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Moisture content is one of the most important papermaking each stage where they affect the process or product. Moisture
variables. Close control in the process is essential. Accurate content must be included in the control scheme. Its value in
knowledge of its absolute value, separated from that of solids, is absolute terms has a physical reality and should be capable of
highly desirable, for process and profit optimisation. accurate measurement. As with any other controlled variable,
A wide variety of measuring equipment and control methods is measurement nlust be accompanied by a knowledge of 'desired
in use and several installations are described. value', and the optimum amount of moisture at each process
Outstanding problems include the need to improve measurement stage has to be determined.
reproducibility and independence from the effects of other The role of moisture in process and product has been the sub-
variables, simplification of calibration and control, wet end ject of a very great amount of investigation which has been well
measurement and cross-direction profile control. documented. It is assumed that most of this is common know-
The ultimate aim should be an overall system for moisture and ledge and the following summary is included only for the sake
substance, incorporating distribution of measurement and control of completeness.
points throughout the process. Within the manufacturing process, moisture content in-
fluences system economics and, often critically, the reaction of
the paper to the various operations, affecting both process runn-
ability and product properties.
INTRODUCTION Over-drying adds extra steam costs, reduces drying capacity
disproportionately because of the 'falling rate' characteristic,
Consideration of a presentation for this Symposium leads to
may cause irreversible losses in strength, etc., may necessitate
comparison with the subject of the Symposium here last year,
off-machine humidifying (which is not only costly but deteriorates
consistency. Similarities in fundamentals and in problems are
finish), produces paper which is dimensionally unstable and,
striking-again the value of the variable is of little interest for its
where the product is sold by weight, directly reduces profits,
own sake; again it is not measurable directly in the process;
by supplying more of the expensive solids than are wanted or
again it is relatively easy to maintain a constant value during a
needed.
making, but difficult to calibrate in absolute terms.
Nevertheless, over-drying is commonly resorted to, in order
Similarity is hardly surprising, as, basically, the two subjects
to level out variations, avoiding damp patches or streaks which
are really the same, ie the quantitative relationship between
blacken on the calenders. The cross-direction moisture profile
solids and water. Whether this is expressed as consistency, ratio
is notorious for serious variation. Control is possible, but methods
or moisture content is a matter of practical convenience.
are expensive.
The term 'moisture content' in this paper refers, unless other-
The converse benefits of running at the highest tolerable
wise stated, to percent water-on-total of the so-called 'free'
moisture content apply, but running near the limit requires
moisture in or after the drying operation.
the achievement and maintenance of uniformity and close
control. The potential economic and quality benefits are, in
THE CASE FOR MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL OF many cases,-substantial enough to justify considerable expendi-
MOISTURE ture on control systems.
Further advantages can be gained by nleasurenlent and
The need to know the moisture content of paper has often control of the water/solids ratio at the wet end. Optimisation of
been questioned. Admittedly, it is of little or no interest intrin- wire and press conditions can result not only in quality improve-
sically, although its significant effect on other properties, together ment but also in substantial savings in drying costs by the re-
with economic considerations, is fully appreciated and is not in moval of the maximunl amount of water before the dryers,
question. It has been suggested that measurement be made in since this is very much cheaper than removal by drying.
terms of some other parameter, e.g. equilibrium relative humidity. Properties affected by moisture content include thickness
It is by no means unusual for paper to be made and used fold, stretch, tear, tensile strength, burst, dimensional stability,
without either maker or user having any knowledge of -the smoothness, stiffness, isotropy, static build up, dust and general
nloisture content of the product. This even applies, oftener printability. One of the first things one learns about paper is
than might be admitted, where claims are made by instrument that is is hygroscopic. The R.H. equilibrium moisture content
calibration or otherwise, regarding an accurately-controlled relationship is non-linear, exhibits -hysteresis and differs greatly
product. As long as the process runs and the product satisfies from one type of paper to another. The moisture of content of
the customer, why worry about accurate moisture measurement? paper, exposed to the atmosphere, quickly changes to the
This 'ignorance is bliss' situation is all very well up to a point, equilibrium value, the change being accompanied by dimensional
but cannot be considered satisfactory under present conditions variations.
where severe competition and low profits demand that every The input end of our process should not be overlooked.
effort be made to optimise production efficiency and product Checks on the moisture content of raw materials ensure that
quality. This can only be achieved by close, rapid and effective no more water is paid for than has been specified.
control of key process variables to known optimum values at
THE MOISTURE/SUBSTANCE RELATIONSHIP
*Wiggins Teape Limited, Stonywood Works. Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9AB Moisture and solids are the two components which together
Paper delivered at the Symposium on 'Moisture Measurement and Control' organ-
ised at Maidstone, Kent by the North West Section of the Institute. form 'substance'. Moisture and substance, therefore, cannot be
(a) the difficulty of obtaining a representative sample, since (b) Measurement of dc Resistance
on-machine moisture content is usually found to have This is one of the earliest principles used and still the com-
large, short term variations (random and otherwise), nl0nest in use at Stonywood. The instrument itself was developed
(b) the moisture content of the sanlple begins to change for use on textiles, a Wiggins Teape design of sensing head
towards equilibrium value immediately it is removed from enabling it to be used for continuous measurement on the paper
source. This change can be very rapid, and therefore, can web.
cause very serious errors. The head consists of five metal fingers, riding in fairly light
contact with the sheet. The centre and outer two fingers are
Apart from these problems the physical performance of ex- earthed, the other two 'live'. An electronic circuit measures
tracting a sample from the process often presents difficulties, resistance, which is compared with a preset (switched) value,
sometimes insurmountable. Automatic sampling devices are a the result being in the form of a deviation signal, for indication
welcome recent innovation. and control.
For calibration of an on-machine instrument, large samples The relationship between moisture content and resistance is
obtained by cutting into a finished reel overcome some of these approximately logarithmic (moisture proportional to Log R),
problems. the balancing switch being calibrated in log steps to aim at a
As a step towards obtaining faster information, off-machine linear calibration.
moisture meters may be used. These have the merit of being Maximum resistance is high, and it is not normally practical
suitable for off-machine calibration against oven-dry measure- to measure below about 5 per cent W.O.T., at which moisture
ment. Properly applied, they can perform a worthwhile function, the resistance is in the 1,000 M n region.
especially where used in conjunction with an uncalibrated on- Several attempts, by ourselves and others, have been made to
machine control systenl. calibrate this instrument. The mechanism of electrical conduc-
A number of different off-machine instruments is available, tivity in the material is highly complex and it is not surprising
usually measuring some electrical property which varies. with that wide variations occur. The moisture/resistance relationship
moisture. The sampling difficulties discussed above still apply has been found to vary with furnish (very greatly), thickness,
to most. One type can be hand-held against the reel, averaging compressibility, electrode pressure, temperature, ion content,
moisture over a relatively large amount of paper and eliminat- supply voltage changes, and paper speed. At the low nloisture
ing the need to remove samples (it cannot, however, be used end of the range, static in the sheet causes highly erratic readings
on a single web). and has been observed to reverse them altogether, ie further
The case for on-machine measurement is obvious. The im- drying is indicated as increasing moisture.
portance of this and the inherent difficulties are illustrated by These difficulties lead to the abandoning of attempts to cali-
the number and variety of methods and types of equipment which brate. Nevertheless, within its limitations, the instrument
have been produced. The main problems stem from the unavoid- performs a highly useful service in maintaining a constant
able indirect or inferential nature of the basic measurement. This moisture content during a making. As with consistency, the
leads to difficulties in obtaining reproducible results, unaffected ability to hold the variable at a fixed value largely offsets the
by other variables and by operating conditions, also in producing disadvantage of lack of accurate calibration. Our practice is to
calibration data suitable for the range of papers to be measured. set up the instrument to a reading determined by sampling and
On-machine measuring systems include the undermentioned off-machine measurement with a portable instrument, which, in
basic types:- turn, is laboratory-calibrated against oven-dry.