Forest products: Fiber loading for paper manufacturing

Fact sheet on manufacturing filler during paper manufacturing written for the NICE3 Program. With its new fiber loading process, Voith Sulzer, Inc., is greatly improving the efficiency of paper production and recycling. Fiber loading produces precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) filler in the pulp recycling process at costs below conventional means. Fiber loading allows papermakers to use as much filler, like PCC, as possible because it costs 80% less than fiber. In addition, increased filler and fines retention due to fiber loading reduces the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions, deinking sludge, and other waste while substantially lowering energy costs. Currently, the most efficient way to produce PCC as filler is to make it in a satellite plant adjacent to a paper mill. Satellite plants exist near large scale paper mills (producing 700 tons per day) because the demand at large mills justifies building a costly ($15 million, average) satellite plant. This new fiber loading process combines the PCC manufacturing technology used in a satellite plant with the pulp processing operations of a paper mill. It is 33% less expensive to augment an existing paper mill with fiber loading technology than to build a satellite plant for the same purpose. This technology is applicable to the manufacturing of all printing and writing paper, regardless of the size or capacity of the paper mill