Three Steps to Improved TMP Operating Efficiency, 2007 International Mechanical Pulping Conference

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This paper introduces a concept which reduces the challenges associated with the thermo-mechanical pulping (TMP) optimization. It is based on a new family of fiber analyzers used in conjunction with computer models which has been developed based on a large amount of empirical data.

The mechanical pulping process continues to be pressured by reduced revenues from sales in combination with increasing production cost. This is particularly true in NA and Scandinavia, where the cost of electrical energy has increased sharply over the last couple of years. As a consequence, mill optimizations, and process control is becoming increasingly important, since it can offer significant performance improvement without large changes to the plant and operating conditions. One challenge is the cost associated with the optimization and control implementation. There are literally hundreds of variables to be considered as a function of time, and using traditional methods vast amounts of pulp samples would need to be collected and analyzed before a robust control strategy could be implemented.