Utilization of Neural Network Technology for Some Pulp & Paper Industry Applications, 2000 Process Control, Electrical & Info. Conference Proceedings

Lars C. Ingman--Quality Control and Process Control in the Pulp & Paper Industry has evolved over time. The early stages were completely based on observing the end products, and the processes producing them, and largely based on inspection, after the fact.

The next step was to instigate manual sampling and testing based on simple statistical concepts, first focusing on the end products, but later on also including both the production processes, and lately to some limited extent, also incoming raw materials.

Over time the instrumentation has been developed both for basic measurements, such as pressures, flows and temperatures, as well as inferred measurements like consistency and freeness. In the last 10 years a large number of specialty sensors, both for pulp and paper characteristics measurements have evolved. Many of these today are either in-line or on-line measurements. On the bleaching side there are in-line brightness and residual sensors, and for the kraft mill there are both kappa and causticizing analyzers. And on the paper machines we have for a long time had scanning gauging systems for basis weight, moisture,caliper, select optical characteristics, with a few more novel type measurements evolving.