Voith Advances Green Papermaking with Innovation and Low-Carbon Processes

On February 22, 2019, Beijing hosted the China Papermaking Sustainable Development Forum and the launch ceremony for the White Paper on the Sustainable Development of China's Paper Industry. The event was jointly organized by the China Paper Association and China Press and Publication Media Group. A key message from the forum was that papermaking, as an essential basic raw material industry tied closely to national economic and social development, also carries sustainable development attributes. Looking back over the past decade, technological advances, adoption of advanced equipment, retirement of outdated capacity and greater industry concentration have provided solid support for resource efficiency and environmental protection; most production capacity in China's paper industry has reached international advanced levels in technology and equipment.

So how has Voith, a long-standing family-owned paper machinery manufacturer from Germany, earned recognition from partners worldwide through product quality? And how does innovation enable it to support the sustainable development of China's paper industry? Jiangsu Province Paper Industry Association interviewed Mr. Yu Zhibing, President of Voith Paper Asia, who shared several observations.

Innovation shapes greener papermaking processes

Progress depends on innovation. In recent years, Voith has devoted 5.3% of group sales each year to product innovation and R&D. The company currently holds more than a thousand active patents, adding over a hundred every year. According to Mr. Yu, from the earliest wood grinder patent to Voith's latest 'Papermaking, the Next Generation,' the drive to innovate has never paused. In 1869, Voith obtained its first wood grinder technology, which turned wood into pulp and made high-quality paper possible at reasonable cost; by 1881, Voith had built its first paper machine.

A significant milestone came in 1960. At a time when environmental protection and resource conservation had not yet captured public attention, Voith worked with two paper mills, Palm and Haindl, to develop a new flotation deinking process. It removed printing ink from waste paper, making Voith a pioneer in resource-saving processes for paper recycling. In 1993, Voith achieved another recycling breakthrough: Voith PM11 at the Schwedt paper mill started operation—the first paper machine to produce newsprint from 100% recycled paper.

Image: Voith wood grinder

Today, with the fourth industrial revolution underway, digitalization has become one of the industry's key terms. China's paper industry is actively advancing toward higher efficiency and greater intelligence. To address the twin challenges of digitalization and environmental protection, Voith Paper introduced a next-generation papermaking engineering solution in 2016—'Papermaking, the Next Generation'—designed to improve efficiency, raise output and ensure quality across the entire production process while making paper machines smarter.

Mr. Yu noted that papermakers today pay more attention to the energy-saving and environmental performance of paper machines, which aligns closely with Voith Paper's development philosophy. Facing mounting energy and resource pressure in China, Voith Paper works closely with customers around their needs and tailors green, energy-efficient solutions for each project. In recent years, Asia has shown considerable growth potential as an emerging market, while China faces new challenges from national macro policies, market conditions and customer demand. 'Papermaking, the Next Generation' responds to industry transformation and upgrading as well as national environmental policies, helping customers shift from scale growth to efficiency growth.

Image: Voith 'Papermaking, the Next Generation'

Industrial upgrading: advancing green transformation

High-quality economic development and people's growing desire for a better life chart the course for the paper industry and open broad room for sustainable growth. If the industry turns its green, low-carbon and recyclable characteristics into competitive advantages and builds a full-cycle, more scientific circular economy system, its sustainability performance will continue to rise.

This resonates with Voith's green development philosophy. To that end, Voith is upgrading its business through both hardware and software. The interview showed that Voith offers a highly comprehensive product portfolio to maximize customer profitability. According to Mr. Yu, Voith first focuses on equipment upgrades to improve efficiency. The XcelLine intelligent paper machine, for instance, lifts the production efficiency of various paper grades to a new level and delivers outstanding performance across the machine's full life cycle. The BlueLine pulp line, also known as a new low-carbon process, uses new BlueLine stock preparation products; customers benefit from Voith's consistent quality commitment, effectively cutting energy, fresh water and fiber use and saving maintenance costs while improving operating efficiency and safety.

Image: Voith XcelLine intelligent paper machine

Mr. Yu said that worldwide, for high-speed packaging paper machines, more than 60% of OCC pulp lines are supplied by Voith. The new low-carbon process continues the company's longstanding pursuit of process technology, covering safety, lower energy use, better operation, less maintenance, lower fiber loss, lower water consumption and higher quality, among other areas. Voith also places strong emphasis on control module upgrades to reduce costs, cut labor and improve precision, including Papermaking 4.0 and augmented reality (AR) solutions developed in the Industry 4.0 environment.

Image: augmented reality (AR) solutions

Today, the paper industry must continuously adapt to modern trends such as new printing technologies, packaging requirements and environmental policies, and companies increasingly value the energy-saving and environmental performance of paper machines. In recent years, Voith Paper's investment priorities have centered on R&D for green papermaking technologies such as water saving, energy saving and resource reuse, using new technology upgrades to drive the industry's green transition.

Balancing innovation and optimization for sustainable development

Opportunities and challenges always coexist, and Voith values optimization as much as innovation. Through papermaking technology innovation and production process optimization, Voith helps customers improve efficiency, raise output and save resources while creating smarter, more sustainable industrial processes. Mr. Yu said with pride: 'By providing advanced equipment and technology along with green papermaking processes, we reduce fiber, energy and water consumption and guide traditional manufacturing toward greener development. In terms of energy consumption, with Voith equipment, water use per tonne of paper is only 5 cubic meters, far below the national standard of 20 cubic meters.'

At present, the Asian market is expected to focus more on environmentally sustainable development, moving toward energy saving, emissions reduction and higher product quality. Market competition is gradually shifting from price competition to value comparison. Voith's advanced BlueLine OCC pulp line processing technology, Europe-standard-compliant full-line papermaking solutions, and harmless treatment technologies for waste, solid waste and wastewater provide professional support for the paper industry's transformation, upgrading and sustainable development. At the same capacity, Voith can ensure savings of 40 kWh of electricity per tonne of pulp.

Image: Voith BlueLine OCC pulp line

'We respond to market changes through continuous innovation and drive customer development through the stable quality and performance of our paper machines. Voith is committed to delivering globally consistent quality and service to the Chinese market, with the aim of substantially reducing customers' raw material costs and energy consumption,' said Mr. Yu.

Voith's products and services are designed to create both ecological and economic value for customers, so it focuses on energy and resource efficiency at every stage of production and use. Mr. Yu expressed strong confidence: 'Guided by intelligence, green development, service and high-end orientation, we will actively promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. As a technology leader, Voith will keep developing new products and services to help customers meet new challenges. With our resource-saving new technologies, we can protect the environment more proactively and thereby ensure customers achieve sustainable development.' As a member of China's paper industry, Voith will persist in innovation and join outstanding entrepreneurs in the sector to embrace the green and intelligent transformation of papermaking.

Source: This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-350603.html