Engineers See Major Paper Mill Savings With New Rotor Technology

No Pulp Fiction: Engineers See Major Paper Mill Savings With New Rotor Technology
By Brian Lin with files from Erinrose Handy

A partnership between UBC, government and the pulp and paper industry has resulted in the development of three high efficiency pulp screen rotors that produce high quality paper while reducing almost half the energy required.

“There are currently 300 pulp screens in British Columbia’s 20 pulp and paper mills,” says UBC Mechanical Engineering Assoc. Prof. James Olson. “The industry consumes almost 20 per cent of all the electricity produced in the province and pulp screening is an energy intensive operation in that process.”

Pulp screens work somewhat like the spin cycle in a household washing machine by rotating at high speeds and forcing pulp through narrow openings in the screen. Pulp screens in B.C. alone consume 300 Gigawatt Hours per year at an estimated cost of $16 million -- or enough energy to light up 15,000 homes.

Olson and fellow UBC engineers Carl Ollivier-Gooch and Mark Martinez, along with industrial partners at Montreal-based Advanced Fiber Technologies Inc., took inspiration from aerospace technology and designed a family of uniquely shaped, hydrodynamic rotors that significantly reduce drag and operate at much lower speeds and power, while increasing the capacity and efficiency of the screen.

The technology was patented and licensed to Advanced Fiber Technologies and 100 new rotors were installed in 30 mills across Canada.

“The trial results were beyond everyone’s expectations -- reducing electricity consumption by 52 per cent compared to current state-of-the-art rotors,” says Olson. “If all pulp screens used in B.C. mills were converted to the new rotor technology, an estimated $8 million could be saved each year. Adopted nation-wide, the industry could save $20 million a year.”

While the cost savings would increase the industry’s competitiveness against new paper producers such as China, the reduced energy usage also translates into lower greenhouse emissions. The new technology could also cement Canada’s leadership in pulp equipment manufacturing and further diversify a sector that currently logs $53 billion in sales and $44 billion in exports per year.

As a result of the success in the mill trials, the research team has won BC Hydro’s New Technology of the Year Award (2007), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)’s Synergy Award for Partnership and Innovation (2007), and the British Columbia Innovations Council’s Lieutenant Governor’s Award (2008).

The work has also led to a $2.2 million investment from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and a partnership with 11 industry partners including BC Hydro and most of the paper mills in B.C.

“There’s a gap between electricity supply and demand in B.C. and we need to do more to conserve power,” says Lisa Coltart, BC Hydro’s director of Power Smart. “We’re excited to contribute to research that will provide substantial energy savings while making the province a world leader in the field.”

Paper products industry to lose $400M this year

Paper products industry to lose $400M this year, turnaround to start in 2008
3 hours ago

OTTAWA - Canada's paper products industry will be in the red again this year, recording about $400 million in losses as a result of the surging loonie and falling demand, the Conference Board of Canada says.

That would mark the third straight year of losses in the $11-billion pulp and paper industry, which has been in a deep funk for most of the decade.

But the Conference Board report released Thursday forecasts a turnaround for the industry starting in 2008 as prices begin to rebound modestly and demand increases from such expanding economies as China.

The report predicts the industry will make a modest $6 million profit in 2008, but earnings will rise to $600 million in 2009 and continue building to $1.7 billion in 2011.

"Much of the industry's profit will be generated by the pulp segment, boosted by strong demand in China and Western Europe," the report states.

Despite the brightening prospects, the board does not see the same bright picture for employment.

The industry has shed about 21,000 jobs in the last four years. But despite expected increasing profits, the board forecasts only minimal job growth starting in 2008.

The key factor ailing the industry is the high loonie - the board estimates that every cent rise in the Canadian dollar has shaved $200 million in profits from the sector's bottom line.

As well, the increasing computerization and Internet use in North America has cut into the demand for certain types of paper, the report says.

"The death of paper has been forecast many times since the 1990s," the report notes.

"Yet the industry - especially in North America - has still been hit by the rise of computers and the Internet," it adds. "Newsprint has been worst hit as circulation and classified advertising continue to decline and as environmental concerns multiply."

The Pulp and Paper Products Council pegged newsprint consumption decline at 12.2 per cent in the first three quarters of 2007.

In the wake of increased competition and mounting losses, many companies have either merged their operations, shut down money-losing mills or made other streamlining moves to remain profitable.

For example, Montreal-based paper giants Domtar and Abitibi have struck deals to merge with major U.S. forestry companies and are moving forward with efficiency drives to improve their finances.

Domtar Corp. (TSX:UFS), formed by the merger of Domtar Inc. and the fine-paper business of U.S. forestry giant Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE:WY), is the largest integrated producer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second-largest in the world based on production capacity, and is also a manufacturer of paper-grade pulp.

The company, with nearly 14,000 people, also produces lumber and other specialty and industrial wood products.

Meanwhile, AbitibiBowater Inc. (TSX:ABH) is launching a review of operations as the newly combined company attempts to improve operations and reduce debt by $1 billion over three years. The review could lead to mill shutdowns in Canada and the United States.

The combination of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. of Montreal and Bowater Inc. of South Carolina was completed Oct. 29.

Earlier this week, Vancouver-based Catalyst Paper Corp. (TSX:CTL) extended the shutdown of its No. 1 paper machine at the Elk Falls newsprint mill at Campbell River, B.C. until the end of March because of a shortage of fibre.

Other pulp and cardboard operations at the mill will also be shut down over Christmas, affecting 600 employees.