Given the current energy pricing landscape in South Africa, industrial machinery manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions is committed to partnering with South African businesses to enhance their future sustainability, decarbonisation efforts and competitiveness with innovative solutions.

Globally, more customers in the paper, board and tissue industry are motivated to retrofit their production plants with the company’s TURBAIR blowers considering the technology’s environmental and energy saving benefits.

As of October 2024, more than 450 paper, board and tissue machines worldwide have been equipped with TURBAIR vacuum blowers, demonstrating the high level of trust from customers in the pulp and paper industry, highlights MAN Energy Solutions.

“The TURBAIR vacuum system makes a major contribution to environmental protection by reducing power consumption by up to 60% and eliminating the reliance on sealing water required for traditional pumps. This highly reliable system also increases paper machine uptime by minimising stoppages previously needed for pump maintenance,” explains MAN Energy Solutions Switzerland paper industry head Manfred Dobler.

The TURBAIR vacuum system is also being implemented in numerous new installations of paperboard, tissue and paper machines. Simultaneously, there is a notable shift from liquid ring pumps to TURBAIR technology, offering manufacturers a significant competitive advantage through lower production costs.

Single-stage TURBAIR RT 56 and 71 blowers with automatic outlet regulation can handle air volumes from 200 m³/min to 1 450 m³/min, generating up to 65 kPa of vacuum, depending on the requirement. With automatic outlet regulation, the airflow adjusts to the paper machine's needs, controlling the volume from 30% to 100%. When equipped with a frequency-controlled drive, the RT can regulate vacuum levels between 35 kPa and 65 kPa. This wide application range makes the RT ideal for felt conditioning, tissue applications, and especially for replacing water ring pumps on older paper and board machines.

The multi-stage RC type vacuum blower from MAN Energy Solutions can handle air volumes ranging from 180 m³/min to 3 000 m³/min and generate up to 78 kPa of vacuum, depending on the requirements. With up to four intake manifolds, it can operate all vacuum levels in the wire and press sections. Additionally, when equipped with a frequency-controlled drive, the blower can adjust the vacuum between 55 kPa and 78 kPa. This model is particularly sought after for new installations in graphic papers, cardboard, chemical pulp and Through Air Drying tissue machines, which require high vacuum levels that the RC blower reliably provides through its multi-stage centrifugal design. A single RC blower unit can effectively replace water ring pump systems for an entire paper machine.

The company says TURBAIR blowers are ideal for South Africa as they deliver energy consumption that is up to 50% to 60% lower than traditional water ring pumps. This is in addition to eliminating the need for sealing water, which saves costs and reduces environmental impact. No fresh water or cooling towers are required.

The technology also provides a wide operating range with high efficiency under partial load, cutting energy use by an additional 30% during felt replacement cycles, while its durable design with no wear parts enables a long service life with 70-year-old MAN blowers still in operation.

Further, exhaust air at between 120 °C and 160 °C can be used to recover 70% to 80% of absorbed power. Frequency control drives are optional but can add up to 20% more energy savings by optimising vacuum and volume needs for varying tissue weights.

A key decision-maker at a customer’s organisation noted that apart from energy savings, a reduced space requirement and greener footprint, the low service requirement and operational reliability of TURBAIR blowers is significant to the company. Further, the customer’s requirements were also fulfilled by one TURBAIR blower instead of two in the case of a competitor’s product.

“In combination, these benefits result in a simple return-on-investment calculation for our customers. The amortisation time of a TURBAIR system of this kind, installed in an existing paper production mill, is less than two years,” Dobler explains.

In addition to the pulp and paper industry, TURBAIR vacuum blowers can be effectively adapted for vacuum generation in the mining and sugar industries.