This application claims priority to Swedish Patent Application No. 2330293-8, filed on Jun. 21, 2023, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to refiner for refining lignocellulosic material during production of pulp, and to blades for such refiners.
A disc refiner is commonly used within the pulping industry for refining lignocellulosic material used in the production of fibrous material such as paper and board.
The disc refiner comprises two or more opposite refining elements, at least one of which is rotatable. The rotating refining element can be referred to as a rotor or a rotor side blade, whereas the non-rotating or stationary refining element can be referred to as a stator or a stator side blade. Between the refining elements is a refining gap, where the material to be refined is ground against the refining surfaces. The refining surface of the refining elements comprises refiner bars that serve to refine the lignocellulosic material during use, and also comprises dams that intersect the refiner bars and lift the lignocellulosic material towards the refining gap to ensure a thorough refining.
Refining lignocellulosic material is costly since the energy consumption is typically very high in order to reach the desired fiber quality. There are some suggested improvements within this area but further developments are needed to ensure the desired fiber quality while at the same time providing a more energy efficient refiner blade.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate or at least to minimize the problems discussed above. This is achieved by a blade for a refiner and by a refiner comprising such a blade according to the appended independent claims.
The blade according to the invention is delimited by an inner periphery and an outer periphery and comprises a blade surface with a refiner portion on which a plurality of refiner bars are arranged. Each refiner bar extends from an inner bar end to an outer bar end, and the plurality of refiner bars are angled so that a movement along a bar extension from an outer bar end to an inner bar end of a refiner bar is also a movement in a first circumferential direction. Furthermore, the blade comprises at least one dam that extends from an inner dam end to an outer dam end and connects at least three refiner bars, wherein the dam is angled so that a movement along a dam extension from an outer dam end to an inner dam end is also a movement in the first circumferential direction.
Thereby, the dam is arranged to efficiently lift lignocellulosic material into the refiner gap while at the same time minimizing flow restriction so that energy consumption during operation is decreased. This in turn enables the dams to feed the lignocellulosic material along the blade towards the outer periphery to ensure that a desired refining quality is achieved while at the same time decreasing wear and energy consumption since the dams are less hindering to the flow of material than known prior art solutions.
According to some embodiments, the at least one dam has a dam height that is substantially equal to a bar height of at least one of the bars that the dam intersects. This ensures that the dam is able to lift the lignocellulosic material to the refining gap to improve the refining quality.
According to other embodiments, the at least one dam has a dam height that is 20-99%, preferably 20-85% of a bar height of at least one of the refiner bars that said dam connects. Thereby, a subsurface dam is achieved that enables a flow of steam and also improves the flow of material across the dam.
In some embodiments, the blade comprises the dam with a dam height that is substantially equal to the bar height, and also comprises at least one dam with a dam height that is 20-99%, preferably 20-85% of a bar height of at least one of the refiner bars that said dam connects. Thereby, dams and subsurface dams can be combined as desired to improve the flow of lignocellulosic material and steam while at the same time enabling a high quality of refining.
Suitably, the blade also comprises a groove extending adjacent to the dam on a side of the dam facing the outer periphery. Thereby, a pumping transport of lignocellulosic material is enabled, where the material after passing over the dam can flow along the groove before entering a bar groove between refiner bars for further transport towards the outer periphery. This in turn improves energy efficiency and decreases wear of the refiner blade.
The groove may have a width that increases towards the inner dam end. Thereby, the lignocellulosic material is encouraged to enter the bar grooves as it passes along the groove.
Also, the groove suitably has a width at an upper end that is at least equal to a width of the dam. Thereby, the groove is wide enough that the flow of lignocellulosic material is improved. The width at the upper end is a distance from the outer side of the dam in the radial direction to a refiner bar at a point where the refiner bar starts to taper towards the blade surface.
Suitably, the groove has a depth that is at least equal to half the dam height of the dam adjacent the groove. Thereby, the groove is deep enough that the flow of lignocellulosic material is improved.
Suitably, the blade also comprises a reinforcement portion where the outer dam end is connected to a refiner bar, said reinforcement portion being arranged on the side of the dam facing the inner periphery. Thereby, wear is decreased so that the lifetime of the blade is increased.
Also, the outer dam end of a first dam and the inner dam end of a second dam may each be connected to the same bar, and the inner dam end of the second dam is closer to the inner periphery than the outer dam end of the first dam. Thereby, refiner grooves that are not crossed by dams are avoided so that lignocellulosic material is unable to flow across the blade without being lifted to the refining gap. Also, the dams are angled or curved to improve the transport of the lignocellulosic material.
Suitably, the outer dam end of a first dam and the outer dam end of an adjacent dam in a radial direction are each connected to different refiner bars in the first circumferential direction. Thereby, the dams have an overlap in the radial direction and this increases strength of the blade and distributes areas subjected to large wear across the blade to render the blade as a whole more robust.
In some embodiments, the blade is a blade portion having a central angle of 10°-360°. Where the blade is not circular, the blade portion may then be combined with a plurality of similar or identical blade portions to form a circular blade.
Also, there may be at least one portion lacking refiner bars. Thereby, lignocellulosic material may be transported across the blade without being refined except in the refiner portion.
The present invention also relates to a refiner for refining lignocellulosic material comprising at least one blade according to any embodiment of the invention.
Many additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood by the skilled person in view of the detailed description below.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings, wherein
All the figures are schematic, not necessarily to scale, and generally only show parts which are necessary in order to elucidate the respective embodiments, whereas other parts may be omitted or merely suggested. Any reference number appearing in multiple drawings refers to the same object or feature throughout the drawings, unless otherwise indicated.
When in use, the blade 10 is generally mounted in a disc refiner (not shown) and serves to refine lignocellulosic material by acting as a blade within a blade pair that are arranged to face each other, wherein at least one of the blades in the pair is arranged to rotate. Generally, a blade that is arranged to rotate in the disc refiner is referred to as a rotor side blade, whereas a blade that is arranged to be stationary is referred to as a stator side blade. When in use, a refiner gap is formed between the blades so that lignocellulosic material passing through the refiner gap is refined by refiner bars arranged on each of the blades.
The term lignocellulosic material is used herein to mean materials comprising cellulose and preferably also comprising lignin and hemicellulose. One example of such materials is wood, others include other agricultural or forestry wastes. When refining lignocellulosic material with a disc refiner, the material is generally fed into the disc refiner through an opening at a center of one of the blades and is refined while moving radially outwards between the blade pair. Lignocellulosic material may also refer to materials containing mainly cellulose, such as e.g. cotton.
The invention will be described with reference to various embodiments, and it is in particular to be noted that a feature from one embodiment may freely be introduced into another embodiment except where such a combination is explicitly stated as unsuitable or undesirable. Thus, the embodiments disclosed herein may be combined with each other as desired.
It is to be noted that each of the embodiments shown in the Figures is only a portion of a blade 10 and that the blade 10 itself may comprise additional portions both at the inner periphery 11, at the outer periphery 12 and on either sides of that shown in each Figure. Thus, the Figures are to be seen as embodiments having a pattern of refiner bars and dams that can be repeated across the entire blade 10 or that can be provided in only one portion of said blade 10.
The blade 10 shown in
The refiner bars 20 each comprise an outer bar end 21 and an inner bar end 22, wherein the outer bar end 21 is closer to the outer periphery 12 than the inner bar end 22. The refiner bars 20 are arranged so that a movement along a bar extension, i.e. a movement along an individual refiner bar 20, from the outer bar end 21 to the inner bar end 22 is also a movement in a first circumferential direction D. The first circumferential direction D is a rotational direction when the blade 10 is arranged in the refiner, and the first rotational direction D is further perpendicular to a radial direction R that is defined as a direction from a point on the inner circumference 11 to a point on the outer circumference 12 that is closest to the point on the inner circumference 11. That the movement along the bar extension is a movement in the first circumferential direction D is to be understood herein as the movement having a component that is directed in the first circumferential direction D. There may also be a component that is in a radial direction perpendicular to the first circumferential direction D.
The arrangement of the refiner bars 20 means that they are inclined with respect to the radial direction R to form a bar angle α in a clockwise direction that is less than 90°. In some embodiments, the refiner bars 20 are parallel to each other but in other embodiments at least one of them may be non-parallel to the others. Also, the refiner bars in some embodiments form straight lines but may in some embodiments be curved. Also, in some embodiments the refiner bars 20 may vary across the blade 10 so that some of them form straight lines while others are curved, and that some of them are parallel but other are not. At the inner bar end 22, the bars 20 preferably taper to the blade surface 13. The bar angle a may differ for each refiner bar 20, but is advantageously in the range of 5°-60°.
Also provided on the refiner portion 14 is at least one dam 30 that connects at least three refiner bars 20. Each dam 30 extends from an outer dam end 31 to an inner dam end 32, wherein the outer dam end 31 is closer to the outer periphery 12 than the inner dam end 32. The dam 30 is further arranged so that a movement along a dam extension, i.e. a movement along the individual dam 30, from the outer dam end 31 to the inner dam end 32 is also a movement in the first circumferential direction D. This means that the dam 30 is inclined with respect to the radial direction R to form a dam angle β in the clockwise direction that is less than 90°. The dam angle β may differ for each of the dams 30 but is advantageously in the range of 30°-85°. In embodiments where the dam 30 is curved, the dam angle β suitably decreases when moving from the outer dam end 31 towards the inner dam end 32.
Where the dam 30 is connected to a refiner bar 20, a connection angle γ is formed in a corner facing in the first circumferential direction D and facing the inner periphery 11. The connection angle y is advantageously in the range 30°-85°, and this ensures an efficient refining of lignocellulosic material as well as a low energy consumption.
Preferably, the bar angle α may vary across the segment. It is advantageous to provide a larger bar angle α towards the center of the blade 10, i.e. towards the inner periphery 11 but to provide a smaller bar angle α when the bars are closer to the outer periphery 12. Also, the dam angle β may vary across the segment and it is advantageous to provide a smaller dam angle β near the inner periphery 11 but a larger dam angle β near the outer periphery 12. Thus, when moving across the blade 10 in the radial direction R from the inner periphery 11 to the outer periphery 12, the bar angle α preferably decreases whereas the dam angle β increases.
In the first embodiment, the refiner portion 14 comprises a plurality of dams 30 that are arranged in this way, but in other embodiments a single dam 30 may instead be provided. Also, the dams 30 shown in
Furthermore, in the embodiment of
The dams 30 may further form straight lines or curves, and they may be parallel or non-parallel to each other as desired.
The arrangement of the bars 20 and the dams 30 with their inner bar end 22 and inner dam end 32 further along in the first circumferential direction D than the outer bar end 21 and the outer dam end 31 means that the dams 30 are able to raise the lignocellulosic material from bar grooves 40 into the refining gap to improve refining while at the same time enabling efficient transport of the lignocellulosic material across the blade 10 from the inner periphery 11 to the outer periphery 12. This in turn decreases energy consumption since the dams 30 are less of an obstacle to the flow of lignocellulosic material than dams 30 arranged with an angle of more than 90° to the radial direction R, i.e. dams inclined with their outer dam end further along in the first circumferential direction D.
In the embodiment of
The groove 50 may be seen as an interruption of a refiner bar 20 that extends from the outer bar end 21 and tapers to the blade surface 13 at the groove 50 to then continue from the dam 30 towards the inner bar end 22. Alternatively, the groove 50 may be seen as providing an end for the refiner bars 20 that taper to the blade surface 13 so that this forms their inner bar ends 22. In the third embodiment, grooves 50 are provided for all the dams 30 but in other embodiments some of the dams 30 may lack grooves 50.
The groove 50 has the advantage of enabling a pumping transport of the lignocellulosic material across the blade 10 during use. This means that as the blade 10 rotates in the first circumferential direction D, lignocellulosic material travels in one of the bar grooves 40 to a dam 30, then is lifted to the refiner gap and travels along the groove 50 before entering another bar groove 40. This is shown by dashed arrows in
The groove 50 may have a width that increases from the outer dam end 31 towards the inner dam end 32, thereby encouraging the lignocellulosic material to enter the bar grooves 40 as it moves along the groove 50. The groove 50 further has a groove width at an upper end, i.e. an end farthest away from the blade surface 13, that is at least equal to an upper width of the dam 40. The groove width is further to be understood as a width in the radial direction R from the dam 30 to the refiner bar 20 on the outer side 34 of the dam 30. At the upper end of the groove 50, the refiner bar 20 is at its full height but suitably the refiner bar 20 tapers towards the outer side 34 of the dam 30 to decrease wear.
Also, the fifth embodiment comprises a reinforcement portion 33 on at least one dam 30, the reinforcement portion 33 being arranged where the outer dam end 31 is connected to the refiner bar 20. The reinforcement portion 33 is arranged on a side of the dam 30 facing the inner periphery 11, i.e. on an opposite side to the outer side 34. More specifically, the reinforcement portion 33 is arranged at a corner where the dam 30 meets the last refiner bar 20 at the outer dam end 31. The reinforcement portion 33 is thus arranged in a place where wear on the dam 30 from the lignocellulosic material is particularly high and therefore serves to protect the dam 30 and prolong the lifetime of the blade 10. Suitably, the reinforcement portion 33 is integrated with the dam 30 and the refiner bar 20, but in some embodiments, it could instead be a separate portion that is added to the corner between the dam 30 and the refiner bar 20 at the outer dam end 31 during manufacture.
In the fifth embodiment, at least one of the dams 30 also comprises reinforcement portions 33 at more than one intersection of the dam 30 and a refiner bar 20, and this is particularly advantageous in decreasing wear on the dam 30 as a whole. Other embodiments may comprise the reinforcement portion 33 only at the outer dam end 31.
In the embodiments of
In the embodiments of
As mentioned above, the blade 10 may be a circular blade but it may alternatively be a blade portion having a central angle of 10°-360°. A plurality of blade portions can then be mounted in a refiner to form a circular blade.
The refiner portion 14 may extend across the entire blade surface 13 from the inner periphery 11 to the outer periphery 12. Alternatively, there may be other portions on the blade surface 13, such as the outer portion 15 disclosed above and in
The present invention also relates to a refiner that comprises at least one blade 10 according to any embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein. Said refiner may in some embodiments comprise two blades 10 according to the invention, with one of them arranged as the rotor side blade and the other as the stator side blade. In other embodiments, one blade 10 according to the invention may be arranged together with a refiner blade according to the prior art as either the rotor side blade or the stator side blade.
It is to be noted that features from the various embodiments described herein may freely be combined, unless it is explicitly stated that such a combination would be unsuitable.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2330293-8 | Jun 2023 | SE | national |