Raw material efficiency with fibre products
VTT develops innovative technologies and supports the creation of new fibre‑based products. With our globally unique pilot lines, you can build and test new fibre structures before full production.
Raw material efficient fibre products combine smarter fibre utilisation with advanced processing technologies to deliver equal performance with less material, water, and energy.
Whether developing innovative new products or improving existing production processes, the goal is the same: achieving higher efficiency, typically meaning fewer fibres, less water, and reduced chemical use without compromising performance.
Our selection for raw material efficient initiatives
- Foam application to improve utilisation and retention of chemicals and increase strength for lowered basis weight. Foam forming to reduce water and to get exceptional formation for better fibre use.
- Impulse treatment for wet-laid webs: increase the fibre-to-fibre bonding and enable thinner webs.
- Enzymatic approaches enabling milder, high consistency fibre modification that enhances fibrillation, boosts reactivity, and reduces chemical need,supporting stronger, lighter and more resource-efficient fibre products
- Chemical approaches, from tailored surface treatments to alternative pulping chemistries, enable better fibre bonding, improved accessibility, and reduced reliance on harsh chemicals, supporting higherfield, stronger and more sustainable fibre products.
Web forming pilots
Foam forming pilot line - SAMPO
SAMPO pilot line is custom-made for foam forming being able to produce also bulky and soft low-density. It includes both vertical and horizontal headboxes, non-contact air impingement and through air dryers (TAD).
Paper, board, nonwovens
Wet forming
Foam forming
Multi-ply headbox
No pressing section
Insulation and soft structures
Drying optimization
200 m/min
300 mm web width
Web forming pilot line - SUORA
SUORA pilot line consists of forming and pressing sections and reeling and is able to run both foam and water-laid webs.
- Paper, board, nonwovens
- Wet laid
- Foam laid
- Multi-ply headbox
- Gap/ Hybrid/ Fourdrinier/ inclined
- 2000 m/min
- 300 mm web width
VTT AirLaid – globally unique pilot line for dry web forming
VTT AirLaid pilot line enables 90 percent less water use and major energy savings, while enabling thin nonwoven webs and thicker board-like structures. We handle wood fibres, cellulose, biobased fibres and specialty fibres.
- Airlaid
- Thin and thick fibre structures
- Nonwovens, paper and board
- Powder/additive dispenser
- Foam and spray applicator
- 200 m/min
- 700 mm web width
Surface treatment pilots
VTT SutCo - a unique surface treatment pilot line for coating
VTT SutCo pilot line is used to innovate cellulose film coatings for beverage, food, or personal hygiene packaging. It can also be used to find solutions for the medical, paper, chemical and fast-food industries.
- Paper, board, nonwovens, films
- Foam coating, spray coating, rod coating, kiss coating, flexo coating, slot coating & cast coating
- 1-90 m/min
- Up to 500 mm web width
VTT PlasCo - a tailored polymer piloting line
Our tailorable piloting environment for thermoplastic materials can be used to for example pilot heat sealable fluid packaging, substrate films for electronics, coatings, blend films and recycled films with virgin surface layers.
- For thermoplastic materials
- Wet coating
- Monolayer cast film extrusion
- Multilayer extrusion up to 5 layers
- Sheet die with width of 550 mm
Read more about our unique pilot infras
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