Austria-based company Andritz is a leading supplier of front-end technology and fibre preparation equipment, and has held a leading position in the pulp, paper, and panel board industry for decades.

Its panel board division specialises in designing and manufacturing single machines and complete front-end packages for the MDF industry. These offerings range from debarking, chipping and screening to chip handling, chip washing, pressurised refining systems, and wastewater evaporation.

At the heart of the fibre preparation process lies the pressurised refining system, sized to specific requirements to produce high-quality fibre with the lowest possible energy consumption.

The streamlined design ensures seamless operation and facilitates maintenance, even in demanding applications such as veneer chips, shavings, sawdust and waste wood.

The “swing-door” design of its refiners, coupled with the proven bearing unit, simplifies refiner plate changes for enhanced efficiency. Several producers in the Indian panel board industry, such as Century Ply and Metro Decorative, have successfully installed the new Andritz high-performance pressurized refining system.

Greenply Industries has also done this at its MDF production facility in Vadodara (Gujarat). Sudama Wood Panel and GreenPanel will also soon start up their new fibre board production lines based on the latest Andritz refiner technology.

With increasing plant capacities, reducing energy consumption becomes vital considering that thermal energy accounts for approximately 70% of the energy demand in MDF production. Andritz offers a range of innovative solutions, such as high-capacity center steaming, which ensures optimal pre-treatment of wood chips before they are fed into the digester.

Additionally, the fibre centrifuge AFC efficiently recovers surplus steam from the pressurised refining system, contributing to energy savings and process optimization. Smart Plug screw feeders maximise de-watering efficiency, while the steam regulation module enhances heat utilisation within digesters.

The latest SRM iteration utilises online temperature measurements for precise control, ensuring superior chip quality. This was also demonstrated at IndiaWood recently.

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