Andritz AB has signed a long term contract to act as distributor and system integrator for "Flow Scanner" products from Mantex AB. The Flow Scanner uses a patented dual X-ray technique (DXA) to provide accurate on-line measurement of the natural variations in woodchip materials before the process of turning them into pulp starts.
Andritz AB, the Swedish arm of global capital equipment and services supplier to the energy, pulp and paper sector, has signed a long term contract to act as distributor and system integrator for “Flow Scanner” products from Mantex AB, a Sweden-based industrial measurement technology developers.
The announcement marks the culmination of work announced in February 2016 to integrate the Flow Scanner into Andritz’s Advanced Control Expert (ACE) and BrainWave Advanced Controller (BAC) software systems to fully operate a pulp process and measure its improvement. The contract covers sales, installation, and support.
The “Flow Scanner” uses a patented dual X-ray technique (DXA) to provide accurate on-line measurement of the natural variations in woodchip materials before the process of turning them into pulp starts. This translates into the ability to automatically control the white liquor dosage and wood-to-liquor ratio in the digester based on the exact amount of dry fibre and water entering the process enabling more accurate control the cooking stage and allowing reduced safety margins and greater stability in the whole pulp mill operation.
The improvements can run to millions of dollars per year at a single site and include better wood usage, increased output, and less environmental impact.
According to Mantex, it overcomes many of the challenges associated with this type of material to give truly representative information even when many other parameters are changing at the same time. The positive feedback from Mantex customers, together with the known limitations of existing measurement technologies, made its technology an attractive addition to the Andritz product offering.
We have been working with Mantex to fully understand the product and its implication for our customers. We are convinced that it will bring major improvements to our customers. We have started introducing this in North America and will look to roll this out worldwide in the coming months. I have high expectations, said Ulf Lundström, Managing Director of Andritz AB and Head of Global Woodyard Service.
Andritz industry experience and engineering resources can ensure pulp mills the world over receive the best installation and support as well as offering full integration with existing process control platforms to get the full benefits from the technology. The Flow Scanner has been installed at several pulp mills in Europe and, when fully integrated, the benefits have according to Mantex “been outstanding”.
Andritz was a natural choice as partner with its strong worldwide presence and expertise that can introduce, install, and support pulp mills wherever they are located. This lets Mantex focus on the technology side whilst Andritz can help pulp mills to realise the benefits, said Max Gerger, CEO at Mantex.
