Dried singulated pulp fibres

摘要

A drying system 10 designed to dry wet pulp directly from a pulp mill to a singulated fibre product comprises a jet drier 20. Preferably the fibre product is a singulated cellulose pulp fibre. The drying system also includes a wet pulp supply station 40, an air supply station 90, for the jet drier 20, a fibre separation station 100, and a fibre collection station 160. The system may also include a fines removal station 170 and a noise reduction station 180. The jet drier 20 includes a closed loop 22 for high pressure air, a wet pulp intake 24, a manifold 26 which delivers feed air though a series of nozzles, and an outlet 28 for the outlet air, the substantially dried and singulated fibres and any fines which are present. An air pump 96 and air heater 98 feed air to the manifold 26. The wet pulp supply station 40 may include dewatering devices 46 and 50 in the form of presses or centrifuges, a treatment supply source 48 in the form of a spray system or roller coating system, and a pulp feed device 60 in the form of a rotary air lock having a rotor (64, fig 3) with vanes (66) to prevent clogging. The pulp feed device 60 may feed pulp to the jet drier 20 via a foam feeder (70, fig 5) of the type which includes multiple circular rows of teeth (85, fig 6). The treatment substance used may include surfactants, crosslinkers, hydrophobic material, mineral particulates, or superplasticizers. The material leaving the jet drier 20 may pass along and though a vacuum conveyer 110. The product fibres may have a low knot and fines count, as well as improved kink, curl and twist.