Differentiation in market pulp products:
Is market pulp a commodity product?
Celso Foelkel
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When you look
at your
raw materials,
products
and customers …
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?
What do you see?
?
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What do you see?
?
?
?
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What do you see?
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What do you see?
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
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Is there a single and most correct way
to see our mills, products and
customers ?
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“Each paper-machine, each pulp mill, any pulp & paper
process, any fibrous raw material although similar
are specific and unique.
They all have own key-factors to be controlled and
optimized”
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Thus:
• Why are some fibers different from others ?
• Why are some fibers preferred by customers ?
• Why some pulps, even when offered by lower
prices, are not attractive to the papermakers ?
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Thus:
• What makes a market pulp more suitable or
attractive than the competitor one ?
• How to work our processes to give uniqueness to
our product ?
• Do I need to be unique on quality?
• Do I have more or less power when competing by
volume and price?
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What makes a pulp special?
“Best fitness to the papermaker”
• End product specifications ?
• Paper-machine runnability ?
• Easy-life to the papermaker?
• Overall cost reductions ?
This means that we are not focusing only the pulp price, but
the paper operational production cost.
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What key factors shall be considered to give a
distinct advantage to our customers ?
• Are our fibers far distinct than the others?
• Are they oriented to specific products?
• Do they perform better at customer machines?
• Do they provide a special combination in terms of ?
– end-product quality ?
– paper-machine efficiency ?
– Ideal cost/benefit ratio ?
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Today:
• very competitive arena;
• lots of newcomers in the market;
• differences in paper-machines, and in paper
manufacturing technologies;
• differences in fibrous raw materials;
• substantial differences in market pulp
operational production costs.
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In some countries and in some mills:
Cash costs are so low that may
eventually allow some flexibility for
quality improvements or differentiation
in the final product...
Why ?
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Example 1:
Improvements on pulp softness via tensile
reduction due to more severe cooking
conditions to extract more hemicelluloses
This may lead to 2 situations:
1. Losses in daily production due to bottlenecks in
pulpwood feeding to digesters, or in the
recovery boiler area (UNACCEPTABLE, surely)
2. Higher consumption of wood, and increasing
operational costs in the pulp mill ( for each 1%
of pulp yield reduction, it means 2% on more
wood, in tonnage )
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Example 1:
Improvements on pulp softness via tensile
reduction due to more severe cooking
conditions to extract more hemicelluloses
Decision surely depends on:
• Are there other valuable losses (transition
pulp, operational disadvantages, etc)?
• Is there available wood?
• What is final cost increase?
• Is there a premium price?
• Is it sustainable?
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Example 2:
Modifications in the fibrous raw material supply
• different wood species ( sorting and blending);
• single pulpwood quality material ( high density
or low density; or just one species of
Eucalyptus, example E.globulus)
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Example 2:
Modifications in the fibrous raw material supply
Decision surely depends on:
• At what new production costs?
• Does it pay?
• Is there a premium price?
• Is it sustainable?
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The world today:
•over 100 different brands of market pulps
•close to this numbers are the pulp quality
categories
WHY?
• different raw materials;
• pulpwood blends;
• different pulp-making processes.
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The real world:
Lots of variability everywhere
•How to tame variability?
•How to cope with variability?
•How to live together with variability?
•How to use it in our favor?
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Causes for pulp quality variability:
•wood differences
•chip quality management
•pulping processes
•bleaching line
•washing presses
•drying (flakt, drums, flash)
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Some causes for pulp quality variability:
•pH
•fiber charges
•fiber population
•individual fiber strength
•water retention value
•fiber flexibility
•cell wall thickness
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Because of these wide variations in
different pulp qualities:
The papermaker develops a recipe or
a secret potion and he is resistant to
change ( very understandable)
He has as objectives:
•costs savings
•fewer breaks
•less broke
•better runnability
•end product requirements
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The truth is that :
The fiber cost is by far the most
important cost for most of paper
grades
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The papermaker is always squeezed by:
•Commercial demands
•Cost reduction demands
•He hates variability, but
he is always obliged to look for better process
conditions, and less expensive manufacturing
(new fillers, new refiner discs, new retention
aids, new brightners agents, new quality
demands from the customers, etc)
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Sto ra E
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ME TS Ä
BO TNIA
CDRATARAS
BS LC
MATRO
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BS LC
MATRO
Z
RIAU- P
ULP
BA RIT
O
CAIM A
TARAS
CO N
ANTIM
Z
ARA CR
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VO T OR
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ARA CR
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RIO CE
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CELB I
SO PO
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Por tuc
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Nav ia
Nav ia
Nav ia
50
CDRA-
Different Eucalyptus Market Pulps
Nav ia
Nm/g
Wet Zero Span - Fiber Intrinsic Strength
150
125
100
75
Drainability - Freeness
630
600
570
540
510
480
CSF 450
420
390
360
330
300
270
240
210
0
500
1500
2500
PFI Revolutions
Euca 1
Euca 3
Euca 5
Euca 7
Euca 2
Euca 4
Euca 6
Euca 8
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W a te r R e te n tio n V a lu e
240
223
220
204
194
200
183
%
181
188
186
180
159
160
140
120
100
ºS R 2 7
Euca 1
Euca 3
Euca 5
Euca 7
Euca 2
Euca 4
Euca 6
Euca 8
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F in e s c o n te n t (% )
%
1 4 ,00
1 3 ,00
1 2 ,00
1 1 ,00
1 0 ,00
9,00
8,00
7,00
6,00
5,00
4,00
3,00
2,00
1 2 ,4
1 1 ,4
1 1 ,0
1 0 ,1
9,5
9,5
8,7
ºS R 27
Euca 1
E u ca 3
Euca 5
Euca 7
Euca 2
E u ca 4
Euca 6
Euca 8
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8,1
The papermaker is always squeezed :
“Please, give me a stable quality
pulp or one I may predict
behavior”
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What papermakers most dislike:
•breaks, breaks, breaks
•energy consumption
•chemical consumption
•drainage
•machine speed
•broke
•second class quality (below
standards)
All representing HIGHER COSTS & PRESSURES
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Papermakers want to have:
•a predictable pulp
•a “saving cost” pulp ( I’m not
making reference only to the
market pulp price)
•a pulp recipe that allow them
to reach the paper specifications
100% of the time
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In case we provide these gifts to them, do
they consider to pay a premium for ?
•better machine performance
•higher productivity
•lower energy, chemicals, etc
•better quality
•fewer broke generation
•no complaints
•better sleep at night
•no problems with the wife (or spouse) due to
machine running problems at night
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Are we able to find such “enjoyable pulps”
in the market ?
•Are all market pulps stable in
quality?
•Are they really a commodity in
quality?
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In pulp making, when things are going
wrong:
The cause is....... The WOOD
In paper making, when things are going
wrong:
The cause is....... The PULP
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and, when we have a blend of pulps ?
The “convict” is exactly the one added to provide
the quality is not being reached.
or the weaker pulp, if the problem is wet web
strength;
or the short fibered pulp if the problem is wet
end drainage.
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Most important quality properties
to papermakers
Papermachine
•drainage
speed
•refining ability
•WRV
•swelling ability
•formation
•wet web
strength
•pH
•dry handsheet
properties:
•bulk;
•porosity;
•opacity;
•stiffness;
•tensile; etc.
Fiber
properties:
•fiber
population
•coarseness
•curl index
•wet zero-span
breaking length
•hemicellulose
content
•fiber charges
•fiber flexibility
•fiber rigidity
•fine content,
•etc.
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Are there ways to build differentiation?
Fiber
fractioning
Fiber raw
materials
selection
Modifications in our
production processes
Unique pulp at
the market
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Differentiation is not that simple, and it has to be
sustainable to the papermaker
Avoid big
changes
Offer
possibilities to
better
machine
performance
Offer cost savings,
not only in the pulp
price, but in
runnability and
reductions on broke
& second class paper
generations, etc
Unique pulp at
the market
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Differentiation is not that simple and it has to be
built at the pulp mill
Avoid big
changes in the
mill processes
Understand
the causes for
variiability
Tame the raw
materials and the
production process
Be simple and
effective
Unique pulp
made to the
market
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Most important quality properties
to pulpmakers
Wood
quality:
Process
parameters:
•wood specific
consumption
•pulp yield
•alkali charge
•wood density
•wood cost
•wood
availability
•lignin content
•extractives
content
•wood
deterioration
•wood
cleanliness,
•etc.
•total solids to
recovery boiler
•pulp viscosity
•bleaching
ability
•pitch content
•pulp
cleanliness
•“one week
pulp beating
evaluation”
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Today’s attractions in the hardwood pulp business
Acacia mangium
Eucalyptus globulus
Eucalyptus urograndis
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Morphological Differences : are they important ?
S p ec ie s
C o arseness
U n it y
m g /1 0 0 m
F ib er
P op u la tio n
F ib er L e ng th
P ento san
C o ntent
F in es
DPCJ
W RV
C e ll W a ll
T h ick ness
M illio n
mm
%
%
%
m icra
6 - 8
20 - 23
0 ,7 0 – 0 ,7 5
15 - 18
8 - 9
120 - 130
3 ,5 - 4 ,2
8 - 9,5
17 - 22
0 ,7 – 0 ,8
19 - 22
7 - 8
110 - 115
4 ,0 - 5 ,0
E . niten s
5 ,5 - 6 ,5
23 - 24
0 ,6 5 – 0 ,7 5
15 - 17
8 ,0 – 9 ,5
125 - 130
3 ,0 - 3 ,5
A ca c ia
m a ng iu m
6 ,5 - 8
26 - 28
0 ,6 – 0 ,6 5
14 - 16
9 - 10
125 - 135
3 ,4 - 3 ,6
A . m ear ns ii
8 ,5 - 1 0
16 – 19
0 ,6 5 – 0 ,7 5
19 - 22
7 - 8
100 - 105
4 ,5 - 5 ,5
E . uro g rand is
E . g lo bu lu s
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Suggestions for Low Corseness Fibers ( Light Fibers)
• Base paper for coating
• Label papers
• Release papers
• Glassine papers
• Thermal papers
• Highly bonded papers
• Some P&W
However, this is very much dependent on the
customers limitations ( Machine speed, porosity
and bulk specs, etc.)
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Suggestions for High Corseness Fibers (Heavy Fibers)
•
•
•
•
Decor papers
Filter papers
Tissue papers
Cigarette papers
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Collapsible and collapse
resistant fibers
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Chemical Pulp Fibers
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Its is more than obvious the importance of
the Wood Density on Fiber Quality
Wood
Density
g/cm³
0,43
0,46
0,51
0,54
0,60
Fiber
Coarseness
mg/100m
5,8
6,4
7,4
9,3
11,8
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Fiber
Population
Nº/g
25,4
21,6
19,7
17,5
13,0
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Pulp Blends
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Pulp Blends
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Pulp Blends
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PAPERMAKING PERFORMANCE OF Eucalyptus
High
Moderate
Low
Refining
High
Moderate
Low
Bulk
Strengths
High
Moderate
Low
Opacity
High
Moderate
Low
grandis
globulus urophylla
camaldulensis
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Fiber life is not simple
S
S
0
S
4
1
S
S
3
2
Curl
Kinks
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es
Fiber Length Variations
Frequency ,%
15
10
5
0.5
0,6
0.7 0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1 1.2
Fiber Length, [mm]
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CURL
Form Factor of a Fiber = 100 x l/L
l
L
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Fiber new attributes
Micro-compressions
Kinks
Curl
How to add these attributes to a pulp?
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Development of Curl
40
35
Curl (%)
30
SW
HW
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
Mechanical efforts applied to fibers
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100
Does this really may happen in a foreseen future ?
Fiber
Input:
- length
- width
- population
Coarseness
Fiber Strength
Fiber Deformations
Predicted
Beatability
Pulp ”Strength”
Paper characteristics
+ brigthness, cleanliness etc.
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Fiber/g x 106
36,0
Fiber
34,0
population
32,0
correlates
30,0
28,0
significantly
26,0
and
24,0
300,0
350,0
400,0
450,0
500,0
550,0
600,0
3
Basic Density, kg/m
negatively
with
wood density
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Coarsenes, mg/100m Fiber
7,0
Fiber
6,0
coarseness
5,0
correlates
significantly
4,0
300,0
350,0
400,0
450,0
500,0 550,0 600,0
3
Basic Density, kg/m
and positively
with
wood density
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Active Alkali, %
19,0
.
demand
18,0
17,0
correlates
16,0
15,0
positively
14,0
13,0
300,0
Active Alkali
350,0
400,0
450,0
500,0
550,0
600,0
3
Basic Density, kg/m
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with
wood density
Specific Wood Consumption, m³ /t
Specific wood
6,0
consumption
5,0
correlates
negatively
4,0
3,0
300,0
with
350,0
400,0
450,0
500,0
550,0
600,0
3
Basic Density, kg/m
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wood density
Fiber wall thickness
Wall
thickness
AGE - years
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Wood Consumption (m³/t)
Forest Age and Wood Specific Consumption
5,00
4,60
4,20
3,80
3,40
3,00
3
5
7
Age (years)
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9
11
Tensile Index
IS0
Tensile Index vs. Wood Basic Density
80
70
60
50
40
30
400
440
480
520
560
6000 640
Basic Density (g/cm³)
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•
Today’s world
. lots of opportunities to creative work
. pulp suppliers are in most cases “old
fashioned” commodity manufacturers
focus on tonnage's
focus on production costs
focus on distribution
focus in single product
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•
Today’s world
Market pulp suppliers would like to be able to sell
their products to any paper segment, the same
product with “universal utilization”
Which one of the paper segments is your pulp
more suitable for? Does anybody have any idea?
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Today’s world
What can we do to bring a unique reference to
our pulp products in the competitive market?
Coarseness & Fiber population
Curl
Pulpwood recipes
Brightness & cleanliness
Individual fiber strength
Paper-machine drainage & speed
Strengths
“and associated paper properties”
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Well, this is all friends.
www.eucalyptus.com.br
Thank you very much.
Good luck with the
goal to bring
differentiation to your
fibers.
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