Wet Press Felt Treatment: Optimization Through Automation, 1992 Papermakers Conference Proceedings

One of the papermaker’s main objectives is to optimize press section efficiency to maximize machine speed. There are obviously tradeoffs that impact the many parameters that influence press section efficiency, however, keeping the wet press felt operating at peak efficiency is crucial. With the increasing complexity of today’s paper machines, advances in computer monitoring and controls are allowing more and more parameters to be tracked. Taking advantage of continuous monitoring of Uhle box vacuum, steam consumption, machine speed, sheet moisture, and other key parameters, wet press felt treatment programs can "tap" into paper machine process controls to optimize the cleaning procedures. This paper will examine the various methods of wet press felt treatment and ways to automate the cleaning procedure using process controls from the paper machine. Actual product and/or procedure selection is beyond the scope of this paper.