Dresden Papier, subsidiary of Fortress Paper Ltd. and producer of non-woven wallpaper base, commissioned Voith Paper to install a new vacuum system for the wire and press sections of its PM 4 in Heidenau, Germany.
The new system will be environmentally friendly and was decided upon after extensive testing to determine both its economic and energy saving potential.
Testing included the per-engineering of the existing vacuum system and a balancing of the entire PM and building ventilation technology.
A vacuum blower system ensures high thermodynamic efficiency, allowing at the same time power input depending on the air requirements at the paper machine. The hot exhaust air produced can be used for hood supply-air heating through heat exchangers to reduce steam consumption there.
Another important aspect in terms of environmental protection is the fact that this technology does not consume any fresh water as conventional systems do.
As such, operating costs are also decreased and maintenance is optimized due to the reduced number of vacuum generators.
At present, the PM 4 in Heidenau produces 45,000 tons per year of coated and uncoated wallpaper base and the mill is thus the world’s largest producer in this product segment.