Evaluation of Drying Efficiency Depending on the Conditions of Wet Pulp Mold Manufacturing Process

The efficiency of drying process in the process for manufacturing wet pulp mold was analyzed in this study. Dryness of wet pulp mold after vacuum drainage, the bulk, and the drying speed of the pulp mold samples were evaluated according to the varied stock concentrations at forming tank, vacuum forming pressure and couching conditions. The dryness of the wet pulp mold after the vacuum forming was greatly affected by the conditions. The higher stock concentration resulted in the higher dryness after forming, which indicated the more water removed during vacuum forming even though those samples showed same basis weight. Also, the couching process caused the high dryness after forming. The pulp mold made from low-consistency stock had the higher drying speed compared to the high-consistency stock. The higher uniformity in the pulp mold structure made from low-consistency stock cause the difference in drying speed.