PAPER making! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL ® Volume 8, Number 2, 2022
COATING “ Sustainable paper coating with enhanced barrier properties based on esterified lignin and PBAT blend ”, Rohan Shorey & Tizazu H. Mekonnen, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules , Vol.209, Part A, pp.472-484 (1 June 2022). Sustainable and biodegradable packaging materials are appealing alternatives to the petrochemical- derived and non-biodegradable plastics that currently dominate the market. However, their inferior barrier properties and high cost inhibit their widespread applications. In this work, pristine and esterified lignin were investigated as a functional filler of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) based bioplastic paper coating formulations. For this, the pristine and esterified lignin (10 – 50wt%) were separately dispersed in a solvent and incorporated in PBAT solutions and applied on paper substrates. The effects of varying concentrations of pristine and esterified lignin on the rheology, mechanical, morphology, and barrier properties of the coated paper substrate were investigated. Comprehensive characterization of esterified lignin/PBAT coatings exhibited enhanced dispersion of the lignin fraction in the PBAT, resulting in excellent wet tensile properties and enhanced water, oil, and oxygen barrier performance. Overall, the studied coating formulations have appealing properties for food contact materials, such as paper wraps and paperboard applications, as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to the incumbent coating materials, such as petroleum sourced waxes and polyolefin-based coatings. ENERGY “Pulp and paper industry in energy transition: Towards energy -efficient and low carbon operation in Finland and Sweden”, Satu Lipiäinen, Katja Kuparinen, Ekaterina Sermyagina & Esa Vakkilainen, Sustainable Production and Consumption , Vol.29, pp.421-431 (Jan. 2022). Mitigation of global warming, energy security and industrial competitiveness urge the energy-intensive pulp and paper industry (PPI) to transform energy use practices. This study investigates how the PPI has responded to the need for the energy transition in the 2000s. Finland and Sweden as forerunners of energy- efficient operation and decarbonization of the PPI are used as target countries. Understanding of changes in energy consumption is complemented using decomposition analysis (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Method) and the energy efficiency index approach. Analysis of companies’ investments in energy technologies is used for explaining changes in energy production. Evidence of significant development towards the more sustainable operation of the PPI was found. Energy consumption per produced unit has decreased, i.e., energy efficiency has improved. Fossil fuels have been partially replaced with bio-based alternatives. Thus, the CO 2 intensity has decreased substantially. The generation of renewable electricity has increased in both countries. Examples of Finland and Sweden indicate that the PPI has great potential to contribute to CO 2 emission reduction worldwide in the future as energy efficiency can be further improved, and the share of fossil fuels can be decreased increasing the use of biofuels and self-generated green electricity at least in kraft pulp mills. MOULDED PULP “Improving Mechanical Strength and Water Barrier Properti es of Pulp Molded Product by Wet- End Added Polyamide Epichlorohydrin/Cationic Starch”, Chengrong Qin, Jing Li, Wei Wang, & Wei Li, ACS Omega , 7, 26, pp.22173-22180 (2022) . As desirable food packaging materials, pulp molded products have attracted great attention from both academia and industry. To endow the products with high mechanical strength and water barrier properties by low-cost wet-end additives to broaden their application fields, polyamide epichlorohydrin (PAE) or/and cationic starch (CS) were added to the pulp slurry after the addition of oil- and water-proof agents. Results showed that the
Technical Abstracts
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