Pulp low consistency refining pilot

To reproduce at laboratory the refining used by industrial production mills

To produce batches of pulps to evaluate the impact of mechanical treatment on fibres
To evaluate the paper potential of lignocellulosic fibres
To optimise the running of refining lines to save energy
To determine the best conditions for refining a given fibre grade

The little story of the pilot

CTP works on paper pulp refining for many decades. CTP has acquired the refining pilot, which was designed and built by International Paper for its research centre at Annecy le Vieux and when this centre was dismantled. This pilot was composed of a tank and a 12” single disc refiner.
In 2006, the pilot has been totally modified with the addition of a second 12” single disc refiner in series, the installation of a pulper connected to the tanks and a control system for data collection.
With different disc patterns, this pilot has allowed developing a competence and an expertise in lignocellulosic fibres refining at low consistency. With this pilot, research projects were conducted to quality pulps produced from new processes; new production installations were also designed. A patent was deposited for the mechano-enzymatic treatment of fibres for the production of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC).

Characteristics

Composition of the pilot

Pulper of 200L to put the pulp in water suspension
Two 12’’ single disc refiners
Collection of refining discs to adapt the cutting length
Storage chests of 400L to feed the refiners
Pump for feeding the refiners with a frequency variator
System to control and collect consumed electrical power

Characteristics of the pilot

Pulping of pulp at 8% consistency
Refining at <4,5 % consistency
Capacity: batches of 5 to 10 kg of o.d. pulp
Rotor rotation speed of the refiners: variable
Possibility to carry out chemical or biotechnological treatments in the pulper and in the storage chests
Adaptable configurations: refiners in series, in parallel, in hydracycle or in duo-cycle.