The Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award 2011 has been granted jointly to Mr. Keith B. Miles, Dr. Marc J. Sabourin and Dr. William C. Strand
Published Mar 24, 2011 10.00.00 +2 GMT
The Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award 2011 has been granted jointly to Mr. Keith B. Miles, Dr. Marc J. Sabourin and Dr. William C. Strand for their work on how to control the mechanical pulp quality as well as the energy consumption, utilizing the concept of refining intensity directly or indirectly. Their contributions have in total greatly advanced our understanding of how to optimize the efficiency of the TMP refining process. The award will be presented on June 28, 2011, at the International Mechanical Pulping Conference in Xian, China.
Mr. Keith B. Miles was employed at Paprican (today FPInnovations), Pointe-Claire, Canada, in 1968 and has during a long professional career remained faithful to the Mechanical Pulping Division at the Institute, in a position as Principal Scientist until retirement in 2010.
Mr. Miles has published many early pioneering studies on the fundamental mechanisms in chip refining, based on measurements of refining zone temperature distribution, plate gap, dynamic disc alignment and shaft thrust. He has also developed a breakthrough theory of steam and pulp flow in the refining zone. The today generally accepted concept of refining intensity, which has emerged from his work, has been a valuable tool in processing design and control of the relationship between specific energy and pulp quality in chip refining processes.
Dr. Marc J. Sabourin is graduated Ph.D. from Manchester University of Science and Technology, UK. He has worked in the pulp and related supplier industry since 1986 and holds at present a position as Global Director at Andritz Inc.
Dr. Sabourin has over the years made a number of contributions in order to improve the energy efficiency in chip refiner processes putting fundamental studies from Pulp and Paper Institutes like FPInnovations (former Paprican) and KCL into practice. He early adapted the concept of refining intensity, defined by Miles and May, for process optimizing in refiner processes regarding energy efficiency using high disc rotational speeds.
Dr. William C. Strand is graduated from University of Idaho, Moscow, USA, in 1989 as Ph.D. His work began with the Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm in 1983 and continued in a cooperation with Sunds Defibrator (today Metso) and Stora (today Stora Enso). During that time, he studied fundamental mechanisms in the refining gap and called attention to the importance of using high production rate to reduce energy demand in refining.
In 1989 as a founding partner of Pacific Simulation, Dr. Strand began the development and implementation of advanced pulp quality control systems for which he is most highly recognized. He has developed Forgacs pioneering work on how to characterize mechanical pulp by applying advanced mathematics. Dr. Strand's creativity of how to develop softwares has made it possible to implement his fundamental ideas in a large number of mill applications.
The Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award Foundation, responsible for appointing the winner of the award, was established in 1985 to commemorate Dr. Asplund’s contribution to the pulp and paper industry worldwide. The award was established to promote the development of new technology of the manufacture of high-yield pulp in refiners and is awarded to a person or persons in recognition of outstanding achievement in the research and development of mechanical pulping technology. The award consists of gold medals and an honorarium of SEK 25,000.
The award was made possible through a donation from the Sunds Defibrator Company, currently part of Metso, to the foundation in 1985. The Chairman of the Foundation is Professor Hans Höglund, Mid Sweden University.
Metso is a global supplier of sustainable technology and services for mining, construction, power generation, automation, recycling and the pulp and paper industries. We have about 28,500 employees in more than 50 countries. www.metso.com
For further information, please contact: Mats Ullmar, Vice President, R&D, Fiber Processing Unit, Metso Tel. +46 60 16 50 00, mats.ullmar(at)metso.com
