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Dewatering mechanisms and their influence on suction box dewatering processes A literature review
Peter slund and Hannes Vomhoff, STFI-Packforsk AB, Sweden KEYWORDS: Suction box, Vacuum, Compression, Displacement, Rewetting Water removal,

SUMMARY: This review summarizes the present knowledge of suction box dewatering mechanisms. In addition, existing and novel suction box dewatering processes are described for applications in the pulp and paper industry. Three mechanisms that determine the dry content of the web after suction box dewatering are identified, viz. web compression, displacement of water by air, and rewetting. Earlier work focused mainly on the influence of web properties and process parameters for the achievable dry content. That work did not give any information concerning the relative importance of the three mechanisms. There was no measurement of web compression or water displacement. Furthermore, the occurrence of rewetting was neglected by many researchers. A deeper knowledge and, above all, direct measurements are required to better describe suction box dewatering. Some interesting modified suction box dewatering processes were presented in the literature. For example, the use of a membrane on top of the web during dewatering is believed to have the potential for an increase in dry content and energy savings. This increase in dry content is consequently believed to be a result of an increase in web compression. ADDRESSES OF THE AUTHORS: Peter slund (peter.aslund@swerea.se): Swerea KIMAB AB, Box 55970, SE-102 16 Stockholm, Sweden. Hannes Vomhoff (hannes.vomhoff@stfi.se): STFI-Packforsk AB, Box 5604, SE-114 86 Stockholm, Sweden. Corresponding author: Peter slund

A good understanding of the suction box dewatering process requires a good knowledge of the relative importance of the different mechanisms. However, by only using the dry content after suction box dewatering for evaluation, this information cannot be obtained. This review gives structure to previous research work with respect to the above-stated mechanisms. Furthermore, it also covers innovative dewatering processes that could give insight into the relative importance of the mechanisms. The innovative processes are grouped according to the dewatering mechanisms involved.

Water removal on a suction box

When the fibre web arrives at the first suction box in the wire section of a fourdrinier or twin-wire paper machine, the fibres and water form a network, with a dry content of 5 to 7%. After suction box dewatering, the dry content of the web is increased to a value of 16 to 23%. The pressure in a suction box is usually in the range of 15 to 40 kPa, but pressure as low as 70 kPa does occur, especially in high-speed paper machines. The lid of the suction box is made of a ceramic or other low-friction/high-abrasionresistant material, in order to avoid too much wear and tear. The surface of the suction box contains holes or slits, where a drop in pressure is applied to the forming fabric and web. For a more detailed description of suction boxes on a paper machine, see Hansen (1991) or Risnen (2000). Water removal is caused by the pressure difference between the ambient air and the pressure in a suction box. Water removal is carried out by web compression and the displacement of water from the pores of the network when air flows through the web. After the passage over the suction box, rewetting, i.e. re-absorption of water from the forming fabric into the web, can occur. Fig 1 illustrates these three mechanisms. It has not yet been clarified whether web compression and displacement dewatering occur simultaneously or

Several researchers have studied suction box dewatering. Brauns and Oskarsson (1953), Nordman (1954), Attwood (1960), Britt and Unbehend (1985), Neun (1993), Risnen et. al. (1993) and Mitchell and Johnston (2000) did studies with laboratory suction boxes and on pilot paper machines. In their studies, the influence of process parameters, e.g. pressure difference, dwell time or suction pulse frequency, as well as web properties, e.g. grammage or type of pulp, were investigated. Characterisation of the dewatering results was based on the dry content of the web before and after dewatering. Dwell time and pressure difference were identified as the most important process parameters. The main results of the experimental studies with suction boxes were summarized in reviews by Risanen (1996) and Lobosco (2005). Three mechanisms have been associated with the result of suction box dewatering, viz. compression dewatering, displacement dewatering and rewetting. Evaporation due to the air flow through the web was also considered to be a possible dewatering mechanism. However, its relevance was ruled out by Brundrett and Baines (1966), who concluded, from their results, that moisture removal by evaporation during suction box dewatering was negligible.

Fig 1. Mechanisms occurring during suction box dewatering. The illustration is simplified only to one long suction pulse.

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subsequently. In this context, Risnen et al. (1994) suggest that water removal is mainly a result of web compression and that the air flow through the web is more a side effect of the applied pressure drop. On the other hand, Tarnopolskaya et al. (1998), formulated a model for suction box dewatering, assuming there was no web compression and water removal was a function of the air flow only through the web. Dewatering by web compression When the web passes over a suction box, the pressure drop compresses the fibre web and water flows out. The dewatering is therefore dependent on the compressibility of the fibre web (Campbell, 1947). The web compressibility describes the web deformation as a result of the applied stress. The compressibility is mainly dependent on the properties of the fibres in the network. Jones (1963) studied the effect of the fibre properties on the compressibility of the fibre web. As important properties, he identified both the ratio of fibre length to diameter and the flexibility of fibres. To understand and describe the interaction between fluid flow through the fibre web and the compression of the fibre web during a suction pulse, Terzaghis principle is applicable (Campbell, 1947). Terzaghis principle is a relationship among the structural stress in the fibre network, the hydraulic pressure ph of the fluid in the pores of the fibre network and the total applied pressure ptot. It is defined as: ptot = + ph [1]

field of wet pressing, this phenomenon was investigated on several occasions and it was termed stratification (MacGregor, 1983). According to Terzaghis principle, the sum of the structural stress and the hydraulic pressure is constant at every point in the fibre web. However, strictly speaking, this is only valid for a force balance, where also the inertial effect, i.e. the acceleration of mass, can be neglected. Terzaghis principle can only be transferred into a stress balance, i.e. Terzaghis principle, if the reference areas for both structural stress and hydraulic pressure are identical. Terzaghis principle must, therefore, be used carefully, especially when a flow through compressible porous materials is modelled. This limitation was clarified in the work done by Kataja et al. (1995). Some researchers studied the static compression behaviour of saturated webs under low mechanical stress, see Jones (1963) and Vomhoff and Schmidt (1997). The static compressibility of the fibre web can be described by an empirical relationship between the dry content c and applied stress p, as originally proposed by Campbell (1947): c = Ap B [2]

When a fibre web is compressed to a structural stress , the compaction of the web causes a hydraulic pressure ph. Water between the fibres starts to flow out of the web as a result of a gradient in hydraulic pressure, under the assumption that the outside pressure is lower. For a compressible material, such as the fibre web, permeability is a function of the web compression. Assuming a constant, steady-state flow through the web, the structural stress increases in the direction of the flow, see Fig 2. This will result in an uneven compaction of the web. The layer closest to the surface, where the water flows out of the porous material, is the one most compressed, due to the highest structural stress. In the

where A and B are material constants. As the compression of a fibre network is time-dependent, this equation only gives limited information on the behaviour of a network during suction box dewatering. Vomhoff and Schmidt (1997) measured a thickness reduction of more than 70 % in the stress range of 30 Pa to 46 kPa in a totally saturated web. When the stress was removed, the web expanded considerably, but to a level below the original thickness. The dynamic compressibility at structural stress values, relevant to suction box dewatering, has not been properly investigated. Previous dynamic experimental studies of suction box dewatering focused only on the final dry content of the web after the suction pulse, e.g. Attwood (1962), Neun (1995) and Risnen et al. (1996). The time-dependent behaviour of the dewatering result is clearly shown in Fig 3. Both the dewatering result and the rate of solids content increase with a higher suction pressure, the latter in the initial stage, particularly. Mitchell and Johnston (2003) formulated a model to describe the suction box dewatering explained by

Fig 2. Qualitative profile of the structural stress () and hydraulic pressure (Ph) as a function of the web thickness (Z) for the flow of a liquid through a compressible fibre network using Terzaghis principle. 390 Nordic Pulp and Paper Research Journal Vol 23 no. 4/2008

Fig 3. Dry content as a function of dwell time for three different pressure levels (Neun,1993).

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Fig 4. Simulated ratio of water volume to solid volume. Simulation parameters: grammage w =1000 g/m2, suction pressure 15 kPa (Mitchell and Johnston, 2003).

compression, water displacement and rewetting. Fig 4 shows the relationship among the compression, air displacement and rewetting in the model during the dewatering stage. Their model considers the three mechanisms and is based on physical laws. However, no experimental data confirm the time scale and the relative importance of the mechanisms. Their model predicts that water removal is initially performed by compression dewatering while, at the end of the compression stage, the air displacement dewatering starts. To summarize, it can be said that little information is available on the extent of web deformation during suction box dewatering. No quantitative measurements of the web deformation during a suction pulse have been carried out. Water displacement by air flow Brauns and Oskarsson (1953) varied the air flow through the web, measured the dry content and concluded that an increase in air flow has a positive effect on the dewatering result. However, they increased the air flow by increasing the vacuum level and, consequently, also increased the compression in the web. When it comes to the importance of displacement dewatering, nothing can therefore be concluded from their work. Risnen (1996) explained water removal through air flow by the viscous drag of rapidly flowing air through the network. The air displaces the water in the pores in the fibre network, but for the air to break through the initially saturated web, the applied pressure drop must exceed the capillary pressure. The pressure difference for air penetration through a porous medium was termed threshold pressure. Brundrett and Baines (1966) measured the threshold pressure at a value of 7 kPa for a newsprint sheet of 52 g/m2 and with a dry content of 10%. It was observed that a pressure lower than the threshold pressure would sustain an air flow through the web, once the air had penetrated the web. The air flow prevented a re-filling, i.e. a closing of the pores. Values for the threshold pressure were also reported by Eames and Ray-Moore (1976). They made trials on a pilot paper machine with a newsprint stock and observed that no dewatering, i.e. no increase in dry content, occurred below a pressure difference of 13.5 kPa, at 52 g/m2 and with an in-going dry content of 11.5%. During suction box dewatering, a certain time-lapse is

Fig 5. Examples of the time to air penetration, i.e. the intersections of the curves with the x-axis, for different suction pressures; grammage 17 g/m2 (Granevald, 2005).

required to establish an air flow through the fibre network. The time between the application of the suction pulse and the air penetration through the wet web, termed time for air penetration, was experimentally determined by Granevald (2005). The webs were made from chemical pulp in the grammage range of 17 to 51 g/m2 and the time for air penetration was in the range of 0.2 to 1.9 ms. As expected, an increase in drop in pressure led to a shorter time to air penetration, see examples in Fig 5. The commonly used equation to describe the fluid flow in porous media is the empirical Darcys law: v= K p L [3]

where v is the velocity of the fluid, K the permeability of the porous material, p the pressure drop, the dynamic viscosity of the fluid and L the thickness of the porous material. Darcys law is valid for Reynolds numbers of less than one, which is usually assumed to be the case during dewatering in the forming and press sections of a paper machine. Darcys law can be used to describe the flow of air or water in the fibre matrix (Bear, 1972). In suction box dewatering, the pores of the fibre network are filled with water or air. The permeability characterizes the flow resistance to a fluid flow and measuring the permeability in a system of two fluids is complex and difficult. The water permeability consider the flow resistance from the fibre structure in the web when water flow out of the web. The air permeability considers the flow resistance both from the fibre and the water in the web. Deviations from Darcys law have been reported. Polat et al. (1989) measured the flow of air through dry and moist paper at high air velocities for low web grammages. The maximum flow rate in their experiments corresponded to a Reynolds number of 6. The laminar approximation of Darcys law for determining permeability leads to an error of 600%. This example shows that the validity of Darcys law is not necessarily given for the air flow through a wet web. When a fluid is displaced in a porous medium by another immiscible fluid of lower viscosity, the interface between the two fluids can become unstable. This was shown in an experimental stability analysis by Chuoke et al. (1959). The displacement of the gas-liquid interface
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will not be so efficient. The interface will not move smoothly but rather break up because of an inherent instability. A small perturbation of the interface will accelerate because of a lower pressure drop in the more mobile fluid. This will result in a viscous fingering that penetrates into the displaced fluid. Consequently, the air will tend to blow through certain parts in the saturated web and leave much of the water undisplaced. A possible solution to the fingering problems, using hot gas at displacing fluid was explained by Miller (1973). The heat transfer at the interface between the gas and water might stabilize the interface, since the gas cools down and contracts, which could decrease the growth of the viscous fingers. Another effect that influences the efficiency of displacement dewatering is the lateral flow of the fluid in the paper. If the lateral permeability is greater than the transverse permeability, viscous fingering could tend to spread out in the plane of the paper. Lindsay (1993a, 1993b) measured the in-plane permeability and found that it could be higher than the transverse permeability, by a factor of 2 to 40. This difference in permeability can lead to an increased water transport in the plane of the web. Consequently, the effective suction length during the passage over a suction slot would increase. This was also pointed out by Granevald (2005) who discussed an edge effect at the trailing edge of the suction box slot, when the moving fabric passes it. He pointed out that, due to this edge effect, the effective dwell time is expected to be longer than the theoretical calculated dwell time, based on the slot geometry. In accordance with Granevalds reasoning, a similar effect should be present at the leading edge of a suction box. Improvements in dewatering, brought about by an increase in web temperature, are usually linked to an easier flow of water out of the fibre network. In the experiments done by Nordman (1954), the dry content was raised from 22.5 to 23.3%, as the temperature of the web was raised from 20 to 40C. The result was explained as a result of the decrease in water viscosity, allowing a more rapid removal of the water. Similar experiments were done by Attwood (1960). He increased the dry content of webs made from mechanical pulp from 7.8 to 10.7%, by raising the temperature from 16 to 66C. In addition to the viscosity reduction effect, Ramaswamy (2003) also points out, that the increase in temperature leads to a reduction in the surface tension of the water, which implies a reduced capillary pressure, enabling the emptying of more pores. No information was found as to whether the temperature affects the dynamic compressibility of the fibre network as well. Another fashionable set-up for increasing the web temperature, with the aim of improving dewatering, is a steam box in combination with a suction box. Patterson (2002) measured the heat transfer from the steam to the web. He found the permeability of the web to be the main controlling parameter for heat transfer. This implies that, in several practical application scenarios, the heat transfer, and thus the effect of steam boxes, will be limited. Heat has been proposed in wet pressing to improve the
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water removal from the web, see for example; Back (1979) or Powell and Cutshall (1985). Rewetting When a web passes over suction boxes, it is compressed by the pressure of the suction. After the suction pulse, the web starts to expand and water flows from the forming fabric back into the web. This process is termed rewetting. Rewetting, in connection with wet pressing, has frequently been discussed and was classified into internal, external and separation rewetting by Norman (1987). In a suction box dewatering, external rewetting is the water flow from the fabric into the web after passage over the suction box. Separation rewetting is the part of the free water present at the interface between the web and the forming fabric, which follows the web at the separation of the web from the fabric. Internal rewetting is the backflow of water from the felt into the web and this will not exist in suction box dewatering. The fact that large amounts of water can remain in a fabric and be available for rewetting was confirmed by Luotonen and Smpi (1995). They studied the dewatering in a wire press on a pilot scale and found that rewetting strongly reduced the dry content of the web. In their experiments with pulp sheets, the effect of rewetting was as high as 1000 g/m2. Vomhoff (1998) measured the dynamic expansion of a fibre network after wet pressing, i.e. at much higher levels of applied stress. The web expansion was significant and started directly after the applied stress had been removed. The majority of the expansion occurred within the first second. This expansion could be the effect of quite significant external rewetting. Rewetting was often neglected when suction box dewatering was investigated. Several indirect observations concerning the rewetting in suction box dewatering were reported, but very little quantitative information is available in the literature. Brauns and Oskarsson (1953) observed rewetting during dewatering experiments on a pilot paper machine. This effect was significant at low machine speeds, but could not be observed when the time between the suction pulses was shorter than 40 ms. Attwood (1962) observed that water on the back of the forming fabric disappeared rapidly. The water was suctioned back into the web within a few milliseconds after the suction pulse had been turned off. This was observed with a high speed camera. The effect was stronger when the dry content of the web was increased. Granevald et al. (2004) made some indirect observations, when studying how the design of the forming fabric influenced the final dry content after suction box dewatering. In their experiments, the web was in contact with the forming fabric after the suction pulse for a few seconds, before separating. This implies that external and separation rewetting had most likely occurred. They used forming fabrics with a wide range of parameters and found that the most important parameters were void volume and thickness, in respect to dewatering results. Both parameters correlate with the amount of

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Fig 7. Through-flow dewatering unit by Holden (1966). Fig 6. The dry content of the web as a function of running days for three types of fabric design (Anon, 2004).

water available in the forming fabric after dewatering. Thus, they suggested that rewetting could have a considerable influence on the result, but they did not have the means to verify this. In a long-term paper mill study, the dewatering behaviour of different forming fabrics was evaluated on a paper machine (Anon, 2004). For some fabric designs, the dry content of the web increased throughout the life of the fabric, see Fig 6. No analyses of the forming fabrics were done to clarify why, in some cases, the dry content increased. However, a reduction in thickness of the fabric, due to wear and tear, could confirm the suggestions made by Granevald et al. (2004). To this authors knowledge, only one previous study has focused on the role of rewetting in suction box dewatering. McDonald (1999) studied separation rewetting during web separation from a couch roll. His conclusion was that a considerable amount of water is transferred from the wire to the web at the separation. McDonald concluded that a fine surface of the forming fabric is a good way to reduce the amount of water on the wire surface and, thus, reduce separation rewetting. However, McDonald did not consider external rewetting to have occurred when the web was in contact with the forming fabric, after the suction pulse. Previous work shows that rewetting may be an important mechanism in suction box dewatering, but very little is known about the time scale or the amount of rewetting.

Fig 8. Diagrams of through-blowing devices used by Kawka and Ingielewicz (1979).

Modified suction dewatering processes

Several processes have been proposed for making dewatering more efficient at the end of forming section. Some of the most interesting ideas and experiments are summarized in the following. The advantages of the processes can be related to the three mechanisms: (a) an increase in water displacement, (b) an increase in web compression and (c) reducing rewetting. Displacement enhancing processes In suction box dewatering, the driving force for water removal is the pressure drop created by the low pressure in the suction boxes. However, this pressure drop can also be obtained by blowing air through the web. According to the laws of thermodynamics, with the same pressure drop, the amount of energy required for generating the air flow is smaller, especially for high pressure drop.

Several patents have been proposed for blowing air through a porous bed, e.g. those by Sundstrm and Steen (1932), Holden (1966) and Jewitt (2001). The basic idea of the patents is similar, yet they have different suggestions as to how to apply the air flow through the web. One example is depicted in Fig 7. Air flows out of a chamber (36) through the perforated roll (28) and through the web (10). The felt (12) tension prevents the web/felt combination from lifting off the perforated roll. Kawka and Ingielewicz (1979), Kawka (2001) and Kawka (2002) carried out experiments involving blowing air through a wet web. Measurements were made in the range of pressure differences between 10 and 80 kPa and exposure times from 100 milliseconds to several seconds. Fig 8 shows the layout of different blowing devices used in the experiments. The best effect was reported for the slotted throughblowing box (a) and air press (b). According to the authors, the results showed that it was possible to totally remove all the free water in the web. However, this required sufficient exposure time and a suitable pressure drop. Paper samples produced from the process with the through-air blowing devices had a higher specific volume and permeability, while some strength properties decreased. Kawka also pointed out that too long an exposure time can lead to evaporation. Using unheated air would not be an economical process, when the main purpose is to displace the water from the web. No information was supplied with regard to leakage at the interfaces between the stationary blower head and the moving web. Lindsay (1991) used superheated steam to displace the water from the web. In his laboratory equipment, a steam phase was applied to the top of the paper web and it then flowed down through the web, see Fig 9. Lindsays results showed that superheated steam can result in an increase in dry content, from a range of 23 to
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Fig 11. Arrangement, using an integrally sealed air press (Hermans et al., 2002).

Fig 9. Displacement head for the use of superheated steam (Lindsay, 1991)

Fig 12.Improvement in dewatering using a foam application before the suction boxes (Guyer and Bringen, 1977).

Fig 10. Steam heater (6) combined with suction units (7) under the wire (Kawamizu and Iifushi, 2006).

32% to a range of 42 to 52%. However, a long lasting steam application was required. One theoretical advantage of the steam application is to reduce viscous fingering during the displacement. Nevertheless, Lindsay assumed that viscous fingering would be relatively small in a thin porous medium, such as a paper web. The emptying of pores in the complex capillary system, due to the applied pressure drop, was more important. He also concluded that the increase in dry content, when using superheated steam, was caused rather by an increase in evaporation than by water displacement. When compared to air flow displacement, the bulk of the sheets was more similar to that achieved in a pressing operation. This decrease in bulk was caused by a thermal softening of the web. Lindsay also pointed out that implementation on a paper machine would be a challenge. A simpler approach, i.e. steam in combination with a suction box for heating the web in the wire section to improve dewatering, was proposed by Kawamizu and Iifshi (2006), see Fig 10. As the work of Patterson (2002) clearly illustrates, the applicability of this approach will mainly depend on the permeance of the wet web. When it comes to tissue application, several processes were proposed for realizing a high air flow through the wet web, see, for example, Fig 11 (Hermans et al., 2002). A high air flow is realized, using a combination of air press and/or suction box. Pressure drops of as high as 200 kPa are said to be achievable, with sealing of the air
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press being a major design aspect, (Lange et al., 2001). In tissues installations, the main focus is to pull the fibres into the surface of a structured wire so as to generate a 3-D paper structure. This moulding can be achieved if a high pressure drop is applied. For the low grammages of tissue webs, this high pressure drop generates high air flows, leading to an improvement in dewatering. According to the inventors of the above patent application, a non-compressively dewatering to an approximate 30 to 40% dry content can be achieved. Guyer and Bringen (1977) suggested In their patent, the use of a foam application on top of the web before its passage over the suction boxes, in order to improve dewatering by stabilizing the displacement front, see Fig 12. They claimed that the use of foam increases the web resistance to the vacuum and that the water removal is then increased. Skelton (1987) carried out laboratory scale experiments, where foam was placed on top of the web. In the experiments, a rewetted sheet with a dry content of 25% was used and a pressure drop of 30 kPa with a duration of 10 ms was applied. The use of foam increased the dry content of the sheet from 40 to 49.5%. These are very high dry contents when it comes to suction box dewatering. Skelton had no explanation for the results. Unfortunately, the pressure drop was not revealed. Furthermore, the use of foam may have caused a higher pressure drop or increased the compressive stress onto the web, due to an increase in compression dewatering from the foam layer. Another explanation could be that the foam led to a de-swelling of the fibres, allowing the displacement of water that was originally in the fibres.

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Fig 13. Means of increasing the pressure difference across the web using pressure chambers above and suction boxes below the web (Grabscheid et al., 2000c). Fig 15. A schematic view of the membrane application on a paper machine with a membrane (2) and a single pressure chamber (92) (Beck, 2005).

Fig 14. Pressure chamber above and suction boxes inside a suction roll (Grabscheid et al., 2000a).

Compression-enhancing process As a possibility for improving suction box dewatering, there were suggestions for putting a membrane on top of the web above a suction box. Due to the pressure drop across the membrane, the structural stress on the web would increase, leading to a higher compression of the web. The membrane would also reduce the air flow through the web, most likely affecting the displacement dewatering mechanism and also leading to a reduced air flow through the web. Trasente (1991) tested a permeable membrane as a top cover in her Masters thesis experiments. When compared to no top cover, using a membrane increased the dry content of the web after the suction pulse. She found the use of a membrane to have a positive response on vacuum dewatering i.e. the dry content of the web was greatly increased. However, it is necessary to point out a shortcoming in her study. The vacuum level was higher when she used a membrane, due to the reduced pressure loss in her experimental set up. Consequently, the precise effect of the membrane could not be identified. Moosavifar (2002) used a permeable top cover in his laboratory scale experiments. The permeability of the membrane was much lower than that of the web. Different kinds of configurations of the forming fabric, membrane and web showed that the membrane led to a more compressed web. Another important result was that the air flow was reduced by a factor of 6 to 10, while still achieving the same dry content. These results indicate the potential of using a membrane for reducing energy consumption. To further reduce energy costs and increase the pressure drop, it was suggested to place a pressure box above the membrane. Several such ideas regarding possible industrial processes were proposed, see Grabscheid et al. (2000b; 2000d) . In one of those designs, it was proposed

Fig 16. An idea for sealing the pressure chamber using roll nips and plates at the faces of the roll (Beck, 2004).

to use several consecutive pressure chamber/suction box combinations, see Fig 13. In a modification to this idea, the pressure chambers are arranged on the circumference of a suction roll that contains different suction boxes, see Fig 14. Common to both designs are that the pressure in the different pressure chambers and suction boxes can be controlled individually for controlling the dewatering process. Beck (2005) presented a complete layout of a paper machine, where a single pressure chamber is implemented in the production process, see Fig 15. Beck also suggests different membrane designs that could be used for this kind of dewatering. There is no published material concerning practical experiences with such a process. The reduction of air leakage and dealing with the friction between the membrane and pressure chambers are key aspects to be considered for any industrial implementation. This was also identified by Beck (2004), as he presented a machine layout for tackling these matters, see Fig 16. In this design, Beck used roll nips to seal the ingoing and outgoing side of the pressure chamber, while plates were pressed against the faces of the roll to seal both ends of the pressure chamber. Unfortunately, no operating experience with this design has been reported. One might suspect that the roll nips could also lead to a considerable web compression, making this process a combination of a displacement dewatering unit and a press section.
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the water. Evaluating this arrangement on laboratory experiment, the dry content of a web could be increased, when compared to conventional suction box dewatering. This arrangement may have reduced the rewetting after the suction pulse and, therefore, increased the dry content of the web. However, no comment was made as to how the water should be removed from the membrane afterwards.

Conclusions
Fig 17. Process with web (w) between a structured wire (4) and a permeable dewatering fabric (7) (Scherb et al., 2005).

Fig 18. Method and arrangement in a web former for preventing the rewetting of a web (Leinonen, 1998).

More recently, an interesting process was proposed by Scherb et al. (2005), where a deformable, compressible dewatering fabric is pressed against a web that is located on a structure wire, see Fig 17. A 3-D structured tissue product is the paper grade aimed at. Compression is achieved by the tension of both the wire and a permeable press belt and a pressure difference generated by a suction box and a pressure box. Due to the high deformability of the dewatering fabric, an adaptive pressing of the 3-D web structure can be expected. Rewetting reducing machine layout In order to reduce rewetting, a web transfer layout was proposed in a patent by Leinonen (1998), see Fig 18. The basic concept, here, is to use a suction pressure p2, which, in absolute terms, is higher than the suction pressure p1, for retaining the water in the forming fabric. The distance L1 between the end of the second suction box and the pick-up roll should be reduced to a minimum, or, alternatively, the second suction box might even partially overlap with the suction zone of the pick-up roll. This layout makes sense for reducing external rewetting, while not avoiding separation rewetting. However, one might wonder if the same effect could not be obtained by moving the first suction box closer to the pick-up roll, thus making the second suction box superfluous. A completely different dewatering approach was taken by Lindblom and Blomquist (2001), who placed a membrane with micro pores underneath the web. The purpose of this was to improve the suction box dewatering by transporting parts of the water from the web using capillary forces. A pressure drop across the web/membrane sandwich had the effect of enhancing the transporting of
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In previous studies, three mechanisms were identified that determine the dry content of a web after suction box dewatering, viz. web compression, displacement of water by air and rewetting. The evaluation of experiments focused on the influence of web properties and process parameters on the achievable dry content. That work did not provide information regarding the relative importance of the three mechanisms. Neither the effects of web compression nor water displacement was directly measured. The review also shows that only a few researchers have given consideration to rewetting in suction box dewatering. Some interesting attempts at improving dewatering at the end of the forming section were previously proposed. Through-flow dewatering, using pressurized air instead of a vacuum, were suggested on several occasions. This was also tested on a pilot scale but at low machine speeds. A major challenge for this technique is to find a good construction for minimizing air leakage. It is thought that by using a membrane on top of the web during dewatering, there is potential for increasing both the dry content and energy savings. The increase in dry content is considered to be a result of an increase in web compression. It is recommended that future work should focus on a deeper understanding of the dewatering process. This will provide important information on understanding the relative importance of the main mechanisms of suction dewatering, i.e. web compression, water displacement and rewetting. Some of the proposed process modifications seem to be promising, especially the membrane-assisted dewatering, and these should be the focus of future studies. Acknowledgements
This work was carried out in the STFI-Packforsk Optimal Mechanical Dewatering Research Cluster. The financial support by the participating companies and the Swedish Energy Agency (STEM) is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Professor Bo Norman for his valuable comments throughout the course of this work.

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