Evaluation of membrane-assisted dewatering on a pilot paper machine

摘要

A membrane-assisted dewatering process was evaluated on a pilot paper machine. In this process, a membrane is located on top of the wet web when it passes over the suction box in the forming section. The intentions are twofold. Firstly, the dry content of the web should be increased by a more uniform compression, primarily in the thickness direction. Secondly, the airflow into the suction box should be reduced. The trials were performed using a specially designed membrane loop located at the end of the fourdrinier forming section of STFI-Packforsk's pilot paper machine EuroFEX. Two different membranes were tested. The use of a membrane resulted in a significant decrease in air consumption to achieve the same dry content of the web at the end of the wire section. To increase the dry content of the web, the structure of the membrane is important.