The Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award 2016 granted to Tomas Björkqvist, Mikael Lucander and Olli Tuovinen
The Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award 2016 has been granted to Tomas Björkqvist, Mikael Lucander and Olli Tuovinen.
The award is given out every two years by Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award Foundation and it promotes the development of new technology for the manufacture of high-yield pulp.
The awarded team has worked together in a systematic way, from laboratory to full scale operation, to show that their hypothesis about a novel surface for grinding stones is valid. The basic idea in their invention is to cover a metal segment stone surface with a defined diamond grid, including finding a proper geometry for the grid and fastening method for diamonds. The new type of grinding stone with diamond covered surface is known as “Galileo technology”. The technology is already established and has spread worldwide.
The main achievement for this innovation is the possible energy saving in grinding of wood in the range of 150 – 500 kWh/ton, depending on pulp grade and other operational factors. Simultaneously the shive level is considerably decreased.
Information about the award recipients
Tomas Björkqvist received his PhD degree in 2002 from Tampere University of Technology in Finland. After a long academic career, he is currently a Senior Research Fellow at Tampere University of Technology.
Mikael Lucander, with a M.Sc. degree in Polymer Chemistry from Helsinki University is retired after a long career at KCL in Finland where he held a position as Research Fellow. He has contributed as an expert to the awarded project
Olli Tuovinen has a M.Sc. degree from Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. He has had several production positions within the Finnish forest industry and has spent the last 30 years in Valmet, Tampella and Metso. Currently he is R&D manager at Valmet.
The award will be presented on September 27, 2016 at the International Mechanical Pulping Conference, IMPC. The event is hosted by TAPPI and will be held in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
