A number of important material characteristics can be influenced during the manufacturing process step in which the paper web is subjected to drying. Innventia conducts research aimed at developing techniques to understand drying processes and the influence of different drying strategies on paper properties.

 

The STFI Biaxial Dryer allows us to study the drying process under variable conditions as to tension and stretching. The effectiveness of drying processes can be measured using load sensors or specially designed strain gauges. Our pressing/drying simulator and the dryers in our EuroFEX pilot plant allow us to simulate paper-machine drying processes.

 

Drying, i.e. water evaporation, is both energy- and equipment-intensive. As an example, the 100 m long drying section of a paper machine removes only about 1/100 of the water compared to the 20 m long wire and press section combined. An improvement of the mechanical dewatering processes in both wire and press section has therefore been a main target to make the papermaking process more energy-efficient.