Toscotec will upgrade its AHEAD line started in 2015 (PM1) at the facility of Portuguese tissue manufacturer Fortissue in Viana do Castelo, to make it the first tissue machine in the world to operate at 2,000 m/min entirely on electricity. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.
Jun 12, 2024
Portuguese tissue manufacturer Fortissue has joined hands with Italy-based Toscotec for a groundbreaking project on PM1 at its facility in Viana do Castelo, Northern Portugal. The Italian equipment manufacturer will upgrade its AHEAD line started up in 2015 (PM1), to make it the first tissue machine in the world to operate at 2,000 m/min entirely on electricity. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.
Toscotec will install a fully electrical air system, TT Swing, TT Turbodryer, and TT SteamBooster on this high-performance machine, which is already equipped with Toscotec’s TT NextPress shoe press. The full upgradation of PM1 is taking place after nine years of its efficient operations, in order to make tissue production more sustainable.
Toscotec’s fully electrical air system will include an e-powered TT Hood with multiple stages of heat recovery. TT Swing will ensure maximum flexibility by giving the choice of the operation modes from full cascading to hybrid depending on the specific production needs. TT Turbodryer will harness the heat recovered from the air system to improve the shoe press de-watering effect and increase post-press dryness. Finally, the new e-powered TT SteamBooster will generate 100 percent of the steam necessary for the TT SYD Steel Yankee Dryer by recovering the heat present in the hoods exhaust air together with high-efficiency electric steam generation.
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The energy needed for PM1’s operation will be generated 100 percent from electricity. The mill will have the flexibility of choosing to get power from the Portuguese grid or by using 100 percent renewable energy coming from its solar and wind plants. The corresponding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions will amount to minus 20 percent in case the tissue line operates from the grid, and net zero GHG emissions if it runs on renewable energy both for its electric and thermal requirements.
Nuno Ribeiro, Owner of Fortissue, says: “At Fortissue we are proud to be spearheading the energy transition of the tissue industry. This groundbreaking project will pave the way for a new generation of production lines with top performances that also meet the sustainability requirements put forth by tissue consumers in the European market and beyond”.
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Gabriele Romanini, Toscotec’s Sales Manager, says: “Toscotec’s partnership with Fortissue has come a long way in the past 10 years and we are delighted that they selected us for this pioneering project. PM1 was state-of-art when it came online, and we are now working to take it to a whole new level to become the first high-performance tissue line in the world to run on green electricity”.
