P1.24 – Towards more sustainable tissue products
Fully bleached fibers are typically preferred in hygiene and tissue products due to their high brightness, water absorption capacity, and softness. However, environmental challenges require sustainable alternatives and leading to an increased use of unbleached fibers. Unbleached virgin fibers that undergo extensive oxygen delignification exhibit significantly higher wet tensile strength while maintaining a good absorption […]
P1.23 – Towards Recyclable and Durable Molded Fiber Materials
Driven by the growing demand for sustainable packaging and the upcoming European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which will require all packaging to be recyclable “at scale” by 2035. Fiber-based materials are emerging as a highly promising alternative to fossil-based plastics. Among fiber-based solutions, plastic combined with fiber enable a multi-material packaging with desire functional […]
P1.25 – Circular phosphate biorefinery for pulp, paper and nanomaterials
Lignin is a multifunctional biopolymer playing important roles in the plant cell wall. Its rigidity, hydrophobic character, and chemical structure ensure mechanical, biological, and protection functions to the plant enabling long-term performance even under harsh environmental conditions. Unlike traditional pulping processes which focus mainly on cellulose as the main product, and separate it from lignin, […]
P1.22 – From Loss to Retention: Unlocking Hemicellulose Stability with Pretreatment
Wood is composed of 35-50% cellulose, 20-35% hemicellulose, and 20-30% lignin. [1] Cellulose-lignin separation is often accomplished via a rather harsh dissolution of lignin from wood by reacting it at high temperature and pH. These harsh conditions lead to elimination of reducing end groups of hemicellulose and, thus, stepwise depolymerization (so called peeling) reactions, resulting […]
P1.1 – Unravelling fungal enzymatic degradation strategies for spruce wood in biorefinery applications
By 2050, global roundwood processing is projected to generate over 329 mtons of side-streams per year, including wood chips, particles and residues, with 42 mtons originating from Europe [1] . Due to their molecular complexity, these side streams are highly recalcitrant and are primarily utilised for energy production. However, there is a growing interest in […]
P1.3 – From poplar wood wastes to lignocellulosic fibers and MFCs: assessment of a new mild alkaline pulping process and comparison with Kraft pulping
Alkaline pulping processes on different biomasses, used at large scales, have well-known and proven effectiveness. Kraft cooking produces cellulose for paper and dissolving-pulp qualities (case of the PHK process), but its high production unit’s capabilities make it difficult to use them for small biomass quantities, such as biomass wastes. Using such material, our study presents […]
P1.2 – Acidic Treatment of Pulp Increases Swelling Properties and Chemical Reactivity
Cellulose is an excellent raw material for a wide range of products, including cellulose derivatives and regenerated cellulose. Key factors when producing these products are high accessibility to solvents and reagents, and high reactivity. Cellulose with enhanced reactivity could drastically reduce chemical consumption during derivatization, which would be sustainable, and economically beneficial for several industries. […]
P1.4 – Xyloglucan acessible surface area of hornified pulps
Hornification in cellulose-rich materials, such as wood pulps, reduces their ability to re-swell in water, weakening fibre networks and paper strength. This study explores a novel method to measure hornification and examines its underlying mechanisms. Hardwood and softwood pulps were subjected to sequential high-temperature drying cycles, with hornification assessed through water retention and xyloglucan adsorption. […]
P1.5 – Kraft pulping of Nordic hardwoods: delignification profiles and in situ monitoring of microstructural changes
Kraft pulping is the current foundation for the manufacture of several biobased products. However, in order to meet the growing demand for pulp, it may be necessary to diversify the feedstocks used in the process and increase its resource efficiency.In this work, the behavior of three hardwood species that could potentially be applied in the […]
P1.7 – Enhancing lignocellulose degradation in cereal biomasses via white rot fungi treatment
White rot fungi, primarily belonging to Basidiomycota phyllum, efficiently degrade lignocellulose by producing a diverse array of enzymes capable of breaking down the complex matrix of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose into available sugars, supporting their growth. This study explores the solid-state fermentation of wheat and corn bran using three fungal species: Pleurotus ostreatus, Fomes fomentarius […]
