Foam forming technology enables utilization of long fibers

The paper industry is continuously seeking new ways to reduce the raw material consumption and to improve the energy and water efficiency of the papermaking process. This is a challenging goal indeed as the quality of the end product should simultaneously remain intact. The foam forming has recently aroused increasing interest as foam inhibits mobility and flocculation of fibers improving e.g. the formation of the end product. In this paper we show recent results on our trials on foam forming that have been performed in realistic process conditions at VTT's pilot environment. In addition to enabling significant increase of the fiber length foam forming has potential for saving drying energy as much as 30%.