Displaying items by tag: chemical

UPM's President and CEO Jussi Pesonen stated today in the company's Annual General Meeting that demand is recovering in UPM's main markets and signs of increased investment activity are emerging.

"Chemical pulp market and prices have been stronger than anticipated. Demand for pulp in China has been on a good level already for some time and the consequences of the natural catastrophe in Chile are further impacting the market situation."

"The prices for fine and speciality papers have increased due to good demand and increased cost of pulp. However, the significant decline in newsprint and magazine grade prices materialised."

"The stevedores' strike in Finland caused significant costs and loss of revenue, the main impact of which will affect March and April 2010. The estimated direct daily costs will remain below EUR 3 million, as we were able to have part of our production running throughout the strike. For example our pulp mills and speciality paper machines remained operating."

Pesonen said in the Annual General Meeting that UPM is moving on to a new development phase. "Our productivity has undergone vital increase during the last five years. Our production units and operating processes are now efficient and modern. We cannot identify needs for major structural changes in the company in the foreseeable future. Continuous improvement and cost efficiency continue to be part of our everyday operations but strategic initiatives and building on UPM's strengths will be clearly more our focus."

The CEO’s presentation in the AGM is available on ONE.UPM and at www.upm.com > Investor Relations.

Published in European News
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VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed new pretreatment and curing methods that can be used with the sol-gel coating process. With the new pretreatment method, the adhesion of sol-gel coatings can be improved significantly. The method is based on the use of modified CO2 dry ice with particles. It is environmentally friendly and does not cause as much waste as traditional cleaning methods. Another new method is connected with curing sol-gel coatings. It makes use of the thermal energy stored in pieces, instead of separate curing process. VTT has submitted a patent application for both methods.

The advantage of pretreatment with modified dry ice is that after treatment, the surface does not become oxidized as easily as when other methods such as chemical pretreatment are used. Another advantage for any substrate is that the treatment does not give rise to the large amounts of waste produced using traditional cleaning wet methods, such as chemical baths and generated wastewater.

In the new coating curing method, the thermal energy stored in the piece to be coated is used in the thermal curing of the sol-gel coating. This method has already been applied successfully to hot-dip galvanized and thermally sprayed products. This was demonstrated several times by applying the coating to hot-dip galvanized trailers, bicycle frames, timber sills, and pieces with thermally sprayed coating.

The project family also developed the mouldability properties and manufacturability of the coatings for use at an industrial scale. The project demonstrated the suitability of the sol-gel coating and the preceding pretreatment phases for a manufacturing process involving the roll-to-roll coating of sheet metal strips.

For the pretreatment of the sol-gel coating in production, it was found that electropolishing (the PET method, electropolishing with electric discharge) can also be used in continuous processes in where environmentally friendly bath are used as electrolytes. The use of carbon dioxide dry ice blowing in the roll-to-roll process was also found to give the coating sufficient adhesion and lend itself to the process in other respects, too. In terms of the environmental friendliness of the sol-gel coatings, all the coatings used in the projects were found to be below the current limit values of the VOC Directive (Volatile Organic Compounds).

With the sol-gel coatings, it was even possible to essentially improve the functional properties of different material surfaces, such as dirt repellence, easy to clean, corrosion and oxidization resistance, anti-scratch properties and wear resistance. However, thin film coatings of the type investigated here do not always provide sufficient corrosion resistance in demanding outdoor conditions. The best results in field corrosion tests were obtained for sol-gel coatings almost as thick as a coat of paint/varnish (even as much as 50 μm). The best combination of thin coating and base material in outdoor conditions was sol-gel coating applied to hot-dip galvanized steel.

Published in European News

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation's ethylene plant in Kashima, Japan, has been named 2009 HART Plant of the Year by the HART Communication Foundation. The plant, an Emerson Process Management customer, was recognized for innovative use of the advanced capabilities of HART Communication in real-time applications to improve operations, lower costs, and increase availability.

The plant's achievements included reducing maintenance costs by 10% and detecting device failures that might otherwise have led to unplanned shutdowns costing as much as $3 million USD in lost production.

"With HART, we have been shifting from time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance," reported Takayuki Aoyama, instrumentation group team leader at the Kashima plant. "We have also been able to predict and prevent potential problems by monitoring advanced diagnostic information from field devices, such as the statistical process monitoring (SPM) capabilities of Emerson's Rosemount® 3051S transmitter."

Takayuki presented examples of these capabilities at the 2009 Emerson Global Users Exchange conference in Orlando, Florida, describing how his team used advanced diagnostics to solve problems ranging from plugged impulse lines to entrained air in a pump intake. He also outlined HART benefits in a video available at www.emersonprocess.com/videos/Experts_Customers.asp.

Other HART-enabled products in use at the award-winning plant include Emerson's Rosemount radar level and vortex flow instruments, Micro Motion® Coriolis meters, Fisher® digital valve controllers, and AMS™ Suite predictive maintenance software.

"Because HART-based diagnostics can be used with existing assets, the initial investment was relatively small," said Takayuki. "We have quickly realized the benefits from the technology and will replace older devices with HART technology whenever we can. We look forward to working with Emerson as we extend these benefits throughout our operation."

The HART Plant of the Year Award is presented by the HART Communication Foundation to end-user companies who have demonstrated creativity in using the full capabilities of HART technology. This is the third consecutive year that Emerson products have played a key role at the winning plant. Additional information on this year's award is available at www.hartcomm.org.

The HART Communication Foundation is an international, not-for-profit, membership organization supported by more than 230 companies worldwide. Founded in 1993, the Foundation is the technology owner, standards setting body, and central authority on the HART Protocol and provides global support for application of the HART technology. The Foundation establishes and controls the HART Communication standards, including new developments and technology enhancements that benefit and support the needs of the industry. The HART Communication Protocol is the leading communication technology for intelligent process measurement and control field devices and systems, with more than 30 million devices installed worldwide.

About Emerson Process Management
Emerson Process Management (www.EmersonProcess.com), an Emerson business, is a leader in helping businesses automate their production, processing, and distribution in the chemical, oil and gas, refining, pulp and paper, power, water and wastewater treatment, mining and metals, food and beverage, life sciences, and other industries. The company combines superior products and technology with industry-specific engineering, consulting, project management, and maintenance services. Its brands include PlantWeb®, Syncade™, DeltaV™, Fisher®, Micro Motion®, Rosemount®, Daniel®, Ovation®, and AMS™ Suite.

About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE:EMR), based in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Emerson's sales in fiscal 2009 were $20.9 billion. The company is ranked 94th on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest companies. For more information, visit www.Emerson.com.

Published in Asian News

TAPPI's most prestigious annual award will this year go to Richard J. Kerekes, PhD, Professor Emeritus with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

 

Kerekes will receive the 2010 TAPPI Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award at a ceremony on May 4, during PaperCon.
"Dr. Kerekes' contributions to research, technology, and education for our industry over a 38-year period are exemplary and make him a deserving recipient for TAPPI's highest honour," says Larry N. Montague, president of TAPPI. "He has made numerous significant contributions to papermaking technology during his career, including founding the Pulp and Paper Centre at the University of British Columbia where he established a research program between UBC and Paprican."

 

"To a remarkable degree, he has contributed to most all of the unit operations in papermaking, from stock chests to calenders," said Gary A. Baum, 2009 Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Winner, who nominated Dr. Kerekes for the award. "His research has been characterized by a blend of solid science and the application of fundamental principles to the solution of practical problems."

 

Kerekes spent the bulk of his career with Paprican, the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, now known as FPInnovations, serving from 1971-2001. He was named honorary professor at the University of British Columbia in 1978, a position he held until 2001, when he was appointed full professor upon his retirement from Paprican. He served as the director of the Pulp and Paper Centre at the University of British Columbia from 1983 until 2005, when he retired from UBC.

 

Dr. Kerekes has made outstanding contributions in education. As the first Paprican person to relocate to Western Canada in 1978, he was charged with building a program with the University of British Columbia. While there he founded the $6-million Pulp and Paper Centre; orchestrated a research program between UBC and Paprican; co-led establishment of a Pulp and Paper Master of Engineering Program; and founded an Advanced Papermaking Initiative in 1998 based on a $8.5-million endowment from the Province of British Columbia.

 

Kerekes graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Applied Science and Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from McGill University. He is a long-time member of TAPPI and PAPTAC. He is currently a Fellow in TAPPI, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the International Academy of Wood Science, and the Chemical Institute of Canada.

 

TAPPI is an association for the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging, and converting industries and publisher of Paper360° and TAPPI JOURNAL.

Published in European News
Monday, 22 February 2010 12:09

Enessco provides Advanced Deinking Technoloogy

ENESSCO D 2000 is an advanced deinking technology that improves tissue mills and deink plant performance substantially. ENESSCO D 2000 is a worldwide patented blend of inorganic chemicals. Operating at a neutral or alkaline pH, ENESSCO D 2000 effectively modifies surface active forces to work synergistically with mechanical pulping processes to release ink and modify stickies. Inks/stickies are then stabilized to inhibit redeposition on the fiber.

Product Fact Sheet:

* Reduces dirt, and often reduces caustic, silicates, chelating agents & bleach
* Controls Micro & Macro stickies via patented passivation/agglomeration technology
* Improves brightness up to 3 points without the use of bleach
* Improves softness of sheet with no addition of extra chemicals
* Reduces Polymer costs associated with process water clarification & sludge dewatering
* Cost-Effective in Flotation and Washing Deinking Processes
* FDA Approved, Non-Hazardous/Non-Toxic/AL

ENESSCO D 2000 avoids over dispersion of ink particles resulting in more efficient washing and higher pulp brightness. Flotation chemistry is enhanced and results in lower final dirt counts. ENESSCO effectively deinks under a wide range of conditions and allows facilities to reduce caustic, chelants, and other chemicals from the deinking recipe.

ENESSCO has a proven record of modifying stickies contaminants that can more efficiently be removed by mechanical screens, cleaners, and water clarification equipment. This results in lower levels of Macro/Micro stickies in the processed pulp. ENESSCO D 2000's reduction of contaminates leads to improved machine efficiencies, lower chemical costs, & less downtime.

Other ENESSCO processing advantages include stronger & cleaner recycled pulps, a reduction of process water colloidal trash, and impressive quality and production gains.

Major tissue producers are seeing not only improvement in brightness and softness but better run ability on the Yankee and at the converter. Also total elimination of solvents can be seen when using ENESSCO.

Application:
Tissue Mills, Deink Plants:
Reduce other chemicals in the mill or plant.
Improve waste treatment operations.
Eliminate solvent usage
Improve brightness
Increase end product softness
Better converter operations

Read More Here....>

Published in North American News