Success Story
Pressure Power Pump Installations Promote Low Cost and Line Efficiency
Smurfit-MBI in New Westminster British Columbia has been producing quality containerboard for over 50 years for a variety of nationally well-known retailing customers. A project to increase the width of the double facer table to produce more containerboard resulted in a call to Andrew Reynolds.
The old cascading system would occasionally result in lower line speeds when running double walled board. Increasing the deck width raised a concern that line speeds may drop even more due to the temperature required to cure the board. After reviewing the project, a proposal was made to Ed Baarscheers, the Chief Engineer and Project Manager.
Individually control the steam to each of the three hot deck sections to maintain temperature by using a combination of salvage steam from the double backer and line steam from the boiler. Additionally, to maintain the required temperature, the individually controlled sections needed the condensate to be removed as soon as if formed. Pressure powered pumps on each plate section insured condensate was removed immediately, regardless of the upstream steam pressure.
The results were reduced costs, improved quality, improved line speeds, and a system that is flexible to the meet the production requirements for all of Smurfit-MBI’s customers.
Mr. Baarscheers reports, “We are pleased with the system. It has performed as we hoped for and anticipated.”
Did You Know?
Consider Installing High-Pressure Boilers with Backpressure Turbine-Generators
When specifying a new boiler, consider a high-pressure boiler with a backpressure steam turbine-generator placed between the boiler and the steam distribution network. The turbine does not consume steam. Instead, it simply reduces the pressure. In essence, the turbogenerator serves the same steam function as a pressure-reducing valve (PRV)—it reduces steam pressure—but uses the pressure drop to produce highly valued electricity in addition to the low-pressure steam. The economics depends on the steam consumption rate in the plant.
