ABB has launched the latest generation of its Advanced Process Control (APC), which it said provides paper mills with “complete digital control over wet end operations, optimising productivity and profit”.
The company said that its Wet End Control — an ABB Ability APC product for paper mills — stabilises the wet end process and reduces variability by controlling, monitoring and optimising retention performance.
It uses a multivariable model predictive control approach to predict future wet end process behaviour, making automatic adjustments to stabilise ash levels, reduce white water consistency variability and minimise chemical and filler dosages.
ABB said this results in “improved machine runnability” by helping to reduce sheet breaks, and accelerating grade changes and break recovery.
Papermakers can then track performance from the wet end to the final sheet.
The company added that Wet End Control also helps to minimise raw material, chemical costs and broke usage, ultimately reducing the environmental impact and leading to lower steam consumption and increased energy savings.
Ramesh Satini, global product manager for Pulp & Paper Control Systems, ABB, said: “We know that continuous monitoring of wet end operations is crucial to driving process improvements.
“We developed our Wet End Control solution to address this need by automatically managing targets and implementing cost efficiencies within process constraints.”
