Drying Section Performance Agreement aims for increased safety and sustainability
Nov 8, 2022
Did you know that the drying section consumes as much as 70% of all energy needed in the tissue-making process and therefore is a tissue mill’s major source of CO2? Or that the huge Yankee cylinder taking care of the drying process is a pressurized vessel filled with hot steam, causing a safety risk if not maintained appropriately?
Maybe you didn’t, but Valmet’s Tissue Service team knows – and therefore developed a new Drying Section Performance Agreement to help optimize the drying process for safer and more sustainable tissue production. The agreement contains:
“The agreement offers a systematic approach to improve the performance of the drying section – for safety, reliability, availability, and energy consumption. The optimal length for the agreement is five years and it is always kicked-off with a complete check and energy study. The rest can be tailored to the needs by adding the right combination of services such as Valmet Industrial Internet solutions, remote support through Valmet Performance Center, improvement plans and maintenance guidance”, summarizes Raffaele Malutta, Agreement Manager, Tissue Service.
Process optimization is the key
To keep the energy consumption of the drying section as low as possible and the overall drying performance high, there is one key factor above others: process optimization. “The Yankee cylinder and its respective hood need to work in proper balance. If the optimal settings are not maintained, the first thing that happens is a rise in energy consumption – and thus increase in CO2 emissions. By benchmarking the specific machine’s performance data to the other machines in our database and adding our vast expertise in the drying process, we can help the customer to keep their process on the optimal level at all times”, Raffaele describes.
The savings process optimization provided depends on the machine, but commonly around 5-10% reduction in gas consumption is achieved – meaning a lot of money, too. “Not to mention the positive impact on sustainability”, Raffaele reminds.
Safety is utmost important
As already mentioned, the Yankee cylinder is a pressure vessel and as such needs to be carefully and periodically inspected and maintained for reliable and safe performance. “There is a huge amount of energy stored inside the Yankee and Hood blowing temperature can rise to 500 degrees Celsius, so it’s of utmost importance to provide safe operating conditions at the mill. With our support, the customer can sleep their nights in peace, as we take the responsibility on their behalf”, Raffaele says.
Long-term collaboration for best results
Valmet’s Drying Section Performance Agreement can be applied to all types of Yankee cylinders – whether cast iron or steel, Valmet, or any other brand. “The services we provide as such are not new but wrapping our experience and know-how in a nice package benefits the tissue makers around the world. Especially the somewhat smaller producers with less process expertise in their own team can really benefit from the agreement. Building a longer-term partnership with our customers means we can achieve great results together”, Raffaele says.