Screening is an important process in any pulp or paper mill. Aikawa Fiber Technologies (AFT) recently introduced a new screening rotor – a critical component inside every pressure screen – that increases capacity, improves stability, and offers up to 30% in energy savings, compared with even AFT’s existing award-winning rotor designs.
This new GHC2 rotor builds upon the success of the over 1800 GHC rotors already in operation by replacing the standard rotor elements with a new, patent-pending PowerWave design. PowerWave has a unique waveform surface on its leading edge which accelerates the pulp suspension. This strengthens the suction pulse and creates “micro-vortices” which keep the screen cylinder's apertures clean to improve throughput and runnability.
According to Mathieu Hamelin, AFT’s Product Manager for Rotors, mill-documented performance of the GHC2 rotor shows a capacity increase up to 20% compared to the standard GHC rotor. “When capacity is not an issue and energy savings are more important, the power consumption of the GHC2 can be lowered by 30% compared to the GHC simply by reducing the tip speed,” Hamelin says. “When compared to conventional rotors from other manufacturers, energy savings up to 60% may be possible.”
The GHC2 rotor has been rigorously tested in mill trials after a thorough proof-of-concept in Aikawa’s Test Facility in Japan. “We are excited about this innovation,” Hamelin says, “and we are sure that more pulp and paper producers will really benefit from this new design.”
