Journal of the University ofC.Chemical Technology I.

Atic, S. Immamoglu, and Metallurgy, 40, 3, 2005, 199-204

Valchev

DETERMINATION OF SPECIFIC BEATING ENERGY - APPLIED

ON CERTAIN PULPS IN A VALLEY BEATER
C. Atic1, S. Immamoglu2, I. Valchev3

1
Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry, Received 14 June 2005
Istanbul - Turkey Accepted 21 July 2005
2
Kafkas University, Artvin Faculty of Forestry,
Artvin - Turkey
3
University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy,
8 Kl. Ohridski, 1756 Sofia, Bulgaria

ABSTRACT

Beating performance of certain kraft pulps were accurately investigated in a laboratory valley beater device. To
determine beating response of the pulps, empirical specific edge load (SEL) or beating intensity, specific surface load
(SSL) and specific beating energy consumption (SBE) were experimentally found for each kraft pulp. Industrial applica-
tion of refining or beating theory usually refers to the specification of three parameters: SEL, SSL and SBE, because of the
fact that, beating performance is controlled by these parameters. In order to simulate laboratory beating performance,
where beating is controlled by the time elapsed, and industrial beating performance, it is really necessary to investigate and
control the beating performance of the pulp using the aforementioned parameters. These laboratory results give us firstly,
significant information about the amount of energy and beating intensity necessary to put to the pulp samples to reach
required properties and secondly, information about comparable values for laboratory and industrial application.
Keywords: Beating performance, valley beater, kraft pulp, specific edge load, specific surface load, specific beating
energy.

INTRODUCTION Refining plays an important role in stock prepa-

It would be desirable to make fundamental mea-
surements to obtain basic information about the paper
that could then be used to predict the utility of the pa-
per for any purpose [1]. With the development of in-
dustrial paper making during the last century, exigency
for fine determination of properties of utilized materi-
als became unavoidable. Therefore, a number of ana-
lytical tests were developed and can be performed on
pulp samples for quality assessment.
ration as well as throughout the complete paper making
process. Next to the raw material selection, it has the
greatest influence on the final product quality [2]. There-
fore, one of the important pulp tests tries to determine
the beating response of the pulps. ISO 5264 standard
method describes bench top beating devices used for
beating of small amount of pulp samples. The Valley
beater (ISO 5264-1), the PFI mill (ISO 5264-2) and
the Jokro mill (ISO 5264-3) are most widely used stan-
dard devices. These devices have different nature of fi-

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 Journal of the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 40, 3, 2005
bre treatment compared to each other and to industrial
refining applications.
The valley beater is widely used in paper research
laboratories to investigate beating performance of pulp.
In terms of the beating process, this device seems to be
most similar to the industrial applications. In the paper
industry presently beating is controlled by the power
applied to the unit of pulp. Modern refiner control theory
is introduced with the specific refining energy as the
important measure of refining power put into the stock.
The average magnitude of fibre deformation is
directly related to the applied power divided by the prod-
uct of rotating speed and edge length. This is the basis
of the Specific Edge Load Theory, which was first in-
troduced back in the 1960’s. The calculated variable is
referred to as “refining intensity” or “specific edge load”
(SEL), and is typically expressed in units of watt-sec-
onds per meter (Ws/m) or joule per meter (J m-1) [3, 4].
It is possible to determine refining response of
pulps with measuring of the refining power put in to
the stock in pilot scale refiners [2, 5]. But this is a labour
intensive way that needs expensive and sophisticated
equipments. On the other hand in laboratory cooking
and bleaching research activities, a relatively small
amount of pulp is used, therefore using of laboratory
beating devices is necessary for evaluation and com-
parison of the results.
The aim of this study is to determine the appli-
cability of the Valley Beater, one of the most widespread
laboratory beating devices, for measuring the power
applied to the pulp. For this purposes beating responses
of some kraft pulp were used.
EXPERIMENTAL
Bleached and unbleached calabrian pine kraft
pulps and bleached eucalypt kraft pulp with air-dried
were suplied by Mopak Pulp and Paper Mill, Dalaman,
Turkey. The kraft pulps were reslushed by tearing the
lap pulp samples into thin pieces of less than 10 cm²
and soaking overnight in distilled water. All beating treat-
ments of pulps were performed with a Valley beater
equipped and calibrated as described in the standard
ISO 5264/1. The initial pulp amount was 360 g of oven
dry pulp and the consistency of the stock in the beater
15.70 ±0.03 g/L. 18 L of water at 20 ±5°C was poured
200
into the Valley beater tube and the beater motor was
driven for approximately 10 min prior to the addition
of pulp. Over a period of 3 to 5 minutes all the pulp
and the water used for soaking were slowly added into
the tube. The total volume of water and pulp in the
beater was set to be 23 ± 0.21 L. Pulp was circulated in
the beater with the bedplate in its lowered (no load)
position until it was completely disintegrated. Beating
was initiated with the weight of 5500 ± 50 g by releas-
ing the lever, and the timer was started when the bed-
plate bars move up against the bar roll.
As recommended in standard beating schedules,
bleached pine (softwood) and eucalypt kraft pulp (hard-
wood) samples were taken from the beater and tested at
5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min intervals and unbleached pine
kraft pulp samples were taken from the beater at 5, 15,
30, 60 and 90 min intervals.
The total motor power (TMP) and no load power
(NLP) in Watts, were measured with an Emta GP22
model wattmeter and the rotational speed of the beater
(RPM) was 509-513 rpm measured with a Line Seiki
TM-4000 model tachometer.
In order to calculate the refining intensity or spe-
cific edge load, it is necessary to first determine the
true load or effective power applied (EPA) to the fi-
bers. Because of that, measured no load power was sub-
tracted from the total motor power. The cutting edge
length (CEL) of used the Valley beater is 34.16 m.r-1,
and the beating surface (BS) is 0.135 m² r-1. The spe-
cific edge load (SEL) or refining intensity was calcu-
lated by the effective power applied (TMP-NLP) di-
vided by the rotating speed and cutting edge length.
SEL = [TMP − NLP] /[CEL × RPM] (1)
SSL = [TMP − NLP] /[BS × RPM] (2)
SEL - Specific edge load (J m-1) or (W s m-1)
SSL - Specific surface load (J m-2) or (W s m-2)
The net specific beating energy consumption of
a refiner or refining system determines the amount of
refining that is applied to a pulp in industry. In this
laboratory study, the specific beating energy for each
step was calculated by dividing the effective beating
power by the oven dry fiber mass. It has been indicated
above that, over a beating period, pulp samples were
 C. Atic, S. Immamoglu, I. Valchev

Table 1. No load and total motor power applied to the certain pulps.

Beating Amount of Bleached Bleached Unbleached

Stage oven dry pulp eucalypt pine pine
NLP TMP NLP TMP NLP TMP
(g) (W) (W) (W) (W) (W) (W)
1 360.0 845 1005 870 1030 860 1110
2 341.2 815 967 845 1007 845 1075
3 322.4 795 941 815 995 820 1040
4 303.6 777 925 790 979 780 1010
5 284.8 755 910 772 962 750 995

taken from the tube at scheduled five intervals and ana-
lyzed. Therefore at each step the 18.8 g oven-dry pulp
sample was decreased in the Valley beater tube. The
amount of decrease was taken into consideration when
the specific beating energy (SBE) was calculated for each
step. The total specific beating energy (TSBE) was beat-
ing energy that was applied from the beginning of the
beating to a particular beating step expressed as Wh kg-1.
Finally, the beating response (BRp) of a certain pulp was
calculated using Eq. 4
SBEn = [EPA n × BTn ] / FMn (3)
[ ]
BRp = SR o n − SR o n−1 / SBE n (4)
SBEn - Specific beating energy in the step, Wh kg-1
EPA - Effective power applied (TMP-NLP), W
n - Sample removal step
BTn - Beating time in the step, h
FMn - Oven-dry fibres mass in the step, kg
BRp - Beating response, DSR°/Wh kg-1
Freeness was measured using a Schopper Riegler
devices according to ISO 5267-1 standard method and the
preparation of laboratory sheets for physical tests were
based on ISO 5269-2 standard method. Mass, tensile prop-
erties, tearing resistance (Elmendorf method) and burst
strength were measured according to ISO 536, ISO 1924,
ISO 1974 and ISO 2758 standard methods respectively.
This energy produces no measurable change in the prop-
erties of the pulp being beaten. No-load power is mostly
dependent on the diameter and rotational speed of the
rotor, stock consistency and amount of pulp being circu-
lated. During the laboratory study all circumstances were
keep constant except pulp amount. As seen in Table 1,
no load and total motor power decreased throughout the
steps due to removal of sample from the tube. In addi-
tion, fiber length and bleaching operation notably affected
the no load and total motor power.
To better illustrate the influence of TSBE on
Schopper Riegler values, the results are plotted in
Fig. 1. This figure shows clearly that Schopper Riegler
values increas dramatically at higher TSBE levels. In
order to reach the same SR°, the unbleached pine needs
at least twice hiaher beating energy than that for the
bleached pine. The bleached eucalypt hardwood pulp,
having shorter fibre and fines, behavior is more sen-
sible than that of the softwood pulp. Hence it is reached
50 SR° easily whenjust applying 500 Wh kg-1 SBE.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In a valley beater application, a certain amount of

Fig. 1. Increase of Schopper-Riegler values with increasing beating
applied power is consumed for the circulation of the pulp. energy.

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 Journal of the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, 40, 3, 2005
Fig. 2 illustrates beating responses of pulp with beat-
ing time. Delta SR° values, for applied Wh per kg pulp of
bleached and unbleached pine pulps, increase gradually up
to some point. Maximum level was attained at stage 3 then
dropped at final stage. Eucalypt pulp indicates the similar
trend throughout the stages with slight increases.
In industry, beating or refining is controlled by
the beating intensity and randomly by SSL. The nature
of the fiber treatment in a valley beater device for labo-
ratory studies is very different compared to industrial
refining, and in admitted standard, beating is controlled
by the time elapsed. Hence, it is not possible to directly
compare the results of a laboratory test to the results of
on industrial one. In order to simulate a valley beater
to the industrial application, SEL or beating intensity
and SSL plotted against beating time is shown in fig-
ure 3. In industrial applications, the net specific en-
Fig. 2. Beating responses of pulps according beating time.
Fig. 3. Beating intensity changes during beating.
202
Fig. 4. Tensile strength conversions according to applied SBE.
ergy of kraft pulp for 1 pass is about 40-80 Wh kg -1
for hardwood and 60-600 Wh kg-1 for soft-
wood, and SEL of kraft pulp is 0.4-1.5 J m-1
for hardwood and 2.0-6.0 J m-1 for softwood,
and SSL of kraft pulp is 200-500 J m-² for
hardwood and 500-1000 J m-² for softwood
[6].
With increasing beating time, the spe-
cific edge load of unbleached pine pulp de-
creases up to stage 3, then gradually increases
at the final stage. There is notably a distinc-
tion between unbleached and bleached pine
specific edge load. In the light of these re-
sults, control of beating in the valley beater
can be easily made by specific edge load or
specific surface load.
Fig. 4 shows the results of tensile in-
dex as a function of the total specific beat-
ing energy. The tensile strength development
of softwood fibres increases rapidly from the
first to stage 3 where the applied energy is
about 250-350 Wh.kg-1 and becomes steady
after that. The tensile strength properties of
the eucalypt pulp increases slowly in every
stage.
Fig. 5 exhibits burst strength versus to-
tal specific energy. Burst strength develop-
ment is almost similar to tensile strength de-
velopment. Tearing resistance (Fig. 6) of soft-
wood pulps decreases with beating while eu-
 C. Atic, S. Immamoglu, I. Valchev
Fig. 5. Burst index conversions according to applied SBE.
Fig. 5. Burst index conversions according to applied SBE.
Fig. 6. Tear index conversions according to applied SBE.
calypt pulp resistance increases. Changes of the tearing
index become more steady after applying of 300 Wh/kg
beating energy.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been agreed that simulation of industrial with
laboratory beating performance is really necessary to investi-
gate and control beating performance of pulp and the labora-
tory beating method should be internationally acceptable, adopt-
able in industry, applicable for all fibre types and if possible
energy consumption during beating has to be measured.
The present version of the laboratory beating stan-
dard in a Valley beater which is widely used in labo-
ratories, is based on the time used for beating of fibers.
On the contrary, industrial application of the beating
theory usually refers to the specification of three pa-
rameters: SEL, SSL and SBE. Because of the fact that
the laboratory studies should be simulated with indus-
trial application.
Beating performance of three pulps (bleached and
unbleached calabrian pine kraft and bleached eucalypt kraft)
were investigated in a laboratory valley beater device.
Empirical SEL or beating intensity, SSL and SBE con-
sumption were experimentally found for each kraft pulp.
Based on this laboratory study with certain kraft
pulps beaten in a valley beater instrument, it can be
concluded that:
• Beating intensity depends on the type of the
pulps and the amount of pulp which is decreased after
sample withdraw during treatment.
• Significant information about the amount of
energy and beating intensity must be necessary to put to
the certain pulp samples to reach required properties.
• Valley beater can be used for beating response
determination of pulp samples, and the influence of the
applied energy on development of strength properties
of pulps.
• Finally, these laboratory results will give sig-
nificant information about pulp properties and infor-
mation about that can be compared with other pulp and
industrial applications.
REFERENCES
1. C.E. Brandon, Properties of paper in Pulp and Paper;
Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Third Edition,
J.P. Casey, A Wiley-Interscience Publication,
Toronto, v. 3, 1981, p.1715 -1956.
2. R. Sigl, , D. Bergfeld, Low intensity refining of hard
wood and deinked pulps with a new type of filling in
a double disc refiner, TAPPSA J, July, 2001, p. 24- 29.
3. www.finebar.com., Introduction to stock prep refin-
ing, Finebar Refining Technology, 2004, p.63.
4. D.H. Robinson, R.J. Defoe, Low Intensity Refining
of Mechanical Pulps, A New Approach to Quality
Control, Tappi Pulping Conf. Proc., 1984,p. 255 - 263.
5. J. Blechscmidt, M. Strunz, New demands on labora
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