BASF Launches Xelorex for the Paper Industry
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Under the brand name XelorexTM, BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany, has launched a solution for the production of paper and board. The new BASF brand of multifunctional 4-in-1 wet-end chemistry responds to the diverse challenges the paper industry is facing these days. As the company notes, whether it involves a reduction of complexity in production, a higher stability of operations, a boost for productivity, or an improved cost-efficiency, "a broad range of needs are addressed by applying only a single product of the Xelorex product family."
Dr. Uwe Liebelt, president of BASF's Paper Chemicals Division, says that "we want to serve the paper industry with solutions, not just chemicals. With Xelorex, we offer an innovative chemistry that significantly improves various performance parameters in papermaking while reducing the total cost of operation. For our customers this represents a real competitive advantage."
Xelorex reduces complexity in the wet-end through its 4-in-1 functionality. It enables papermakers to achieve and improve the effects of retention, drainage, fixation, and strength with just one product of the product family. Further, it has the potential of replacing other wet-end chemicals up to an extent of 100%. Application of Xelorex also leads to proven enhancements of a variety of dry strength parameters. This can mean a 10%–30% improvement in this area, depending on the basis weight and the paper grade, BASF explains.
Applying Xelorex, customers also gain clear improvements in stability of operations, BASF continues. The outstanding improvement of the initial wet web strength (IWWS) reduces the number of breaks and this way improves productivity. In addition, Xelorex provides enhancements of a variety of dry strength parameters, which is particularly important in the production of packaging paper and board.
Manufacturers of both packaging and graphical papers benefit from the additional productivity increases that Xelorex yields, the company says. The improved IWWS, less stickies, and clean water circuits lead to a higher efficiency due to less downtime. The reduced draw also permits a mill to run machines at significantly increased speeds, another booster of productivity, if needed.
Finally, BASF points out, Xelorex means an improved cost-efficiency for papermakers as it targets a variety of cost drivers in the papermaking process. Through its powerful dry strength performance, expensive long fibers can be replaced with lower-cost short fibers. It also enables the increased use of recycled fibers. Additionally, Xelorex supports an increased filler loading, as it leads to a better integration of filler particles into the paper web. The increased filler loading means a cheaper way of replacing fiber material and improving printing properties and also helps to save steam since less fiber needs to be dried. Overall, specific fixed costs are diluted without compromising on the quality of paper and board.
Introduction of the brand and the new Xelorex portfolio starts in Europe and will be gradually extended to the regions of Asia Pacific and North and South America.
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