Tissue manufacturers face growing pressure to maintain product quality while reducing freshwater, energy, and chemical consumption, as well as wastewater generation. As machines run faster and use more resources, cleaning technology must support both performance and sustainability.
Kadant’s M-clean™ system for forming fabric cleaning addresses this need by cleaning forming fabrics with significantly less freshwater, no solvents and reduced wastewater discharge.
Adapting proven technology for forming fabrics
Building on its proven dryer fabric cleaning technology, KADANT adapted the M-clean PRO for forming fabrics on crescent former and twin-wire forming sections. The system can be installed without major modifications to existing forming sections, simplifying implementation for tissue producers.
Development included extensive pilot machine trials to refine cleaning head designs and nozzle configurations, followed by installation on a commercial machine and customer feedback. This process shaped the current configuration and confirmed its value in production environments.
Precision cleaning with integrated debris removal
The M-clean system uses application-specific water pressures, nozzle sizes, and spray patterns to provide effective yet gentle fabric cleaning. This protects forming fabric integrity while maintaining optimum performance. An integrated vacuum system captures spray mist and removes debris from the white water loop.
Contamination is transported to an off-machine collection tank, preventing debris from re-entering the white water circuit and reducing wider process contamination.
Performance, safety and measurable benefits
By eliminating passivation and solvent chemicals traditionally used to control stickies and contaminants, the M-clean system reduces operating costs, fire hazards and exposure to potentially harmful fumes. Proven in tissue mills across North America, South America and Europe, the system combines a robust stainless-steel beam, traversing shower components, user-friendly PLC control, continuous 24/7 operation, active vacuum debris removal and easy maintenance.
Users report fewer sheet defects, holes and breaks, less second-quality product and reduced or no reliance on high-pressure, full-width showers.
Water consumption can be cut by up to 95%, while wastewater, pump energy and chemical use are reduced and greater use of internal broke and returned fibre is enabled. With a typical return on investment of less than one year, the system supports cleaner, safer and more sustainable tissue production.
Torna indietro
