Paper production always comes down to the individual fibres
Paper starts life as an extremely wet paste of cellulose fibres and water. For the paste to become paper, the water needs to be removed – but how does one do this without removing the fibres as well? With retention agents.
But pay attention to the fibres: you need to keep hold of them
In paper manufacture, wood pulp fibres are mixed with water to produce a very liquid paste which initially has a water content of 99%. In order for this mulch to become paper, it needs extensive drainage. But there is always the danger that the fibres and other important fillers will leak out at the same time. This is what polymer solutions, known as retention agents, prevent. In 2009, ProMinent supplied Rhein Papier (today UPM) in Hürth, near Cologne, with a system for adding retention agents. An important requirement: the concentration needed to be adjustable for every production batch.
Key figures
- Paper manufacturer Rhein Papier GmbH in Hürth
- Retention of fibres and fillers in paper manufacture
- Production of polymer solutions from powder
- Flexibly adjustable concentration of the retention agent
- Efficient production thanks to optimal application of raw materials and retention agents
Ultromat®: ultra flexible and ultra convenient
On the recommendation of a partner company, Rhein Papier opted to use the ProMinent metering system Ultromat® ULFa in its capacity as a continuous flow system. In Hürth, it creates the retention agent from a powder but it can also work with liquid materials. Concentrations and production quantities can always be adjusted according to the requirements of each batch of paper. This flexibility has considerable advantages: because the equipment always supplies the exact quantity of polymer solution, only the appropriate amount is used. The good coordination of the production process ensures maximum fibre retention, as well as the optimum application of raw paper materials.
Optimum raw material use thanks to flexibility
- Efficient production with very high fibre retention
- Minimal consumption of retention agents thanks to the optimum concentration and quantities of the polymer solutions
- Flexible adaptation of quantities and concentrations to the paper batch in hand
- Fully automatic operation with minimum personnel and maintenance requirements