Successful experiences competition: highlights problem-solving teamwork: good ideas are sometimes their own reward, but for three Latin American pulp and paper companies, their good work won them industry recognition.

IN THIS ARTICLE YOU WILL LEARN:

* How three companies took top honors at an ABTCP competition:

* VCP-Jacarei's mass balance study solved an operating problem in the forming section

* Cenibra showed that by controlling the profile of the extraction flow of the isothermal cooking (ITC) digester, instability could be minimized

* Klabin Parana Papeis was able to eliminate loose fiber and in doing so solving a major operating problem for its largest client, Tetra Pak 

This article originally appeared in the December 2001 issue of 0 Papel in Portuguese (p. 40) and as an English summary (p. 46). The English text is being reprinted here, with minimal editing, through an exchange of papers agreement between TAPPI and the Brazilian Pulp and Paper Technical Association (ABTCP).

Some of the best ideas to leave the drawing boards in Latin America last year came from winners of the 3rd ABTCP Competition of Successful Experiences 2001. The top three finishers were VCP-Jacarei, Cenibra, and Klabin, in that order. The competition is held each year by ABTCP during the Annual Pulp and Paper Conference and Exhibition. Teams from those three companies focused on solutions to mill problems and developed specific methodologies and action plans. Here are summaries of the top three projects.

VCP-Jacarei: Number one in innovation

Project: Mass balance applied to the forming section.

Team: Fabio Peixoto, paper machine production assistant (TPA/CPP); Silvio Massaferro, J1 Paper Machine facilitator; Joao Florencio, production coordinator; and Claudio Sarte, technical consultant for paper production.

Collaborators: Jose Erothides (Albany International) and Marcos Rovani (VCP).

Everyone on the VCV-Jacarei team focused on the target--a forming section that was slowing down the paper machine. The objective was to learn about all the currents and interfaces in the section. This plan led to the VCP-Jacarei project "Mass balance applied to the forming section," 2001 first place winner in the 3rd Competition of Successful Experiences.

With the idea outlined, the company planned to achieve the goal in a rapid and practical manner, making it easier for the technical and operating staffs to resolve the problems and implement improvements--particularly in the areas of deposit reduction, drying loss, and paper quality. The methodology consisted of a mass balance, which was used to more easily and securely identify which dewatering element was causing the velocity loss.

The paper machine had the following features:

* screen width of 4.63 meters

* maximum velocity of 800 m/min

* paper basis weights between 50g/[m.sup.2] and 180 g/[m.sup.2]

* a process involving 100% short fiber alkali sizing (PCC + ASA)

* sheet forming section with a type D Duoformer

* production of printing and writing papers and base paper for coating.

When the VCP-Jacarei team completed the mass balance, it discovered that the method used to calculate retention did not correspond to reality since it did not take into account the amount of load and fibers removed through the Duoformer D. This was because a double screen was being used and the drainage occurring between the upper and lower screen was not being factored into the retention calculation. When the mass balance was carried out and compared with the history for a specific type/weight of paper, the VCP-Jacarei team saw that the upper screen suction box was showing less removal. The cause of this reduction was at the junction between the barometric leg and the three suction zones due to excessive wear of its mounts.

The VCP-Jacarei team created an electronic spreadsheet based on the mass balance, using laboratory data. The team stored the results in a database that provided a rich history of the countless variables of the forming section process.

"Among the opportunities identified were the knowledge of the currents of the forming section, identification of deviations that caused performance loss, prior simulation of corrective action, reduction in the cost of inputs, and identification of bottlenecks, which generated production increases," reported the VCP-Jacarei team.

Cenibra: Second place in Successful Experiences 2001

Project: Alteration of extraction through ITC circulation in digester 2

Team: Mauricio Luis Pereira, Evaldo Pereira Lana, Charles Castro Morals, and Jovino Francisco Avelar

While innovation is always needed, it is often difficult to achieve. In the pulp and paper sector, many authors have already published work showing the relations between alkali charge, cooking temperature, retention time, bleachability, yield, lignin structures, hexuronic acids, and other factors.

However, operating conditions in the digester--level control, chip movement stability, degree of cooking variation, differential pressure in circulation and extraction--are not even cited in these published sources, tinder the observant eyes of the Cenibra staff, this fact became an opportunity for new research that would quantify these relationships.

It was also good for the company. Like all pulp producers, Cenibra experienced blocking of the column--a critical phenomenon in the operation of continuous digesters since it affects production rates and quality variations. Based on this work, Cenibra showed that by controlling the profile of the extraction flow of the ITC digester, the moments of instability could be minimized without great variations in production and quality.

Klabin Parana Papeis: Third place winner focused on client satisfaction

Project: Elimination of loose fiber

Team: Clovis de Almeida Campos Sobrinho, Edimilson Justio de Oliveira, Devanir Rogel, Abraao Trindade, Gilson C. Santos, and Josilei Ferreira Lima.

A focus on client satisfaction led Klabin Parana Papeis to carry out a project titled "Elimination of loose fiber." This was not just any client. It was Tetra Pak, the company's principal client, which was facing problems related to the detachment of fibers at the base of the paper.

The situation was causing problems in printing and the need for many machine cleaning shutdowns. When using imported paper, Tetra Pak managed to print an average of 15 rolls between machine cleanings. Using Klabin papers, Tetrak Pak had to clean between each roll, and at times after only half a roll. The Klabin team went into action and created an Internal Improvement Group whose goal was to eliminate these problems.

The company used an approach called "Problem Resolution Method" which included the following phases: problem identification, observation, analysis, action plan, implementation, verification, standardization, and conclusion. The issue was resolved and currently Klabin, along with becoming a winner of Successful Experiences, celebrated the elimination the loose fiber problem for its client Tetra Pak.

ADDITIONAL RESOUR6ES

* The home page for the Brazilian Pulp and Paper Technical Association (ABTCP) and 0 Papel (in Portuguese) is http://www.abtcp.com.br/

* The home page for VCP (Votorantim Celulose e Papel), in English, is http://www.vcp.com.br/english/de fault_3.asp. Spanish and Portuguese options also can be selected

* Cenibra's home page, with text in English or Portuguese, is http://www.cenibra.com.br/

* Learn more about Klabin (in English, Spanish, or Portuguese) at http://www.klabin.com.br/index_e xp.htm

About the author: Renata Mercante Savastano is editor on the staff at 0 Papal in Sao Paulo, Brazil; email the staff at [e-mail].