Cologno Gains Fiber & Hauls Off Puffs--Not Mountains of Water

 “With our new stock preparation system, we capture high quality fiber from poor quality waste. And we haul “puffs” to landfill, no longer paying for mountains of water.” - Franco Masotina, CEO of Cartiera di Cologno S.p.A.,

Cartiere di Cologno, a fluting producer from Milan, Italy, has a new approach to maximizing the capture of fiber from highly contaminated waste, separating plastics so effectively that the tiny chopped pieces end up almost like dandelion puffs—containing very little water or fiber when disposed.

 

This allows for far better economy of raw material usage, as well as a dramatic 70% reduction of waste hauled off —therefore considerable costs savings. In addition, manufacturing runs smoother, because of better contaminants control.

 

Says Franco Masotina, CEO of Cartiera di Cologno S.p.A., “When you run a business based on reclaiming waste, you seek to maximize all the valuable assets contained in that waste, when you separate for re-use.  With our new stock preparation system, we delicately handle and capture high quality fiber from poor quality waste.”

 

The investment in stock preparation upgrades from Kadant was made in 2009, based on the anticipated payback from reduced energy and maintenance costs.

 

Adds Giacomo Masotina (Franco’s son), production manager, “Since installing the new stock preparation system, the reduction of maintenance costs is dramatic. We have not changed any part on the machine since start up, and only done routine maintenance after nearly a year. This is impressive, considering the level of contaminants in the furnish. Add this fact to high recovery of fiber and lower energy costs, and you see the value proposition.”

 

Comments Luca Baldo, Kadant Lamort’s Managing Director for Italy, “Thanks to the Float Purger stock cleaning system in particular, it’s possible to disperse and separate fiber, but at the same time avoid contaminant fragmentation. The pulp quality improvement has contributed to less wear on equipment in the following stages of the process, especially the screening stage. Longer basket life has been observed.”

 

For over 70 years three generations of the Masotina family of Northern Italy have been gathering and sorting paper, plastics, construction waste, and now, even confidential documents from banks. Primarily focused on Europe, their products and services now reach markets around the globe.

 

Showers Add To Process & Energy Efficiency

 

Cologno also installed a shower system from Kadant to more effectively clean wires and felts. An electromechanical oscillating device is mounted on the showers so that the oscillator speed changes proportionally to machine speed. The showers now provide uniform shower coverage for maximum cleaning effectiveness.

 

Press Fabric & High Pressure Shower Improvements

 

The new showering configuration has already improved press section efficiency and fabric life has increased by twenty days. Because contaminants do not fill the inner voids of the fabrics, the optimized dewatering increases the life of the fabric. Better sheet profiles have also been achieved.

 

Dirty streaks on the fabrics have disappeared, because an automatic brush actuator handles the entire nozzle and pipe cleaning process on a programmed time cycle. Since start up the nozzles have remained clean with no plugging. There is no longer the need for mill personnel to rotate the brushes manually.

 

According to Franco Masotina, “The most valuable outcome from the new showering system is the dryness of the paper out of the press section. We now have better CD profiles because of dewatering uniformity across the entire width of the wire. The cleaning contributes to longer fabric life.”