Olympic Excellence at Guangzhou Paper

 

From 100% Wastepaper

Guangzhou Paper, one of China’s largest newsprint producers, recently modernized the machines at their old in-town location in the heart of the city of Guangzhou, and installed a 400,000 tons per year machine 50 kilometers outside of the city in the NanSha district. The company will move its PM 8 and PM 1 from the old location to the new. Kadant has played an important role in improving runnability and stability for all machines, and boosted productivity and energy savings for PM 8. Looking to the future, Guangzhou Paper is planning to exceed 1 million tons per year within the next few years, and is open to considering twice that in the coming decades. It remains committed to producing quality grades from waste paper.


Keeping Machines Clean

To enhance the water cleanliness of PM 8, as well as PM 9 at the new mill, Kadant AES filters were employed. Pressure filters remove very fine dirt particles that clog the shower nozzles. Gravity strainers remove larger impurities during the first water-recycling stage. Vacuum Assisted (VA) gravity strainers are enclosed filtering systems that use a vacuum to extract fiber and fine particles from the wastewater for reuse in the papermaking process. Says Peng, who’s primary focus in on PM 9, “Even with recycling of the whitewater, showers plug less frequently, and stability is better.” Peng believes that the high quality of their improved newsprint grade, combined with a competitive price in relation to direct competitors and SC and LWC producers gives them an edge.

 

Local Source, Global Support

All of the components and systems for Guangzhou Paper were made at Kadant’s Wuxi, Jiangsu Province facility. According to Yuxin Yao, president of Kadant Johnson China, “We started out with a focus on components to support our global sales in North America and Europe, but now we are a major supplier of complete systems in China.”


Back in 2005, Kadant Johnson, was called in to evaluate the dryer section of PM 8 and determine what could be done to increase production and reduce downtime after sheet breaks. It became clear that reducing drive loads and steam consumption were critical changes required. Dave Liptrot, the Kadant specialist who led the survey, comments, “I actually knew this machine in Sweden. Some of the machine’s shortcomings in China were noted in their original location. Guangzhou Paper’s team recognized the necessity of a rebuild, and worked closely with us to give this old machine new life.” According to Yao, “A switch to PTX rotary joints, cantilevered stationary syphons, and Turbulator bars was important. We also disconnected the bottom unorun cylinders and converted the steam system to a modern cascade system. Steam system modifications included a switch from re-circulating thermocompressors to a cascade type of system, eliminating the need for a high pressure (800kPa) steam supply.”

 

According to Fang Chun, vice director at Guangzhou Paper, after only three months, production increased by 12%, even while the machine operating with lower steam pressures. Recovery time from sheet breaks was reduced to 35 minutes, drive loads were cut by nearly half and steam consumption was reduced considerably. Says Chung, “Payback happened in less than 60 days! Our added production makes us much more competitive, and has convinced management that PM8 will have yet another new life at the new mill.”

 

Original article published in Pulp & Paper International, November 2008. Adapted with permission.