Voith receives Sasaki Award from Japan TAPPI for new pulper

HEIDENHEIM, Germany, June 20, 2008 (Press Release) - This year's "Sasaki Award" from Japan TAPPI goes to Voith IHI Paper Technology for the development of the IntensaPulper. The new pulping concept can save up to 25% of the energy formerly needed for pulping and thus substantially reduces papermaking costs.

The "Sasaki Award" is already the second award for the IntensaPulper. In October 2007 the new pulper was awarded one of the three coveted "Palmes de l'Innovation" at the ATIP trade fair in Grenoble, France. The "Sasaki Award", now in its 36th year, is awarded every year to companies who make significant contributions to the paper industry through technical research and development.

The IntensaPulper works in the low consistency range and can be used in continuous as well as batch operation. To achieve enormous energy savings of up to 25 %, two clever design changes were implemented. Firstly, the rotor is positioned eccentrically in the cylindrical tank. This alone optimizes mixing and in case of virgin pulp the energy-wasting baffles can be omitted. Thus, more energy is available for pulping.

Secondly, the transition from the pulper bottom to the tank walls is flow-optimized with a double break design. The flow generated by the pulper rotor is optimally diverted and loses as little energy as possible. These measures ensure not only intensive and faster mixing, but they also consume less energy.

The IntensaPulper was initially developed for the pulping of virgin fiber furnish. With the most recent IntensaPulper IP-R, which has already nine references in Japan, recovered paper can also be pulped.

Intensa technology can be retrofitted to conventional LC pulpers as well. A retrofit with the "IntensaTechnology" soon pays for itself with a very fast return on investment (ROI).