Improving Dewatering, Energy Usage, and Press Fabric Life by Optimizing the Nip System, 2008 PAPERCON Conference

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Press fabric suppliers for years have promoted increased void volume, heavier press fabric design and the need for improved vacuum levels in the press section. Today most mills lack adequate vacuum to dewater press fabric designs that can be as heavy as 2100 gsm. Vacuum systems were originally designed to dewater compressible endless designs with weights between 1300 and 1500 gsm. Eight to 12 CFM was all that was required to dewater these designs effectively. Today’s modern multiple layer seam press fabric designs require between 18 and 20 CFM to dewater effectively, relying strictly on vacuum box dewatering. This has led to inefficiencies in total dryness leaving the press and most presses are operating with press fabric designs that are too heavy for the application. The other overriding factor is speed. As machines are pushed to the upper limits, the effectiveness of traditional vacuum box dewatering is reduced, therefore press solids are not maximized at increased running speeds.