Paper Technology International 2024 - Journal - Page 82
PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Sustainability in sharp focus
This ancient, now modernized process of making paper
products is responsible for just under 2% of global CO2 emissions
in 2022. When compared to some of our neighbours in the process
industries, cement, mining and steelmaking, which are responsible
for up to 10% of global CO2 emissions, it may not sound signi昀椀cant.
However, pulp and paper industry emissions are equivalent to
that of all the Nordic nations combined. It also utilizes a signi昀椀cant
volume of water and manages forest environments, with factors
including tree numbers and biodiversity. With demand for the likes
of packaging and tissue forecast to increase over the next decade, it
is important that we scrutinize our working practices at every stage.
For a technology leader like ABB, it is about staying ahead of the
curve to best support our customers.
ABB’s pulp and paper team stands alongside counterparts
in other industries by focusing on where we can make a difference
to customers’ operations through sustainability and digitalization
solutions. These customers want productivity and machine
availability, energy and raw resources ef昀椀ciency, high output
yield and low waste. Pulp and paper is considered to be stable
and mature – it is going through constant evolution rather than
revolution. Nevertheless, management teams must be cognizant of
many external push and pull elements impacting on the industry.
The ABB team also provides industry-speci昀椀c products
and expertise to meet these goals. For example, the provision of
sensors to monitor the properties of paper as it is being produced,
allowing real-time adjustments in the operations to ensure customer
speci昀椀cations are met while minimizing costs and waste.
Figure 2: (Above) Pulp and paper mills operate in a competitive
environment with tight margins and must produce onspeci昀椀cation products with optimized energy and resource
inputs. Image ABB.
Figure 3: (Right) ABB’s Quality Control System expertise and
technology development takes place at a global research and
development center in Europe. Image ABB
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There is a track record of technology development that
allows the industries in which we work to make real progress. In
response to post-pandemic challenges and global sustainability
goals, ABB supports customers with both rapid and gradual
transformations. From the adoption of digital tools for remote work
to the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, ABB remains
dedicated to combining automation, carbon neutrality, electri昀椀cation,
and social progress as part of the overarching Sustainability
Strategy 2030.
Our engineering teams have the power to lead by example
to drive success. In pulp and paper, we are upgrading Stora
Enso’s packaging board mills in Sweden using the ABB Ability™
Manufacturing Execution System, streamlining production for greater
ef昀椀ciency and reduced environmental impact. We are also investing
in research and development, exempli昀椀ed by the ABB R&D Centers
in Dundalk, Ireland, where we innovate the ABB Quality Control
System, enabling paper mills globally to potentially decrease waste
and emissions by two percent or more per paper machine. This can
positively impact a mill’s sustainability progress by also reducing
annual emissions for each machine by the same two percent, or 1.1
kt CO2, using the assumption of 57 kt CO2 emissions for a typical
paper/board/tissue machine.
Quality control for better process decisions
Bringing quality control, automation and electri昀椀cation
to the fore, and demonstrating its domain expertise in pulp and
paper, ABB is focused in the short term on optimizing paper
manufacturing to help customers produce products to precise
speci昀椀cations and do so while consuming the least possible amount
of energy and resources. ABB Quality Control System (QCS) for
pulp and paper uses scanners, sensors and actuators to monitor
and adjust paper characteristics – such as weight, thickness, color
and 昀椀ber orientation – as the paper is made. Computer-based
controls automatically adjust targets and parameters to ensure that
characteristics stay within the speci昀椀ed threshold. The QCS reduces
both raw material wastage and unnecessary energy use, lowering
the costs of production.
Based on the ABB Ability™ System 800xA distributed control
system (DCS), it provides operators with visibility and precise
control over output, for example, all while our variable speed electric
drives and premium-ef昀椀ciency motors minimize electricity use.
Alongside customer Klabin in Brazil, ABB’s expert team was able to
provide visibility into every sheet when it was made and engineer
uniformity across more than 20 sites, combining QCS, the System
800xA DCS, electri昀椀cation and power distribution. Typical machine
uptime reached 99 percent, making it possible to produce a ton of
packaging paper in just 29 seconds.
