(Russia, August 01, 2016) Russian newsprint manufacturer Volga with technical support from BASF (Germany) conducted a production experiment in pulp bleaching — the first of its kind in Russia — whereby a mixture of sodium dithionite and some modifying agents was added to the refiner to manufacture TMP with high brightness level. This TMP was then used in trial production of newsprint.
As a result, Volga produced 45 g/m2 newsprint (900 tonnes) with a brightness gain of 66% against standard 60%. Higher brightness is a good sign for printing companies as it enables better rendering of colour images and thus better quality in printing.
The preparatory work for the experiment was started in 2015, after the kickoff meeting of Volga’s management and technicians with BASF’s specialists. In February 2016, Volga carried out some field modifications to the existing TMP line and conducted preliminary trials with sodium dithionite in order to set up and test a new TMP bleaching circuit.
The results of the trials will be studied by BASF experts and the conclusions will be available within several months.
Volga Paper Company is one of the leading newsprint manufacturers in Russia. (Source: press release)