheaper way of replacing fiber material and improving printing properties and also helps to save steam since less fiber needs to be dried. Overall, specific fixed costs are diluted without compromising on the quality of paper and board.

Introduction of the brand and the new Xelorex portfolio begins in Europe and will be gradually extended to Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

BASF, www.paper-chemicals.basf.com

3D real-time nip analysis enhances productivity

Xerium Technologies has announced full commercial availability of SMART®5.0 Technology. SMART 5.0 is a significant advancement in the total cost management of paper machines. It provides papermakers with unprecedented real-time nip analysis including : 1) three-dimensional measurement and display of machine direction nip width, 2) advanced capability for shoe press nips, and, 3) enhanced connectivity software to connect directly to mill DCS and PI machine control systems.

Roll covers are critical to the quality and production cost of paper. Xerium introduced SMART roll cover products in 2008 as the industry’s first real-time electronic roll cover. SMART technology is available as a value-add feature of all roll cover types – rubber, polyurethane and composite.

Harold Bevis, Xerium’s president and CEO said, “SMART 5.0 is a significant next step in real-time electronic roll covers. The

Save energy when moving paper rolls MoveRoll Oy will present its innovative development in technology for moving paper rolls at PaperCon 2013 and Zellcheming Expo 2013. The new product range features a new generation of MoveRoll conveyors, new bumpers, and zero-energy receivers. “We developed the receiver from zero, tested it in the field, and the results are excellent. Traditional systems consume up to 20 MWh energy annually. Our receiver does not need energy at all,” says MoveRoll’s CEO Mikko Rantanen.

According to the company, compared with traditional roll handling systems, MoveRoll pressure conveying systems save up to 85% in energy consumption. Due to modularity and lack of moving parts, MoveRoll conveyors are flexible, robust, and easy to use.

MoveRoll uses an innovative technology that does not have moving parts.

Conveying of the rolls is achieved by pressure elements which control the air pressure and generate movement of the roll. This technology allows the user to have the roll under control. Using the control system you can easily accelerate, control the speed, brake and lock the roll in place.

RTS Alliance, www.rtsalliance.com

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Technology News nip is modeled and displayed graphically in 3D so that machine operators can dial in their machines to get maximum results.

The data feeds are straightforward to integrate into overall machine controls.

We are well underway with our machine integration approaches. This is a productivity advancement worth looking into.”

Xerium Technologies, Inc., www.xerium.com

Metso to supply paper-topackaging grade conversion

Metso will supply Blue Paper with a grade conversion rebuild of their paper machine at their mill site in Strasbourg, France. The target is to produce packaging materials on a paper machine that previously produced light weight coated paper (LWC), a grade that is suffering from a drastic decline in demand. The start-up of the rebuilt machine is scheduled for the last quarter of 2013.

“This delivery is an example of a much called-for innovative approach to the structural change the paper industry is facing. By retrofitting the existing printing paper machine with a few new key components Metso is able to provide the customer and the Strasbourg papermaking community with a solution that enables continuation of industrial operations on-site,” says Markus Laitila, vice-president of paper mills business unit, Metso.

Metso’s delivery will comprise headbox and forming area modernizations and modernization of the press, dryer and sizing sections, and reel. Metso will also modify air systems and automation systems.

The original paper machine has a trimmed width of 8.5 m and it produced LWC paper at a speed of 1,500 m/min.

After the grade conversion rebuild, the paper machine will have a high annual capacity of fluting and testliner grades in the basis weight range of 70-130 g/m².

Metso www.metso.com/pulpandpaper

Mor e affordable testing for press felts

Press felt moisture profiles contain valuable information for papermakers.

However, traditional microwave felt moisture meters can be quite costly.

The new Feltest Aequo from OpTest is compact, easy to use and offers a surprisingly affordable solution to felt moisture profile measurement.

OpTest Equipment Inc. 613-632-5169, www.optest.com

www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Headbox retrofit reduces chemical costs GL&V recently began assembling BTF™ headboxes and retrofit systems for the Chinese marketplace in China, using critical components manufactured in Canada and other parts manufactured in China by local supplier partners. A total of five new headboxes and four retrofits have already been sold and manufactured with this new process. Several of these started up recently and are operating very successfully.

Lee and Man, the second largest paper company in China, installed and started up a BTF dilution control headbox retrofit on the base ply of their PM3 linerboard machine in September of last year. Performance optimization trials were run in October and the installation met all performance guarantees. In addition to the expected improvements in the sheet CD profile, the mill also realized significant savings in chemical costs. Lee and Man have ordered two more BTF retrofit systems, one for their PM5, which will start up later this year, and one for PM7, which started up successfully in February.

As well, Zao Zhuang Huarun started up four new BTF headboxes on their PM4 four-ply gypsum board machine in September 2012. This customer already has two older BTF headboxes on their PM3 machine, making a total of 6 BTF headboxes in this mill.

GL&V Canada Inc. 819-371-8265, www.glv.com

Board machine rebuild will add capacity

Andritz will upgrade Board Machine #2 and the related stock preparation systems for Kartonsan Karton Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. in Izmit, Turkey. The upgrade will increase production of duplex and triplex board from 100,000 to 160,000 t/a. The start-up is scheduled for 2014.

The upgrade of the machine will include a PrimeFlow SW headbox with dilution control; rebuild of the fourdrinier wire and press sections with a PrimePress X shoe press; a new hood and air system; and rebuilding the pre- and after-dryers, hard calendar, and coating sections.

Andritz will also upgrade the backlayer stock preparation line with deinking flotation unit and thickener disc filter for an additional white ledger capacity of 85 t/d.

The project also includes a rebuild of the existing OCC/mixed waste line with a capacity of 380 t/d, broke pulper adjustment and new broke thickener, plus three primary and two secondary screens for the four-layer approach system and a dilution water screen.

Andritz will supply engineering, supervision, commissioning, start-up, training, and spare and wear part packages for the entire equipment supply.

Andritz, www.andritz.com

May/June 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

19

Focus on recycling and deinking Deinking module saves energy

A multifunctional and very flexible stock preparation system supplied by Voith to Schönfelder Papierfabrik went successfully into operation in the middle of 2012.

The system is equipped with Voith’s LowEnergyFlotation (LEF), the latest generation of deinking flotation for removing ink and hydrophobic contaminants from recovered paper. The LEF is easy to operate, requires little maintenance and is self-cleaning. In addition, its low energy requirement – 10 to 15 kWh/day – promises energy savings of up to 50% compared with the model previously installed.

Schönfelder Papierfabrik decided in favor of the new InfiltraDiscfilter from Voith’s BlueLine product line. It guarantees that the pulp suspension is dewatered reliably and in an almost maintenance-free way. The core of the InfiltraDiscfilter is its bag-free BaglessPlus disc. This disc filter has an especially high capacity, since the filter surface is increased due to the corrugated surface. In addition, Schönfelder Papierfabrik chose a new dispersion system from Voith.

Schönfelder Papierfabrik in AnnabergBuchholz, Germany, produces more than 50,000 tonnes of graphic paper and specialty paper annually on a working width of 3,300 mm in a basis weight range of 45 to 120 g/m².

Voith Paper, www.voith.com

Small diameter hydrocyclone achieve high cleanliness

As part of the planned rebuild of PM6 at Jiangsu Lee&Man Mfg Paper in Changshu, China, Noss will supply a 5-stage RADICLONE system to be installed in the top ply approach flow system. Currently this line produces one-ply testliner, but is being rebuilt to produce two-ply testliner with improved paper surface.

The Noss RADICLONE AM80 hydrocycloning system will be used for efficient

20

Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

removal of impurities from OCC pulp. High cleanliness can be achieved due to the small diameter hydrocyclones used in the RADICLONE AM80.

Lee&Man plans to start the rebuild at the end of this year and start-up again in the first quarter of 2014.

Noss Canada, 514-697-2029, www.noss.com

Recycle OCC with fewer pumps

As a consequence of tightening up on rejects, many traditional OCC recycle systems suffer from process and equipment reliability issues arising from circulating too high a level of contaminants within the system, according to experts at GL&V. GL&V’s TamPulper™ OCC System is designed with the philosophy of simplicity and reliability. The company combined process stations and eliminated process pumps to reduce both the amount of equipment required and the overall energy consumption in the system.

The backbone of the OCC pulping system is the TamPulper two-layer rotor combined with a perforated or slotted screen plate, says Drew Humphries, vicepresident, global business management, GL&V. The TamPulper system merges the primary pulper and coarse screening stations. The top layer is a traditional pulper rotor designed to turn over the tank and defibre the raw OCC material. The second layer is a series of foils similar to a coarse screen rotor to keep the screen plate clean.

The screen plate has smaller, coarse screen size holes or slots rather than the relatively large holes normally associated with a pulper Contaminants and smaller pieces of coarse rejects are continuously discharged from the primary pulper into the adjacent clarifier by gravity, Humphries explains.

The clarifier is essentially a standpipe between the primary and secondary pulper stations with no motor or moving parts.

Primary and optionally secondary pulper accepts are pumped forward to cleaning, fine screening, and thickening stations.

Depending on the desired final pulp quality, GL&V can offer various configurations of forward and reverse cleaning, fractionation, fine screening with very fine slots, refining and disc filter thickening.

The merger of the pulping and coarse screening operations has proven practical even with heavily contaminated incoming OCC furnish, Humphries says.

GL&V, www.glv.com

Recycled paper and cardboard could be used in non-wovens

Biodegradable non-wovens can be manufactured cost-effectively using recycled fibre, according to VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

VTT has developed a process that enables recycled paper and cardboard to be used as a raw material for non-wovens.

VTT says the manufacturing costs of cardboard-based non-wovens are about 20% lower than for non-wovens produced from wood raw materials.

Cleansing the cardboard of filler material, lignin and hemicellulose is a key part of this manufacturing process. VTT has tapped into several fibre-processing methods used in the preparation of dissolving pulp to assist in obtaining pure cellulose from the recycled cardboard. The dissolving pulp produced in the research project was regenerated using VTT’s patented carbamate technology, which is said to be safer and more environmentally friendly than the traditional viscose process.

“Now for the first time we can make use of recycled paper and cardboard as a non-wovens raw material,” says Ali Harlin, research professor at VTT. “The new process means that bio-based non-wovens are now more competitive on price in comparison with plastic-based products.”

VTT Research Center, www.vtt.fi www.pulpandpapercanada.com

Photo courtesy Voith

Technology News

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careers

Sales and Service Representative Kadant Canada is the leading provider of auxiliary equipment to the Pulp and Paper Industry supplying a full range of water management, drainage, doctoring equipment and steam and condensate systems.

We are seeking a growth-oriented, goal driven, multi-functional individual who can fill a Paper Industry focused Sales and Service Representative position in British Columbia.

This individual will have overall responsibility for meeting revenue targets in his/her assigned territory. Revenue stream will be measured by sale of hardware and systems, optimization studies, and related services.

The preferred candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or similar discipline or a minimum of five years of solid experience in the paper industry. Success of this position depends upon a results orientated individual who has the ability to balance time and territory management. Candidate must have superior interpersonal abilities and a high energy level as performing multi-faceted tasks in conjunction with day-to-day activities is typical.

This position will entail a minimum of 50% travel, depending on the function and workload.

Interested applicants must submit their resume to Mike Soucy at mike.soucy@kadant.com.

We appreciate your interest, and will be contacting suitable applicants for an interview.

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 email: markp@freemanstaffing.com

web site: www.freemanstaffing.com

www.poyry.ca

RESTORATION GUYS INC. ...we restore it all

• Dryer Can Cleaning 20205 Kennedy Rd, Caledon ON • Soda Blasting and Painting Office: (519) 940-0904 Paper Machines and Machine Rooms Cell: (416) 578-5626 www.restorationguys.ca • Vacuuming Plenums and Rafters

Engineering services for the pulp and paper industry

Telephone 416. 391. 2322 E-mail mail@dickeng.com Web site www.dickeng.com

To inquire about advertising contact Jim Bussiere 800-268-7742, ext 3606 or 416-442-5600, ext 3606 www.pulpandpapercanada.com

May/June 2013 Pulp & Paper Canada

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Bio-Economy Canadian course targets biorefinery strategy and design A three-day biorefinery course designed

by Canadian experts in the pulp and paper industry targets forestry company decision-making, and will address a wide range of practical issues for biorefinery strategy and design.

The biorefinery course will seek to provide the knowledge and tools for forest industry leaders, technology providers and consultants to develop biorefinery strategies and better understand emerging biorefinery technologies and their design/implementation in a business strategy.

The course will be offered twice in 2013. The PAPTAC course (co-sponsored

by TAPPI and EnVertis) will be offered June 9-11 at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center in Vancouver.

The TAPPI course (co-sponsored by PAPTAC and EnVertis) will be offered Sept. 15-17 in Green Bay, WI, just ahead of TAPPI’s biorefinery conference IBBC, also in Green Bay. Course leader Paul Stuart says the course emphasizes “how to” content.

There are presentations addressing biorefinery technology management, competi-

tive evaluation of the bioproducts market, supply chain management, biorefinery deployment, biorefinery start-ups, assessing biorefinery risk, energy integration, and numerous case studies where different processes and techno-economics will be presented.

NSERC honors researchers for work on cellulose nanocrystals Dr. Derek Gray, holder of the NSERC/ FPInnovations Industrial Research Chair at McGill University, was presented with the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Synergy Award for Innovation earlier this year. Dr. Gray shared the award with Jean Bouchard of FPInnovations, Ron Crotogino of ArboraNano and Richard Berry of CelluForce.

This award celebrates the partnership between McGill University, FPInnovations, ArboraNano and CelluForce, while honoring Dr. Gray’s ground-breaking research.

This research led to the development of the initial extraction method and the discovery of the unique optical properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) thereby positioning Canada as a world leader in

Biomass-derived syngas to power hydrogen fuel cell

B

allard Power Systems has announced the sale of a 175-kilowatt ClearGen™ distributed generation fuel cell system to the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe of Humboldt County, California. The fuel cell system will be integrated with a biomass gasifier and syngas purification unit to form an integrated biomass-to-fuel cell power solution. The system will be the first of its kind, with the potential to double the efficiency of biomass-to-power generation.

“Biomass-to-fuel cell power is an excellent match for our community and our region, and we see tremendous potential for deployments beyond our own facilities,” said Arla Ramsey, the tribe’s vice-chairperson.

The system will convert locally-grown timber by-product feedstock into hydrogen-rich syngas, using pyrolysis gasification technology. This syngas will then be purified, resulting in a high quality hydrogen stream, which will be used to power the ClearGen fuel cell system. The plant will provide base load power for the tribe’s commercial enterprises and by-product heat will be used to warm the swimming pool in an adjacent hotel.

“Using biomass to produce hydrogen is an important enabler for distributed generation applications,” said Larry Stapleton, vice-president of sales, Ballard Power Systems. “This initial installation will demonstrate a renewable, high efficiency, low emission solution that is cost competitive today in communities relying on diesel generators.”

Based in Vancouver, Ballard Power Systems provides clean energy fuel cell products enabling optimized power systems for a range of applications.

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Pulp & Paper Canada May/June 2013

the manufacture of cellulose nanomaterials and nanocellulose-enhanced products.

Borregaard demonstrates cellulose to sugar to bioethanol, with lignin on the side Borregaard has developed new technology for the production of green chemicals and sugars based on biomass from forestry and agricultural waste. A demonstration plant using Borregaard’s proprietary BALI technology aims for cost-effective and sustainable production of lignin and bioethanol.

BALI technology involves converting the cellulose fibres in biomass to sugars that can be used for the production of secondgeneration bioethanol, while other components of the biomass (lignin) become advanced biochemicals.

BALI technology consists of several processing steps and has given promising results in laboratory-scale testing. In the demonstration plant the process will be upscaled by a factor of 1000 times.

Located in Norway, Borregaard is one of the world’s most advanced biorefineries. It uses all the components of wood in the production of specialty cellulose, advanced biochemicals, lignin, bioethanol and vanillin.

BASF invests in micro-fibrillated cellulose for papermaking BASF has partnered with Zelfo Technology for the efficient and cost-effective production of micro-fibrillated cellulose. Zelfo’s newly developed technology concerns the engineering of superior micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) which is used to produce a wide variety of paper, board and tissue products. This technology allows significant improvement in strength and weight reduction to address for example, the need for lighter, stronger paper-based packaging.

BASF aims to further improve Zelfo’s fibre technology through a wide range of chemical additives for papermaking. BASF’s expertise in chemistry is essential for MFC technology to function efficiently on an industrial scale and to support the use of cellulosic, recyclable and biodegradable materials in the process.

BASF will focus on all applications related to paper, board, packaging and tissue.

Zelfo Technology will continue its main activities in non-VOC emitting binders and bio-composite based applications. www.pulpandpapercanada.com

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