At a recycled paper production plant, raw material arrives in bales that aren’t always free of metallic contaminants. Wires and ferromagnetic particles that slip past initial screening enter the process line — and if they reach the pump, they don’t stop there: they damage the impeller, jam internal components, and halt production without warning.
The technical challenge
The risk here isn’t visible until it happens. A wire fragment in a pulp line goes unnoticed within the normal product flow, but on reaching a pump impeller it can cause localised wear, imbalance, or mechanical blockage — failures that stop the process and require dismantling for repair. Protecting downstream equipment means capturing this type of contaminant before the pump, without disrupting the continuity of the product flow.
The process used
The solution involved the development and installation of a magnetic separation system integrated directly into the process pipework. A stainless steel collector body houses a removable set of magnetic bars: as the product passes through the equipment, ferromagnetic contaminants are attracted and retained by the bars, while the main flow continues unobstructed to the pump and downstream equipment. The assembly was designed to allow removal, inspection and periodic cleaning of the magnetic elements — contaminant retention is only worthwhile if it’s easy to check and clear.
Why this matters in practice
For anyone managing maintenance on a process line, the cost of a pump blockage isn’t just the damaged part — it’s the unplanned downtime while the crew dismantles, cleans and reinstates the equipment. A properly sized magnetic separator solves this at the source: it retains the contaminant before it reaches the impeller, turning emergency repair into scheduled maintenance.
Delivered result
Qualysteel developed and installed a magnetic separation system integrated into the process pipework of a recycled paper production unit for ICT France. The equipment — a stainless steel collector body with a removable set of magnetic bars — protects the pump impeller and internal components, reducing the risk of blockage, premature wear and unplanned downtime, with periodic maintenance simplified by the assembly’s removable design.
Piping · Fabrication and Assembly · France
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