In last week's Official Board Markets page one article, "Can Cold Corrugation Click?" the author, Dick Gries, offered the opinion that there is an immediate and ongoing need to reduce the energy consumption of corrugators. We at Kohler Coating couldn't agree more. However, we politely take issue with Mr. Gries opinions and potentially misleading assertion that no one in the industry is currently investing in the research necessary to develop the technology that will take the corrugating process from one that is hot to one that is cold.
It is true that the attempts of the late 1960s (and as recently as the early 1980s) to remove heat from the corrugating process provided less than favorable results. The adhesive and machine technologies available in that era were not sufficient to allow the corrugator to significantly reduce the steam pressure or completely turn off the boiler.
However, a great deal has changed since that time. Forward looking companies with entrepreneurial spirit, on both the adhesive and machinery sides, have invested substantial amounts of their own time and money to make this process a reality. Not only is the technology presently available to substantially reduce, if not eliminate, the heat of the corrugating process, but it is in use daily by a number of corrugating facilities around the world.
Stronger, Flatter Board-Using Thin Film Metering (TFM(tm)) technology and adhesives specifically formulated for the TFM process, corrugator plants have reduced their steam pressures to, or below, the 75 psi referenced in the article. This technology has not only led to a great reduction in the consumption of natural gas, but also the production of board that is stronger, flatter and smoother. The benefits from this process allow downstream operations to run faster and produce higher quality finished products and less scrap.
In addition, users have reported significant reductions in fiber consumption and waste. Glue/adhesive consumption is reduced as the operation switches from a high-volume, low-solids to a low-volume high-solids adhesive. While there may be a slight cost increase per dry pound consumed, it is quickly and dramatically offset by the savings it allows throughout the rest of the operation.
The return on investment (ROI) for operations switching to this technology has been remarkable. Virtually all have reported payback periods of less than one year. One current corrugator operation (using conventional starch adhesives) has just documented a first-year ROI of 169 percent which, among other benefits from the technology, includes a 41 percent reduction in energy consumption.
There are those in the industry that don't believe cold corrugating is possible. For these folks I reference the continuous web litho laminator systems in use at many plants today. These systems, which are very similar to the corrugator, prove that a cold system can, and does, work.
Cost Factors-If every corrugator plant in the world replaced its doublebacker with a driven double belted conveyor similar to a laminator's, savings of 60 to 70 percent of the industry's current energy consumption would be realized. The reason that most have not is simply that the energy cost is still less expensive than the additional cost of high solids adhesive applied by conventional or old style corrugating metering technology.
However, at last winter's energy prices, combining TFM(tm) metering technology with high performance adhesives is less expensive than running a hot doublebacker. When additional factors like waste and trim reduction (board doesn't shrink in a cold double backer) and downstream converting efficiency improvements from flatter, more dimensionally stable board are factored in, the efficiency of TFM far exceeds that of conventional systems.
We're not yet ready to completely turn the gas valve off. While the corrugator's declaration of energy independence is very near, there is still a bit of development to take place. The move from conventional to cold corrugating is more of an evolution than an event. The most likely process transition is from conventional (hot) to warm (the previously mentioned converter), then warm to cool (the corrugator becomes a laminator) and then cool to cold (where this industry leading converter is headed).
Gries is correct. There has never been a time in our history when energy independence has had so much to offer to the corrugator operation. While the reduction or elimination of heat from the corrugating process obviously provides a substantial savings, the benefits of "warm" or "cold" corrugating go far beyond energy with productivity improvements and enhancements in quality and most certainly safety.
To say no one is researching or developing cold corrugating is simply not true. The tools to put your corrugator on a low energy diet are available now.
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