Sustainable low-friction doctor blades to reduce energy consumption

Valmet is introducing new low-friction doctor blades to respond to customers’ energy savings and decreased doctor blade usage sustainability requirements. The new low-friction doctor blades are suitable for dryer sections in all paper and board machines regardless of the original equipment manufacturer. «We are always striving to help our customers diminish their environmental impact with our […]

Valmet is introducing new low-friction doctor blades to respond to customers’ energy savings and decreased doctor blade usage sustainability requirements. The new low-friction doctor blades are suitable for dryer sections in all paper and board machines regardless of the original equipment manufacturer.

«We are always striving to help our customers diminish their environmental impact with our products. As their name suggests, the new low-friction doctor blades have a low coefficient of friction, leading to significant energy savings at the dryer section. The new blades also contribute to cleaner dryer cylinders and, thanks to increased blade lifetime, to less doctor blade usage» says Pasi Viitasalo, Global Technology Manager for paper process parts at Valmet. 

The new doctor blades are made of epoxy resin with glass and/or carbon glass fiber reinforcements. Special attention in research and development was paid to functional fillers for low friction.

Valmet has conducted a series of successful customer trials with the new blades. «Based on the data given to us by a European customer, the new doctor blades decreased the absolute electric consumption of dryer section electric motors by more than 26%. This results in annual energy savings that are as much as 950 MWh at that mill. When it comes to CO₂ emissions, the reduction is 190 ton per year» says Viitasalo.