Pulp Particle Classification Based on Optical Fiber Analysis and Machine Learning Techniques

In the pulp and paper industry, pulp testing is typically a labor-intensive process performed on hand-made laboratory sheets. Online quality control by automated image analysis and machine learning (ML) could provide a consistent, fast and cost-efficient alternative. In this study, four different supervised ML techniques-Lasso regression, support vector machine (SVM), feed-forward neural networks (FFNN), and recurrent neural networks (RNN)-were applied to fiber data obtained from fiber suspension micrographs analyzed by two separate image analysis software. With the built-in software of a commercial fiber analyzer optimized for speed, the maximum accuracy of 81% was achieved using the FFNN algorithm with Yeo-Johnson preprocessing. With an in-house algorithm adapted for ML by an extended set of particle attributes, a maximum accuracy of 96% was achieved with Lasso regression. A parameter capturing the average intensity of the particle in the micrograph, only available from the latter software, has a particularly strong predictive capability. The high accuracy and sensitivity of the ML results indicate that such a strategy could be very useful for quality control of fiber dispersions.