Reducing Clogs in Power Boiler Biomass Feeding System

Abstract

With the constant increase in pulp and paper production, the demand for wood has been intensifying, and consequently, the availability of forest residues and bark for energy generation grows year after year. Seeking sustainability between forestry operations and the consumption of biomass, Klabin’s paper production plant in Telêmaco Borba (Monte Alegre Unit) has been increasing the consumption of forestry residues and bark, and as a result of the particle size characteristic of these materials, occurrences of clogging of biomass transport screws became constant, reflecting in operational bottlenecks of the boiler. Seeking to solve this problem, the “Problem-Solving” methodology was used and actions were implemented in the screw that had the highest frequency of occurrences, based on the main idea of avoiding “empty spaces” and obstacles in the path of biomass. After the implementation of all items, a 75% reduction in the frequency of occurrences was obtained, reaching the objective proposed at the beginning of the work, showing that there are challenges in the pulp and paper industry that can be solved or reduced through quick solutions, cheap and effective.