Paper mills, model 1908 and 2008?

To produce paper, lot of activities besides technical operation are needed.

IM tries to review a paper mill in 1908 (no matter has not born so early...). Machines have bougth from foreign countries (from U.S.A., maybe?), products have been chosen (obviously there were no very many brands on a single paper machine) and fibers were derived mechanically. Water consumption was high (because no environmental pressures at those times). Lots of people working in non-automatized jobs. Markets were both local and international, but relatively easy to understand.

All has changed significantly in one hundred years.

New products; new processes; new raw materials; diversity of grammages and brands on one machine; international, complicated markets...

Two issues have got overwhelming importance: speed and R&D.

These two are interconnected. A machine without careful R&D already in the construction of pulp, raw material and process systems cannot work very well. R&D is also needed in trouble shooting situations (the price of your lunch may be lower than the cost of one delayed production second of the machine).

What are then the roles of R and D today?

The needs for QC are ever growing: faster analyses to avoid economical losses. Paper mill laboratories work to fulfil this task. R is certainly needed to improve the methods of QC.

D should be connected to R to produce new methods for these analytical and operational tasks - not only to develope new kind of products, which also is very important). The personal opinion of IM is that the gaps between R and D are usually caused by economical reasons: everybody respect R but the connection from research results to improved methods may be long (and long-lasting).

Curiosity and interest in the development of new methods is still worth of all expences. More secure driving of machines, more stable quality, less trouble shooting...

What is needed to produce good paper?

IM is sitting on the terrace of his summer cottage. Sun is still high in southwest, seagulls are screaming -everything so peaceful.

And then the idea: what is needed to produce good paper?

First, people.

Those people who are interested in to drive a paper mill. All issues included - and there are many of them.

Price of wood; transportation of wood and other raw materials; services for the paper machines; 24 h driving of it....

In the beginning of his career, IM tend to visit control rooms of a paper machine during evening time. Sitting there, watching all the controls of the monitors, discussing about problems and how to cure them.

For some reason, microbiology has always been an interesting topic for personnel of a paper machine. What can happen to the raw materials? Can microbial activities cause problems in broke systems? How shall the water circulation and tanks be handled?

IM feels very humble today - to be one link in the complicated process called paper production.

One link - but as important as other links as well.

To understand the very multiscientific field of paper production - not to forget all activities to keep it on an economical satisfied level - is a hard task. What is needed (thinks IM) is to understand each other's work. It takes time to understand this truth - not your area only, but all efforts of others are needed to produce Good Paper.

ON LINE methods for paper industry microbiology.

Rapid and ON LINE methods of microbiology have gathered evergrowing interest in pulp and paper industry.

There are several features of these novel, alternative control tools which will give significant benefit when raw materials, processes and products are the subjects of microbiological QC:

• specified physical, chemical and biochemical analyses can be arranged to give fast and reliable information about the amounts and activities of microbial populations
• analytical results can be collected and processed to give time series with frequent observations
• main statistical tests (like correlation and regression analyses) can also be performed to show any dependences of microbiological status in critical points of the processes as well as the response of microbial flora on major growth factors in "paper mill ecosystem"
• Real HACCP needs rapid analyses and fast reporting from CCP sites
• Statistical testing can be based on Normal Distribution of obsevations (compared to Poisson Distribution when colony count methods or microscopy is applied)

IM has noticed very promising progress in co-operation between paper industry research and developers of rapid analytical tools during last years. Maybe a real HACCP can be constructed in pulp and paper industry in near future?

Global distribution of paper industry microbiology.

IM felt very happy to get a message about the honour to have his blog connected into a global net news organisation for paper industry:

"We have a popular pulp and paper industry news website (http://news.paperindex.com) where we have started covering blogs too. We have posted headline and snippets of your latest blog post on our website. Hope this will help you generate good traffic to your blog."

Microbiology is connected to paper industry in many ways which have been discussed in this blog. There are also microbiologist working on this area worldwide - their number may not be high but their work is very valuable for the use of P&P raw materials, running of the machines, performing QC of paper products as well for the biological waste water treatment.

"Density of paper industry microbiologists" is definitely low in the world but IM hopes that blogging will increase its popularity among P&P microbiologists and he tries himself to inform all readers of www.industrymicrobiologist@blogspot.com about new ideas on this area. He also recommends to visit www.biotouch@blogspot.com which also contains recent news and future forecasts of microbiology and biotechnology.

Microscopy as an analytical tool for paper industry.

IM (Industrial Microbiologist) has worked as a microscopy teacher and trainer for paper industry since the beginning of 80's. It seems that this analytical tool is very popular: annual courses in Helsinki and at the customers' facilities have indicated an everlasting need to achieve training and experience in microscopy.

There are three major areas of paper industry where microscopy can serve as a rapid tool for analytical control:

• Raw material, process and product microbiology. Traditional Bright Field, Dark Field and Phase Contrast microscopy are always valuable methods. Epifluorescence microscopy techniques (Confocal microscopy included) help significantly when biofilm studies with test coupons will be performed.
• Fibre microscopy. Bright Field microscopy of stained fibre preparates is a common method for the investigations of fibre contents of paper and board.
• Activated sludge microscopy. This is the fastest and most reliable method to check the main activated sludge properties: condition of microbial population and flock formation. It also gives information about sludge age.

Technical equipment for paper industry microscopy bases on ordinary light microscopy, but some prerequisites are needed when microbes are the subject of study:

• illumination technique for "wet preparates" = Phase Contrast illumination.
• higher numerical aperture than for other applications to reach distiction of small objects (an example: N.A. > 1.0 for 40x Phase Contrast objective which means the need of oil immersion - type objectives).
• Epifluorescence (UV) illumination (for trouble shooting and test coupon analyses).
• high-sensitive digital camera (to detect objects in Epifluorescence microscopy).

Laboratory technicians, operators and researchers of paper industry are very interested to apply microscopy into their analytical procedure. These methods, however, need time and patience when learning to explain the views on the preparates. Training is first needed to diagnose all the raw materials of the processes, typical paper industry microbes etc. before a microscopist is ready to solve real trouble shooting samples. The knowledge of different type bacteria, protozoa and higher organisms of activated sludge systems is also needed.

There are two ways to collect experience for the evaluation of microscopical preparates: either training alone with different well-known preparates (tip: slides with bacteria can be bought from certain companies) or join courses where paper industry microscopy will be teach (such kind of courses will be held annually at least in Finland).

To be familiar with a paper machine...

Sun has already risen. Taxi leaves Industry Microbiologist (IM) at the mill gate. Wishes of good morning, a short phone call, registration as a visitor...

Then to the mill office. Friendly welcomed by the hosts - usually both from the production and QC laboratories. "Coffee?" - "Thank you, certainly!".

Short conversation about everyday issues. Everybody is sitting down. The meeting can start.

Short presentation of the company, mill, machines and products (if not already known by IM). It is interesting how informative such presentations today are! Basic facts, not too much - room for detailled questions.

Then towards the topics of the day.

There are several types of problems, caused by the microbial activity in raw materials, processes and products. Every problem is individual one and strictly confidential, but references from other mills are relatively easy to find. No more discussion about the problem itself at the moment, but ideas are stored somewhere in the mind.

Process layouts! Excellent! They are really needed to understand this new machine as "fermentor and ecosystem". What kind of raw materials+ What comes from where? Conditions? Flows? Delays in flows? Storage times? Biocide programs? Washing strategies? Several details...

And every time, after the answers - to store all this information somewhere in the mind (of course also on paper). To be processed later in the hotel room with a a pen and a sheet of paper. Different techniques- statistics, time series, even mind mapping...

But, before departure from the mill: visit to the machine. a most important issues. Analytical results from the control room of the machine, discussions with the personnel...Checking CCP's of the wet end and tank section, broke system...

Even more small details to send somewhere, in the back of the head.

Some analytical procedures before leaving. Rapid methods, if possible: luminometry, PC microscopy...

After overnighting, back to the mill. Person at the gate is alredy known by IM. "Hello, I will call...".

Straight to the meeting room. Some new persons have already arrived. Exchange of visit cards (how many different visit cards are there in the world? Is somewhere a museum for visit cards?).

Short summary of yesterdays' experiences and some proposals to be discussed. New persons present new ideas and new points of views. Conclusions, future forecasts.

Collection of small samples (easy to carrry with in IM's car - or to be packaged in a separate bag when flighting). Then the final meeting: what shall be done next? By who?

Farewell wishes, very friendly. Most important dates for activities, meetings, e-mail contacts have already been confirmed.

Leaving the mill - a satisfied feeling: something will progress, some help has been given...

- A typical visit by Industry Microbiologist in a paper mill. He really likes his job!

"Triangle" joint projects / services of paper industry microbiology.

Paper industry microbiology - both research and services - is suffering from the lack of money today (as other research areas, too). Company R&D prefer joint projects instead of their own institutional research. There seems to be certain synergism between partners of paper industry (paper mills, raw material and biocide suppliers as well as research institutes and independent researchers on this area).

A "triangle model" of a joint project has proven to be beneficial one. Alternatives could be

* paper mill + biocide supplier + microbiological services
* raw material supplier + biocide supplier + microbiological services

National funding is very hard to achieve today: a lot of project proposals will be sent every year but a small fraction of them will be accepted by the funding organisations. Direct contacts between partners (mentioned above) in developmental, control and trouble shooting cases are faster and a combination of paper industry experience, knowledge of biocide chemistry and microbiological skills can give the best results in improvement and development of paper machine process and product hygiene.