#45 How can the stock preparation process be improved by real-time monitoring and control?

00:00:02: Hello to all friends and fans of the pulp paper and bioproducts industries.

00:00:07: Welcome to our exciting spectrum podcast where today we'll be talking about stock preparation, probably the most influential an often overlooked area of paper production.

00:00:19: I am Mark Rushton And i will be your host.

00:00:24: The way fibers are prepared before reaching the paper machine has a direct impact on product quality energy consumption runability and ultimately mill profitability.

00:00:35: In this episode, we'll explore how real-time fiber analysis with Pulp I Fiber Properties Analyzer is helping mills to make smarter decisions reduce variability and optimize the entire stock preparation process.

00:00:50: imagine preparing a gourmet meal without being able to taste the ingredients until the dish.

00:00:59: This is similar to how many mills have traditionally operated stock preparation.

00:01:04: Laboratory results arrive long after the fibres had already passed through refining, making it difficult to correct processed deviations in time.

00:01:13: Today automation and digitization are changing that reality.

00:01:18: Instead of relying on delayed laboratory analysis an operator experience alone Mills can monitor fiber properties continuously and make process adjustments while production is running.

00:01:32: Andrus addresses this challenge through Pulp Eye, a modular online fiber analysis platform that continuously measures critical pulp quality parameters directly in the process.

00:01:45: In addition to basic fiber property measurements The system provides real-time information on krill dirt & fiber wall thickness.

00:01:55: So to explore how these solutions translate into measurable value for pulp producers, I'm joined today by Oivin Stundvalg, General Manager of Pulp Eye at Andrius.

00:02:06: Welcome, Oivind!

00:02:08: Thanks a lot and happy to be here.

00:02:10: Great have you on board so let's go straight in.

00:02:14: Why has stock preparation become such an important area for paper-and-board produces?

00:02:20: In stock preparation, it has been a various application where PULP by can be implemented.

00:02:26: The challenge that we have seen in stock preparation is the customers want to reduce their variability... ...in the furnishing of stock preparation and also maintain stable furnishing into the paper machine.

00:02:39: We see they need to meet quality with lowest possible production cost And will have uniform quality Reduce the energy consumption and also reduce a fiber costs.

00:02:53: And at the same time improve their ability to increase throughput.

00:02:57: in this operation, there are several challenges that come into my mind then.

00:03:05: many of them is today.

00:03:07: they have a lot of variation in the raw material supply and but it's a matter of using the fiber information to stabilize the furnish.

00:03:16: And as one production manager told me, he said all fibers are good fibers.

00:03:21: But I will say that the reason for that is it's lack of wood now in industry and we in stock preparation need really to use a fiber characteristics to fine tune paper properties.

00:03:33: get right fiber mix into the paper machine also the fiber type.

00:03:38: at same time refining so maintain bulk formation permeability another important paper qualities.

00:03:46: So it's a lot of factors.

00:03:48: now we need to fine-tune in the stock preparation, so the challenges that you have here is finding right balance.

00:03:55: for example if your refining too little and you have to compromise with quality or if you are refining much you destroy the advantage you have with expensive long fibers used for reinforcements even damage this fiber structure.

00:04:13: So today's objective is to achieve the desired quality by using energy you need and not over refine.

00:04:20: And with increase changes in the raw material, variability... ...and higher sustainability targets meals needs be better to visualize this.

00:04:31: what happened during stock preparation as they have done it before?

00:04:36: that my experience.

00:04:38: It a matter of stabilizing save energy maintain their quality and furnish Into the head box, that's a main target.

00:04:45: Uh-huh

00:04:47: Just as an aside can you tell us why there is so much variation in raw material and Why?

00:04:52: Is it increasing?

00:04:54: yeah It's the reason for that.

00:04:56: this supply of wood is different compared to years ago.

00:04:59: You could have the same supplier And then now you take what you get more or less than Then you need to fine tune into stock preparation.

00:05:06: That's the main reason.

00:05:07: Okay excellent well thank you for that.

00:05:10: How does pulp?

00:05:11: I help Mills make better decisions.

00:05:16: In general, the PULP can change the way operators understand a process because it replace manual testing in the lab.

00:05:24: you get some few values during your shift.

00:05:27: now you can get online measurement twenty four seven in an accurate way any real time and instead of waiting for the lab hours the operator receive immediate information about the fiber dimension, fiber wall thickness, krill and dirt etc.

00:05:45: And that means when the robotic characters start to change operator can immediately adjust their refining conditions.

00:05:53: also point you in the fiber mix really save energy or chemicals instead of discovering this impact much later when the quality already has changed and.

00:06:10: The result is a faster decision-making, then you can also improve your process stability.

00:06:16: You have much greater confidence in daily operations.

00:06:20: We've now developed this tool where we look at more detailed information about refining with something called pulp on target.

00:06:31: see small details that never reached the DCS system.

00:06:34: We are not using the average values, we're just in a small pocket and then you can find it on refining and stock preparation.

00:06:41: You also get to know how the refiner plates work efficiently so actually go from more actionable.

00:06:50: pros with intelligence enable advanced refining control and optimize everything much better way both for stable quality and also lower energy consumption.

00:07:04: Okay, great!

00:07:04: So there's a lot of time saving here by the sound of it.

00:07:08: so but how does this real-time fiber analysis improve stock preparation efficiency?

00:07:14: We see one of the largest opportunities avoided over refining.

00:07:18: I mean you must use the raw material in an efficient way.

00:07:22: we that's the largest cost you have in the mine And you need to take care something.

00:07:28: you fine-tune in this operation and without continuous measurement operators use the over refined.

00:07:36: they want to be on a safe side.

00:07:38: but with online measurements, you can run much closer to specification.

00:07:46: You save energy.

00:07:48: so I always say if don't measure it or not know with PULPA you can achieve that with pulp but you can allow the operator to really follow their development of the fiber refining continuously instead of refining more than necessary and when your reach a right level.

00:08:08: You can just use energy in a more efficient way, I mean this helps you reduce energy consumption also protect from important destroy the strength properties you have in the fiber so You can actually maintain a product quality much easier when you measure online.

00:08:30: So this is an example of how you can better use information leads to direct-to lower production costs in the middle.

00:08:41: Okay, it all sounds very impressive.

00:08:44: Are there any measurable values for Polpi fiber properties analyzer?

00:08:49: Yeah we have... When you combine these tools with process control, I mean you can use FALT by fiber property analyzer and reach significant improvements in stop-probrary.

00:09:02: We have seen in practical life production increase up to ten percent by combining online measurement and also advanced controls.

00:09:12: so i would say that's really impressive!

00:09:15: And this is three facts we have seen

00:09:18: Absolutely very impressive.

00:09:20: And would you have measurable values on productivity?

00:09:24: Yeah, we have seen more or less similar values around ten percent in that case also.

00:09:28: so I'm really impressed by myself about numbers.

00:09:33: not surprised they're a good number.

00:09:35: and of course you mentioned earlier quality losses.

00:09:37: So can you tell us about those as well?

00:09:39: yeah We have seen up to eleven percent and mainly thats coming from the Especially when you are running paper grades with low-grammage.

00:09:49: You have web breakage and that causing the break.

00:09:52: is that your losing, yeah production.

00:09:55: so thats also very good indicator and we seen huge savings in that area.

00:10:03: sure i mean im not going to put on spot.

00:10:05: say what do u think in euros or dollars makes a difference but clearly it make a huge different financially.

00:10:14: Yeah, yeah and I mean you have ten percent is a lot of money.

00:10:19: And then your using both the raw material in there The milling more efficient way.

00:10:24: So that's overall it we give good saving.

00:10:28: Okay That sounds really impressive.

00:10:30: so beyond raw material an energy savings what other operational improvements can Mills expect?

00:10:37: Yeah, I'm in real time.

00:10:39: Fiber intelligence improves much modern refining efficiency and we see that If you continuously monitor the incoming for fiber quality, You can gain much better control over their raw material variability and adjust it according to that.

00:10:56: Check the fiber mixes.

00:10:57: You can monitor dirt impurities which is an important quality parameter And improve them.

00:11:03: refining performance We also have a module for Krill That sees very small particles that we usually cannot measure with camera technology not been on the market before and that give us a new tools to really find you in the refining area, refiner plates performance.

00:11:21: And so on... That leads us into more stable quality and fewer process disturbances and lower quality losses are much more consistent production across the shifts.

00:11:33: it's also creates a stronger foundation for the process optimization because decision is based on actual person condition rather than assumption or some lab values, and we can actually from this measurement also create a fingerprint on the detail level how their furniture looks like before you put it into the headphones.

00:11:54: Okay excellent.

00:11:55: so um Can you introduce to finger print concept?

00:11:58: A little bit more please.

00:11:59: what benefits does that bring?

00:12:01: yeah We we can Actually On The Very Detailed Level See if How You Refine How Your You Create The Bonding Area under Fiber The small tree particles are attached or free.

00:12:14: We can also see the total fiber bonding.

00:12:16: that's important for strength properties on a table machine and we have it full control in other detail levels.

00:12:21: so thats something to be talked about a lot, create fingerprint and define where is production right now?

00:12:29: And then we continue against this.

00:12:32: So that's very, very interesting and useful too.

00:12:34: Okay!

00:12:35: That sounds brilliant.

00:12:37: so does this mean you can save a recipe for instance?

00:12:41: For certain type of paper then go back to it automatically.

00:12:45: Yeah...so You use different fingerprints depending on what product your producing in the paper machine.

00:12:50: Then always compare where are we now compared with the finger prints you create from them?

00:12:55: Ok..that sounds like real benefit.

00:12:58: Okay, so how does this impact operators and long-term mill performance?

00:13:04: I mean these allow us operators to move from reactive firefighting... ...to more supervisory control.

00:13:10: And manual innovations are reduced.. ..and we also see that the shift to shift performance becomes more consistent….

00:13:16: …and now the system supports operators rather than relying on some individual experience knowledge!

00:13:24: And I would say from the business perspective, this means that we can reduce a fiber cost.

00:13:28: We can also lower energy usage and improve their ability to increase production at the same time reducing emission of water usage.

00:13:37: This is clear path towards autonomous operations with life cycle.

00:13:44: service units can provide when sure these gains are sustained an even improved value over time for all our users.

00:13:54: Yeah, and income sustainability which is exactly what paper producers and pulp producers need.

00:14:01: um so how does palpai fit into the broader vision of digitization?

00:14:04: And autonomous operations doesn't go forward to a fully autonomous mills.

00:14:09: this can be one of the elements.

00:14:12: yeah i will say that That is the benefit with these hundreds digital solution.

00:14:16: I mean we are very close in some of the meals and the pulpy is much more than an online measurement device.

00:14:24: I will say it's a gold mine with data that creates valuable data for the production and operators.

00:14:30: on detail level, when we integrate this Pulp On Target at the vast process control system become part of close loop optimization strategy?

00:14:41: The measurements became more automated decision allow them not only to monitor but also actively control output from the pulverine and this reduces also the operator's workload, it improves the process consistency.

00:15:00: It helps to react towards more predictive and autonomous production.

00:15:05: so I will say that we are getting closer and closer.

00:15:09: but ultimately its about transforming data on a detail level into actionable intelligence.

00:15:15: continuously can improve quality efficiency in sustainable way.

00:15:20: twenty four seven in accurate way.

00:15:22: That's my feeling.

00:15:24: brilliant sounds like a major step towards fully autonomous pulp and paper mills.

00:15:29: yeah correct.

00:15:31: And I have one more question for you here before we conclude.

00:15:35: how does the paper maker get involved with pulpy?

00:15:37: What is installation?

00:15:38: look, what exactly are they involved?

00:15:42: now in a pulpy installation We take samples from different positions different refining stages, but I would say the most important one is just before the machine's just into the head box.

00:15:56: And then we supported customers to really squeeze out maximum information from their process and use these tools with the fiber analysis and new tools at this pulp on target as well as APC controls.

00:16:13: that's hard too.

00:16:16: Okay, and Andvis will hold a customer's hand all the way through the process.

00:16:20: Yeah we have this under its life cycle service solution that

00:16:26: Excellent Orvin it has been an excellent discussion.

00:16:29: thank you very much for joining us.

00:16:31: Thank You

00:16:32: Brilliant.

00:16:34: Todays conversation highlights The stock preparation is no longer simply about processing fibres.

00:16:41: Optimised stock preparation Is about understanding fibre development in real time optimizing raw material usage and mix, reducing variability, reducing energy consumption.

00:16:52: And making smarter operational decisions with solutions like Pulpie and Pulp on Target.

00:16:58: Andrews helps Mills move beyond monitoring toward continuous process optimization creating more stable operations better product quality and a stronger foundation for autonomous manufacturing.

00:17:14: If you'd like to learn how Android's real-time fiber analysis solutions can improve your stock preparation process, visit the Android website or connect with one of our automation specialists to explore the right selection for your mill.

00:17:29: Thank You To Our Valued Listeners For Listening Today!