Energy Savings in Paper Machine Vacuum System

How to utilize modern process and variable speed drive technology

Mr. Jussi Lahtinen
Mr. Juha Karvinen
Runtech Systems Oy, Finland

ABSTRACT

Energy prices are soaring beyond all expectations. On the other hand, new technologies are emerging to tackle this
challenge. But how much energy can be saved without putting paper production at risk? In the paper industry, we
are use to – for a good reason – to be rather conservative in applying new inventions. Savings and cost factors tend
to be marginal in relation to the overall cost and income. Any disturbance in production, however, will cost a lot in
lost profits.

The rising price of energy is putting pressure on paper production costs. Besides the pulp production, the paper
machine line consumes a significant amount of energy. When the production volumes are high, the process
equipment is a heavy user of energy. From this process equipment, the big pumps and paper machine line drives are
the heavy users of energy. New technologies in process design, pumping principles and variable speed electric
drives can cut the pumping energy bill dramatically.

Vacuum pump choice and mode of operation also has a significant impact on energy consumption. High power
consumption is needed to produce the paper machine vacuums, needed in drainage and web handling, i.e. for the
suction boxes and the suction rolls. Further on, these vacuum elements often represent a big portion of the friction
increasing machine drive loads. Dimensioning the system can be a tricky task, because so many variables are
involved, and many of them (such as raw material, water, water temperatures) are often beyond the control – at least
beyond economical control – of the machine personnel. By utilizing energy efficient pumping principles and
controllable technology, this obstacle can be overcome.

Benchmarking Brings You On The Map

But how much is much? We tend to rely on old standards and accumulated experiences of paper machine suppliers.
But are these really the right ways to approach the problem? The vacuum dimensioning levels are always based on
the worst case scenario and represent the maximum levels of vacuum for each position. Running the machine with
these levels of vacuum, then using bleed valve control, is like driving a car with full gas and controlling the speed
with brakes.

The answer to find the reasonable level is benchmarking. There are a high numbers of paper producers, who make
comparable paper grades, using the same kind of technology as you are. There are a rather limited amount of choices
in technology. When doing comparisons between different paper machines, the potential can be estimated. This
helps in focusing your efforts in the most profitable rebuilds.

In the figure below, the specific power consumption (kWh/ton) of the vacuum system power for about 30 Woodfree
paper machines, is shown, as a function of the machine size (ton/hour). The size has little impact. While the speed
increases the tonnage, it also puts higher vacuum requirements to be able to handle the web and excess water. But
more interesting is the rather big variation in power; some customers run their machines with 60kWh/ton, others
need over 120kWh/ton. For a 30 ton/h paper machine, as an example, this difference in capacity needs represents
about 1 MEUR cost annually. Often, there are other costs involved with the higher capacity than just the energy;
more water, more maintenance, and so on.
Figure 1. Specific consumption of vacuum systems, Woodfree paper grades

Mapping The Systems Dynamics

Recognizing the high consumption is the first step, but the real task comes when choosing the right way to reduce it.
You may know the overall overcapacity, but deciding the actions for each vacuum position and each vacuum pump
requires some deeper thinking and clear facts as solid ground for this thinking. Reliable measuring technology
combined with experience helps in this process. As dewatering is a key phenomenon in the PM wet end, measuring
it at least in key positions is essential for any vacuum optimization task.

In figure 2 below, the dewatering of the nip and the uhle box of a pick up felt can be seen. This test was conducted
to find out the optimal vacuum usage. As it can be seen, lower vacuum results in lower uhle box dewatering. But the
total dewatering is higher. This is due to a better nip impulse and the capillary effect. Moreover, the behavior is
varying significantly by the age of the felt, and by the type of the felt. Measurements bring facts and knowledge to
the art of paper making. Utilizing them efficiently, one can :-

- find the optimal vacuum levels

- select the best performing felts and fabrics
- schedule the fabric changes and cleaning shutdowns optimally
- locate the causes for process disturbances quickly
- find the bottlenecks in doctoring and water handling
- improve the paper quality (e.g. less linting, crushing, etc.)
- improve the cleanliness of the felt loop (less build ups, hence less breaks, defects and holes)

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Figure 2. Felt dewatering values in relation to the uhle box vacuum level

System Controllability

The first big steps in adjusting, or lowering, the vacuum requirements can be done by reconnecting the piping and
shutting down obsolete pumps.

After that phase, the system controllability is the next phase to optimize. The good old ‘liquid ring’ technology
meets its shortages here. Water ring pumps often have a rather limited control range, between the collapse of the
water ring and the overload due to frictions in rotating the water. Old type multistage blowers cannot be operated
with variable speed, due to mechanical resonances and/or only one or two large units serving the entire paper
machine line. Having fixed speed, large units means that vacuum control must be done with valves or guide vanes
that significantly reduce the energy efficiency.

Combining the good things of the two old systems together, then the power efficiency of turbo blowers, and the
versatility of the water ring pump systems, together with variable speed electric drive technology brings the energy
efficiency to a new level. All this comes without giving up the system reliability of a multi-pump system. With
traditional water ring pumps there is typically piping arrangements to allow a backup connection even when one of
the water ring pumps is out of service. Many times there is even a spare pump available to maximize the system
availability. The same kind of arrangement is also possible with a multiple turbo blowers.

With the above mentioned as background information, a system consisting of 3 to 6 variable speed turbo blowers is
radically more energy efficient than the traditional alternatives. The power consumption can be brought down by
30% to 60% depending on whether the old system is based on turbo or water ring technology.

The equipment to enable such a turbo consists of :-

- High speed AC motor capable to operate from 0 to 500 kW / 10000 rpm range
- Frequency converter configured to this rpm range
- One or two turbo impellers directly mounted on the high speed motor shaft
- High performance water and drop separation system

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Figure 3. Variable speed turbo blower unit

The complete vacuum system consists typically of 3 to 6 turbo blowers, which are configured like a typical water
ring pump system. This offers good system control and back up possibilities which makes this kind of solution
reliable and easy to operate. The turbo principle gives the highest possible energy efficiency. On top of this, the
speed control makes the savings from capacity control available.

From an investment point of view, the controllable high speed system offers good savings, too. Because of the high
speed, the size of equipment is limited which reduces the floor space needed. Furthermore, the mass is low and does
not require heavy civil foundations. Additionally, the balanced equipment does not vibrate. If there are any
vibrations, these are on a high frequency range, which makes the dampening with simple measures easy with simple
solutions. The vacuum control is mostly done with the variable speed drive. This reduces the number of large, and
often automatic, control valves. Only the individual suction positions require control valves e.g. the wire suction
boxes. When moving large amounts of air, audible noise is unavoidable. Since the noise is of high frequency, around
2000 Hz, it is rather easy to dampen, which reduces the cost of silencing and makes the system environmentally
friendly. Combining all these together, the total investment cost is lower than with traditional techniques.

Variable speed drives are nowadays standard technology in most mills. Utilizing them in the vacuum system is a
natural step in improving energy efficiency. With this solution, specially developed to give economical vacuum
performance, a great potential can be utilized.

Vacuum Surveys And System Optimization

A proven way to proceed, in this energy and water saving investment planning, is by utilizing a three step procedure
consisting of :-

1. A light vacuum system survey of the paper machine

2. A full process survey of the vacuum system and a capital investment project plan
3. Rebuild of the vacuum system

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Light survey

A light survey consists of the following; A vacuum system expert visits the mill for one day. During this day he
collects the basic data of the system including production tonnage, grades produced, power consumptions, vacuum
levels etc. With this data, the benchmark numbers can be calculated. This step can easily be done by the mill
personnel, but sometimes the data is not readily available or it is not reliable. If this first round suggests that there is
good potential for improvement, the further steps are to be taken.

Full Survey

To verify the findings of the light survey, a full study is then made. This means measuring each and every variable
in vacuum system function onsite, with calibrated equipment. Quite often, the gauges and sensors that are installed
on the relevant paper machine are not giving exactly the correct values. They may be good enough for daily
operation, but not good enough to reveal leaks and throttling for example. Based on this measurement data, the real
efficiency of the system is then calculated.

The ratio thermodynamic power or the air removed from the suction position is compared to the electric power
consumed by the pumps. It is quite common for water ring pump systems that some vacuum positions work with
only 10% of their energy efficiency. Any efficiency level over 30% can be considered a good result for this kind of
system. For a turbo system, over 50% efficiency should be reached to be considered normal or good. However, a lot
of power is often wasted in throttling, because a multistage turbo unit can’t be adjusted for the capacity actually
needed.

By eliminating excessive leaks, throttling and reconnecting the piping more optimally, significant savings can often
be reached without the need for a rebuild. The saving can be realized by simply shutting down excess vacuum
pumps after reconnecting or by changing the rotational speed. Of course the latter, will require investing in a new
gear set. For a multistage turbo system, this optimization is often complicated, because shutting down one of the two
turbo units represents such a big portion of total capacity.

Changing some or all of the pumps to speed controlled turbo’s provides good savings. This applies especially to low
vacuum applications (< 40 kPa) positions, because here moving the air takes relatively little power versus the power
needed to rotate the water ring. Other good potential applications for saving energy this way are the variable vacuum
positions e.g. press felt uhle boxes. Sometimes the suction roll positions give good payback, too, even though here
the water ring pumps are at their best in terms of efficiency.

Reference Cases

There are already over 60 systems in use. A few listed references are below.

Kotka PM1, Finland

The longest operating experience is already over 8 years at Laminating Papers Kotka PM1. The mill people are very
happy with the system. The system produces the vacuum needed, is very easy to adapt to process changes and does
not cause any trouble. The power consumption is 40 % less than with the earlier water ring pump system.

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Clairefontaine PM6, France

Two variable speed turbo blowers were installed and replaced the existing system which consisted of 6 water ring
vacuum pumps. It was decided to keep two of the stopped water ring vacuum pumps as a back-up, the others were
dismantled.

The equipment required was:

- 2 variable speed blowers with electric drives

- Water separators
- 7 valves (5 automatic and 2 manual)
- Drain pumps
- Piping modifications

The results:

- Power consumption was reduced by 45% which represented a reduction of 840 kW

- Seal water consumption was reduced by 100% which represented 770,000 m3/annum

Figure 4. Clairefontaine new vacuum system

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Stora Enso Kaukopää PM8, Finland

Here, a system consisting of two multistage blowers was rebuilt to run one multistage turbo and one variable speed
turbo blower. The saving realized was 900 kW and at the same time the system reliability was significantly
improved. The old multistage turbo unit that was shut down was kept as spare unit. This back up unit was
considered necessary, by the customer, due to historically severe problems with the old multistage blowers.

The equipment and required was:

- One variable speed turbo blower with electric drive

- Modification of the existing water separator, 1 unit
- 7 valves (5 automatic and 2 manual)
- Drain pump
- Piping modifications

The results:

- Power consumption was reduced by 900kW

- Water separation was improved and it a non issue today
- Backup capacity available

Figure 5. Kaukopää new vacuum system

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M-Real Tako BM3, Finland

Here, a rather old system consisting of 5 water ring pumps, consuming 700kW of electric power, was rebuilt by
replacing 4 of them with one variable speed turbo blower. The old pump serving the couch roll was kept, because
the vacuum level of this position was significantly different from those other positions.

The equipment required was:

- One variable speed turbo blower with electric drive

- Water separators, 2 units
- 7 valves (5 automatic and 2 manual)
- Drain pump
- Piping modifications

The results:

- Power consumption was reduced by 50 % which equated to 350 kW of energy

- Seal water consumption was reduced by 80% which equated to a water saving of 280,000 m3/annum

Figure 6. Tako new vacuum system

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CONCLUSIONS

A very high number of paper, board and pulp machines globally, are still using originally supplied water ring
vacuums systems. These vacuum systems are dimensioned by using old standards and, in worse case scenarios; they
were designed with a 20% safety margin. During the past 10 years, felt development has been very rapid, and
especially in the European markets, the trend is heavily towards with nip dewatering felts. At first, fast running
printing paper machines, started to limit the uhle box usage and move towards nip dewatering felts. Nowadays, also
machines producing heaver basis weight grades have realized that higher nip dewatering means better dryness and,
more even felt conditions, throughout the felt life. The reduced need of uhle boxes only highlights that vacuum
systems are even more oversized than originally thought!

Generally, there is a huge energy saving potential in the paper industry vacuum system and, with today’s technology
and knowledge, old systems can be rebuilt very easily and quickly with excellent and short ROI’s. Benchmarking
values give you some idea about the saving potential but it’s also important to test, and understand, the actual need
of vacuum in each individual position. Moreover, a thorough vacuum system audit of the specific production line,
may already give you tools and ideas to start saving electricity without any capital or equipment investments.

New generation variable speed turbo blowers allow you to eliminate the need for bleed valves but still this
technology has very flexible and accurate vacuum control. Optimal vacuum levels for each position are controlled
by the mill’s PLC/DCS system and the variable speed blower keeps the vacuum constant regardless of operation
conditions by either increasing or decreasing the turbo blower speed. By utilizing the variable speed turbo blower,
this is a tool to maximize the vacuum system energy efficiency and dramatically reduce your water consumption.

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Energy Savings for a Paper
Machine Vacuum System
How to utilize modern processes
and variable speed drive technology
 What is the correct vacuum level?

Remember, more is not always better!

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Old School Thinking

• Liquid ring pumps or fixed speed blowers

• Sealing water system
• Bleed valves for vacuum level control
• High uhle box vacuums
• High felt and uhle box cover wear
• Low nip dewatering
• Poor press roll doctoring and poor save-all designs

• Vacuum system power consumption: 3,5 MW (1,5 MEUR)

• Annual sealing water usage (closed system*): 150 000 m³/a

* = 15% replacement, cooling tower

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New Trends

• Variable speed turbo blowers

• No sealing water needed
• No bleed valves needed
• Minimized uhle box vacuums or no uhle boxes
• Reduced felt and uhle box maintenance costs
• Maximum nip dewatering
• Good doctoring and well designed save-alls

• Vacuum system annual power consumption: 1,6 MW (0,7 MEUR)

• Annual sealing water usage 0 m/³a
• Annual savings 1,0 MEUR

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Bench Marking

Specific Energy Consumption (SEC):

• Pulp drying machine 20…..40 kWh/ton

• Board machine 40…..80
• Linerboard machine 35…..80
• Fine paper 40…..80
• Magazine 70…..120
• Newsprint 70…..120
• Specialty papers 80..…180
• Tissue 100…200

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Bench Marking – Fine Paper

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Bench Marking – Liner Board

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Vacuum System Optimization

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Online Dewatering Measurement
- Wire and Press Section
Benefits:
• Optimize dewatering
• Maximize the felt life
• Monitor and develop felt type
• Minimize the start up time of a new felt
• Improve the machine runnibility
• Reduce the amount of breaks
• Optimize vacuum energy consumption

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Felt Moisture versus Hydraulic Nip
Pressure

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Felt Performance After a Felt Change

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Fine Tuning the Uhle Box Vacuum Level

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Variable Speed Blower Saves Energy

Benefits:
• 30….60 % power savings in the vacuum system
• Easy to install or retrofit existing vacuum pumps
• Water free solution
• Excellent option when rebuilding
the vacuum system
• Easy and quick to optimize
• Pumping energy recoverable
• Corrosion free materials
• Economical system to operate
• Fast and easy maintenance

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Variable Speed Blower Saves Energy
Features:
• Variable speed control, controls the vacuum level
• System easily adapts to changes in machine speed,
grammage and felt age without the need of bleed valves
• Wide air capacity range eliminates bleed valves
• Impeller mounts directly to the motor shaft
• No gearbox is needed
• Speeds up to 10 500 rpm
• Oil lubrication unit for the bearings
• Online condition monitoring

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Vacuum Levels and Flow Rates

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Easy to Install

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Installation with Noise Protection Hood

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Vacuum System Optimization

Case Studies

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Vacuum System Optimization Project with
Variable Speed Turbo Blowers
Pump Service Vacuum Flow Power Vacuum Flow Efficiency Efficiency Bleed

pos. Pump Pump Pump PM PM Pump Vac. Syst.

kPa m3/s kW kPa m3/s % % kg/s

1 (1/2) Couch roll low 42 2,0 151 40 1,3 41 26 0,4

1 (1/2) 1st press bottom felt 59 1,8 151 58 1,8 44 43 0,0

2 Former section 25 3,9 272 20 2,6 31 17 0,9

3 (1/2) 2nd transfer roll 26 1,9 164 24 0,8 25 11 0,8

3 (1/2) 1st transfer roll 47 1,9 164 46 1,4 40 28 0,3

4 Press suction roll 53 3,9 325 50 2,1 43 23 0,8

5 Pick-up felt 43 3,8 339 43 2,1 37 20 1,1

6 Couch roll high + hivac 64 3,8 342 63 3,1 41 33 0,3

7 Couch roll high + hivac 64 3,8 309 53 2,4 45 28 0,3

8 (1/2) 1st press bottom felt 59 1,9 200 58 1,9 35 34 0,0

8 (1/2) 2nd press top felt 53 1,8 200 32 1,3 33 17 0,0

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Total power consumption of vacuum pumps = 2617 kW

Average production = 41,0 t/h
Specific energy consumption = 64 kWh/t

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Vacuum System Optimization Project with
Variable Speed Turbo Blowers

All Nash pumps are replaced with variable speed blowers (Total 4 units)

Pump Service Vacuum Flow Power Vacuum Flow Efficiency Efficiency Bleed
pos. Pump Pump Pump PM PM Pump Vac. Syst.
kPa m3/s kW kPa m3/s % % kg/s
TURBO 2 Couch roll low 40 1,3 65 40 1,3 62 62 0,0
TURBO 1 1st press bottom felt 50 1,5 80 45 1,4 65 56 0,0
TURBO 3 Former section 25 2,8 90 20 2,6 68 52 0,0
TURBO 2 2nd transfer roll 40 1,0 50 25 0,8 62 35 0,0
TURBO 2 1st transfer roll 40 1,4 70 40 1,4 62 62 0,0
TURBO 2 Press suction roll 40 2,1 105 40 2,1 62 62 0,0
TURBO 1 Pick-up felt 50 2,4 130 43 2,1 64 52 0,0
TURBO 4 Couch roll high + hivac 64 3,2 190 63 3,1 63 61 0,0
TURBO 4 Couch roll high + hivac 64 3,1 185 53 2,4 62 46 0,0
TURBO 1 1st press bottom felt 50 1,6 86 45 1,5 65 56 0,0
TURBO 1 2nd press top felt 50 1,7 92 32 1,3 64 36 0,0

Total power consumption of vacuum pumps = 1143 kW (old 2617 kW)

Average production = 41,0 t/h
Specific energy consumption = 28 kWh/t (old 64 kWh/t)

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 Case Study – SE Kaukopää PM8
Installation:
• The existing system, consisting of
two multistage blowers and a water
ring pump, was optimized
• System reconfigured by adding one
additional variable speed turbo blower.
This enabled one old multistage blower
and one water ring pump to be stopped
• The second, existing, blower was left in situ as a spare unit. This
allows back up capacity available i.e. whenever there is a need
for service on any of the units
ENERGY SAVING is 900 kW (45% of the original situation)

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Case Study – SE Kaukopää PM8

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Case Study – Clairefontaine PM6
Installation:
• Two variable speed turbo blowers replaced the existing system,
this consisted of 6 water ring vacuum pumps. The mill decided to
keep 2 of the old water ring pumps as back-ups, the others were
dismantled
• Complete saving of the sealing water system, as the turbo blower
process is dry
• More vacuum flexibility on the paper machine
• Vacuum flexibility increased for the paper machine vacuum
system, enabling better runnibility. This was by increasing or
reducing HiVac or LowVac levels according to the process needs

ENERGY SAVING is 840 kW (45% of the original situation)

WATER SAVING is 770 000 m³/year
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Case Study – Clairefontaine PM6

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Case Study – Confidential LWC project
Installation:
• Three variable speed turbo blowers replaced five existing water
ring vacuum pumps. Three of the old water ring pumps were kept
as back-up pumps, the others were dismantled
• One single stage turbo blower is serving the forming section
• Pick-up roll and Press Suction Roll
Holding Zone are served with one
single stage blower and the Press
Felts are served with one serially
connected turbo blower

ENERGY SAVING is 1 300 kW

WATER SAVING is 50 000 m³/year

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Thanks for your Attention!

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