Valmet introduces Valmet High Yield Pulping Optimizer, the world’s first advanced process control for optimizing high yield pulping. Designed for chemical brown pulp producers, the optimizer is a unique combination of automated controls for cooking and refining that helps mills achieve high pulping output while cutting costs and stabilizing quality.
Answering today’s challenges and tomorrow’s expectations
“The Valmet High Yield Pulping Optimizer is an important new tool for mills that addresses their immediate challenges stabilizing processes across departments. Even more importantly, it’s the key to unlocking actual maximum production capacity, a vital part of maintaining profitability in a tough market. Based on our pilot testing, customers can expect a 0.5-1.0% increase in pulp yield, leading to millions in potential wood cost savings,” says Matti Selkälä, business manager, Automation Systems business line, Valmet.
Without coordinated, automated control of cooking and refining, mill operators need to be conservative, using department targets that are suboptimal. This avoids major disturbances but can generate waste, like excessive wood consumption due to low digester yield. Mills also miss out on maximizing equipment potential because the cooking yield is not optimized to match the actual refining capacity.
As pulp mills face continually increasing costs of wood, energy and other raw materials, smarter automation is needed. Valmet High Yield Pulping Optimizer pushes existing equipment to the limits, getting the most out of every unit of input.
Cooking and refining for maximum benefit
Valmet High Yield Pulping Optimizer opens new opportunities for pulp mills to operate cooking at maximum cooking yield while maintaining pulp shives at target in the refining process.
With specific energy and reject ratio targets, the optimizer keeps shive content at the maximum refiner limit, orchestrating cooking with residual alkali and Kappa targets. Through continuous optimization against equipment limitations, mill operators can achieve higher production capacity with less wood and energy per ton and improved sustainability.
