DS Smith paper machine is setting new records in power-efficiency
The papermaking industry has a reputation for being energy hungry. But another investment in innovation at our Kemsley mill has cut the power consumption of our paper machines. These two papermaking machines at Kemsley mill account for over half of the mill’s average annual production capacity of over 840,000-tonnes. At the ‘wet end’ of the papermaking machine, water is removed by a series of foils and suction boxes. We’ve partnered with Runtech Systems to make this production stage more power-efficient and have now replaced the old liquid ring pumps with a new RunEco paper machine vacuum system. At the heart of the system are three EP600 Turbo Blower units with titanium blades that run at 10,000 rpm – the equivalent speed of a jet engine. They have the potential to cut PM3’s power consumption by two-thirds, providing annual power savings of 1,500 kw. Combined with previously installed turbos on PM6 this investment has the power saving potential of 2,626kw a year.