Advanced Predictive Adaptive Control of Steam Header Pressure, Saveall Consistency, and Reel Brightness in a TMP Newsprint Mill, 2001 Process Control, Electrical & Info. Conference Proceedings

Bill Gough, John Kay, Mark Weaver, Sava Kovac, Steve Holmes, Jim LeBlanc, Barry Deobald--This paper describes the application of an advanced predictive-adaptive process controller on main steam header pressure, saveall consistency, and paper brightness control at a TMP paper mill. The improved control of the main header pressure virtually eliminated the venting of steam during upsets of the refiners or the paper machine. Improved consistency control from the saveall to the blend chest contributed to stable stock consistency for the paper machine. The advanced controller was able to provide closed loop control of the paper brightness at the reel by adjusting the addition rate of bleach in the bleach plant. The paper brightness was previously controlled manually due to the long delay time between changing the compensated brightness set point in the bleach plant and the observed change in paper brightness at the reel. Each of these applications demonstrates the advantages that paper makers can achieve with advanced regulatory process control.