Portuguese tissue manufacturer Fortissue has partnered with Toscotec to create what it said is a world first – the first tissue machine to operate at 2,000m/min entirely on electricity.
The Toscotec-supplied AHEAD line started up in 2015 (PM1) and will be upgraded by the supplier to become “the first tissue machine in the world to operate at 2,000 m/min entirely on electricity” at the company’s facility in Viana do Castelo, Northern Portugal.
Equipped with Toscotec’s TT NextPress shoe press, the machine will be fully upgraded to meet the goal of making tissue production more sustainable.
The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.
Toscotec will install a fully electrical air system including e-powered TT Hood with multiple stages of heat recovery.
The supplier said its TT Swing “will ensure maximum flexibility” by giving the choice of the operation modes from full cascading to hybrid depending on the specific production needs.
It said: “TT Turbodryer will harness the heat recovered from the air system to improve the shoe press de- watering effect and increase post-press dryness.
“Finally, the new e-powered TT SteamBooster will generate 100% of the steam necessary for the TT SYD Steel Yankee Dryer by recovering the heat present in the hoods exhaust air together with high-efficiency electric steam generation.”
The energy needed for PM1’s operation will be generated 100% from electricity.
Fortissue’s plant will be able to choose to get power from the Portuguese grid or by using 100% renewable energy coming from its solar and wind plants.
Toscotec said the corresponding greenhouse gas emission reductions will amount to minus 20% in case the tissue line operates from the grid, and net zero GHG emissions if it runs on renewable energy both for its electric and thermal requirements.
Nuno Ribeiro, Owner of Fortissue, said: “At Fortissue we are proud to be spearheading the energy transition of the tissue industry.
“This ground-breaking project will pave the way for a new generation of production lines with top performances that also meet the sustainability requirements put forth by tissue consumers in the European market and beyond.”
Established in 2015 in Alvarães, Fortissue is a tissue producer with an annual production capacity of approximately 35,000 tons.
