Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria .

Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Bleach Plant
Optimization using
Analyzers & Sensors
Standards
Certification
Education & Training

Publishing
Conferences & Exhibits

Presented by
Holt Crenshaw
Metso Product Manager

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Holt Crenshaw
With Metso Automation 3 years.
29 years working in Pulp and Paper Mills for various
companies at several locations on many platforms.
Always focused on Process Control and Process
Optimization.
Prefers engineering over management.
P.E. and BA/BS in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Paper written by James Goldman, also with Metso
Automation, on this joint project.

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Challenges in Bleach Plant Control

Final brightness at required level
with minimum variation and
without damaging other pulp
properties
Dynamic process
Reliability of data
Pulp Bleachability is not constant
Nonlinear process relationships
Long process delays
Human errors in decision making
and lab tests
Different running habits between
shifts
Minimized chemical cost

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Important process variables to control,

measure, or account for in order to achieve
optimum bleach plant performance

Kappa
Brightness
Bleachability
Carryover
pH
Temperature
Consistency
Retention time
Chemical Strengths

You cannot control what you cannot measure!

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Delignification/Brightening
The purpose of the first two stages in an O2 delignified bleach plant is to
delignify and brighten the pulp to post Ep tower kappa and brightness targets

ClO2 dosage should be adjusted primarily based on the inlet kappa level, but
adjusted for bleachability, carryover, and chemical strengths
The pH, temperature, consistency, and retention time need to be controlled to
provide the maximum delignification and brightness gain
Eop Kappa

Kappa
Analyzer
Ep

Brightness
Residual

ClO2

D0 Kappa

D0

Brightness Residual

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D0 Stage
The pH should be controlled low enough to ensure delignification but at a level
that produces minimal process scale

The inlet pH is controlled by a PID loop but its setpoint is adjusted to achieve a post tower pH
target

Lowering the temperature in the stage can slow the ClO2 reaction with lignin
and increase the delignification. Temperature should be controlled relative to
the available retention time and the temperature target in the Ep stage.
Increasing the stock consistency will increase the retention time and allow the
ClO2 to penetrate the pulp fibers more efficiently.

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D0 Stage ClO2 Feed-forward Controls

For this mill, the base ClO2 dosage is set relative to the inlet kappa from an
online kappa analyzer

A brightness probe is also used for two functions

The probe is combined with the online analyzer to produce a continuous
kappa number
As the probe differs from its normal level relative to the kappa analyzer the
difference is used to compensate the ClO2 dosage for changes in carryover,
bleachability, consistency, pH, temperature, or chemical strengths
A ClO2 residual probe is also used for dosage correction
The probe normally trends with the dosage calculation. When it varies from
this something in the process is causing the difference. This could be from
changes in ClO2 strength, consistency, carryover, bleachability, pH, or
temperature
The production rate calculation is also used to adjust the dosage for this stage in
order to account for changes in retention times to the stage
7

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D0 Stage ClO2 Feedback Controls

The feed-forward controls dosage setpoint is then adjusted by two feedback
controllers

A model predictive controller that is predicting the Eop kappa is used to

compensate the dosage setpoint.
The dosage is adjusted so that the prediction is at the setpoint
The prediction is always corrected by measurements from an online kappa
analyzer
Another model predictive controller that is predicting the Eop brightness is also
used to compensate the dosage setpoint.
The dosage is adjusted so that the prediction is at the setpoint
The prediction is always corrected by measurements from an inline
brightness probe that is calibrated to the lab
This is more challenging to calibrate and keep calibrated than an online
analyzer
8

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Feedback Controls using an Inline Measurement

At this mill we have been able to utilize the shift laboratory data to calibrate the
measurement

We have found that the measurement is affected by changes in the process

consistency
The probe has an internal measurement that is relative to the consistency
By using a multivariable calibration curve, we were able to improve the
measurements accuracy and make it less dependant on the process consistency as
shown below

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D0 Stage Operator Display

The operators use this display to monitor and control the D0 stage

10

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Extraction
The purpose of the Ep stage is to extract the lignin in the tower and wash it out
in the post stage washer

The temperature is controlled to a high level in order to provide maximum lignin

extraction
Peroxide dosage is adjusted primarily based on the inlet kappa
NaOH

The pH is controlled to provide proper alkalinity and adjusted to meet the post
tower pH target

Ep

pH

Filtrate

pH

11

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Ep Stage Feed-forward Controls

At this mill a reliable inlet pH sensor was not available
The NaOH feed-forward dosage is instead calculated based on a ratio to the D0
stages ClO2 dosage

This dosage in then adjusted by the stages pH MPC controller

The MPC controller is predicting the outlet pH and correcting its prediction with
a pH sensor located on the filtrate from the post stage press
The MPC controller adjust the NaOH dosage to make its prediction align with
the post stages pH target
The peroxides feed-forward dosage is controlled based only on the bleach plants
inlet kappa level
However, it is also adjusted from two MPC feedback controllers that are
targeting post tower kappa and brightness setpoints
These controllers work similar to the D0 stages ClO2 dosage MPC controllers

12

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Ep Stage Operator Display

The operators use this display to monitor and control the Ep stage

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Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D1 Stage
The purpose of this stage is to meet the post tower brightness target
ClO2 dosage should be adjusted primarily based on the inlet kappa and
brightness levels, but adjusted for bleachability, carryover, and chemical
strengths
The pH, temperature, and consistency need to be controlled to provide the
maximum retention time and brightness gain

D1
Eop Brightness

ClO2
Kappa
Analyzer

D1 pH

Eop Kappa

D1 Brightness

Filtrate

14

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D1 Stage pH Controls
At this mill a reliable inlet pH sensor was not available
The NaOH feed-forward dosage is instead calculated based on a ratio to the
stages ClO2 dosage
We found that amount of caustic needed was primarily based on the stages ClO2
dosage, so instead we based the feed-forward NaOH dosage on a ratio to the D1
ClO2 dosage

This dosage is then adjusted according to the MPC controllers prediction of the
post tower filtrates pH versus the setpoint
The MPC controllers prediction is continuously updated and corrected by the
post tower presses filtrate pH measurement

15

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D1 Stage ClO2 Controls

The stages ClO2 dosage is similar to the D0 stages control scheme
The exceptions are that the base feed-forward dosage is now determined
according to the stages inlet brightness along with its inlet kappa
In addition to this the inlet brightness sensor is also used in the same two ways
that it is used on the D0 stage
The production rate calculation is also used to adjust the dosage for this stage in
order to account for the affects of changes in the retention time of the stage
The feed-forward dosage is also adjusted by the post tower brightness MPC
controllers prediction against its setpoint
The MPC controllers prediction is constantly corrected by an after tower
brightness probe that has also been calibrated to be independent of process
consistency

16

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D1 Stage Operator Display

The operators use this display to monitor and control the D1 stage

17

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D2 Stage
The purpose of this stage is to meet the post tower brightness target
ClO2 dosage should be adjusted primarily based on the inlet brightness levels,
but adjusted for retention time, temperature, and pH
The pH, temperature, and consistency need to be controlled to provide the
maximum retention time and brightness gain

D2
D1 Brightness

ClO2

D2 Brightness
D2 pH

Filtrate

18

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D2 Stage Controls
The D2 controls are almost identical to the D1 stage
The only difference is that there is no inlet kappa measurement relative to this
stage
The inlet brightness measurement used for this stage is the same one that is used
for the D1 stages feedback controls
The after tower brightness probe is also calibrated using a multivariable
calibration curve that is attempting to reduce its dependency on the process
consistency

19

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

D2 Stage Operator Display

The operators use this display to monitor and control the D2 stage

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Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Conclusions
The measurement and controls used to optimize a modern bleach plant continue
to be challenging and sometimes require creative control schemes to compensate
for missing measurements
It is critical to understand the relationships between each stages inlet conditions,
its chemical dosages, and the resulting after tower quality measurements
The vendor and the mill need to be flexible enough to change control schemes
when problems arise from issues with measurements or the existing control
scheme
The following two slides show the results of doing this well
The chemical cost in South America are higher than in North America, so the
cost savings relative to the chemical savings are higher

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Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Optimization Summary Display ClO2

This display is used to evaluate the control performance for ClO2

22

Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Optimization Summary Display NaOH

This display is used to evaluate the control performance for NaOH

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Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Conclusions
Use reliable measurements like kappa, brightness, residual, and pH when they
are available

If useful measurements are not available then study data to determine if there are
any alternative control schemes that will work
Post stage measurements are critical to controlling the process and optimizing a
bleach plant

Inline brightness sensors can be used as an alternative to online brightness

analysis, but take longer to implement and require more calibration and followup lab analysis to keep this control scheme successful
When the available measurements are utilized properly and a good control
scheme is implemented it will result with benefits in chemical savings and
quality improvements

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Presented at 2014 ISA Process Control & Safety Symposium Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria . Houston, TX, USA . 69 October 2014

Any Questions

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