The Technical Day dedicated to water stress and organized by the Technical Association of the French Paper Industry (Atip) brought together more than 70 people on March 27, in Grenoble, in the premises of the Paper Technical Center (CTP). A subject at the heart of the news as climate change is an increasingly visible reality. In this context, water management during periods of water stress will become increasingly sensitive for everyone but also for many industries.
To understand this fundamental subject with many issues at stake, representatives from nearly twenty paper mills made the trip: Ahlstrom (Arches, Brignoud and La Gère sites), Corex, DS Smith (Coullons and Kaysersberg facilities), Fregata Hygiène, Lacaux, MP Hygiène, Papeteries du Léman (PDL), Papeteries des Vosges (PDV), Papeterie Le Bourray, Rossmann (Papeteries de Giroux and Sainte-Croix aux-Mines mill), Sofidel, Sotipapier, Sterimed, SWM and Sylvamo. Even if paper manufacturers have, for a very long time, worked to reduce their water consumption and optimize their process, the subject of water is among their major concerns currently, in the same way as decarbonization.
After a presentation of the regulatory context and the government’s “Water” Plan by Copacel, the suppliers detailed their approaches and their innovations: Axchem (with the testimony of the Rossmann paper mill in Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines), Nijhuis Saur Industries, Gaw, ABB, BWT, Valmet, Nalco and the CTP. Chemistry was of course often the focus of many presentations. If we had to remember only one message from this day: faced with the expectations of paper manufacturers, the innovations of suppliers are real between new polymers, mobile water treatment solutions or membrane technologies, intelligent management, design of headboxes or digital twins.
Valérie Lechiffre
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