Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Paper products'

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references.
Many firms in the U.S. paper converting industry are engaged in the commodity business of manufacturing finished paperboard products from paper stock. Contrary to the typically held mindset, these firms do not have to be relegated to the low margin end of the business. This thesis applies the various dimensions of the Delta Model to the paper converting business of the Chesapeake Corporation to define a new competitive positioning that will attract, satisfy, and retain the firm's customers. The overall objective is to develop the key elements of a new business strategy for Chesapeake upon which the business strategic agenda can be built. A new business model for the firm is presented that is centered on the "Total Customer Solution" and "System Lock-In" options of the Delta Model. The future business scope created by this new competitive positioning is defined and discussed in terms of new products and services, market segments, geographic coverage, and unique corporate competencies. These factors are used to identify three initial market segments that provide Chesapeake important opportunities to offer added-value to customers. Specific value propositions by customer segment are presented. The intent of each value proposition is to engender deep customer relationships that ultimately make Chesapeake successful because its has enabled its immediate customer to serve its own customer in a superior way.
by Laila S. Jeong.
M.B.A.

Thesis (M. S.)--Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.
Committee Chair: Yulin Deng; Committee Member: Jeffery S. Hsieh; Committee Member: Sujit Banerjee; Committee Member: Zhong Lin Wang.

The recent work has focused to develop a fully automated prototype in order to make products in large quantities. A unique and novel methodology has been developed to create self-folding paper products. This platform technology enables us to create sophisticated complex 3D paper structure from ordinary 2D paper sheet. The self-folding material is composed of pre-cut and creased paper and heat shrinking thermoplastic polymer. A computational drawing tool is first used to design folds for particular 3D shape then a computer numerical controller cutter with knife at variable pressure is employed to cut paper and the thermoplastic polymer. The cut paper and thermoplastic polymer can be attached together by a large number of polymeric materials and several means of attaching polymer-paper have been explored. The effect of various polymer-paper attachments including chemical adhesion, stitching and welding was studied. Heat welding procedure was quite successful and it showed to be promising technique to make a strong polymer-paper bond. An experimental device was made and a series of experiments were conducted to reveal the significant factors, their effective range, and their impact on the paper-polymer bond strength. The effect of pressure, temperature, welding attachment area and, thickness of paper on the paper-polymer bond strength were determined and a database of strength attachments with an effective factors variation was collected. First, our in-house developed servo-robot for cutting was assisted with automatic welding system and then a large flatbed cutter has been used and functionally changed to perform cutting, creasing and adhering paper and plastic in one step. The effect of significant factors such as attachment distance to fold line, heating temperature and paper thickness on the folding angle has been studied and discussed in chapter 4. Several examples of folded decorative and industrial products have been developed using this technique and introduced in chapter 5.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering, Department of
Graduate

A literature and patent review of current optical security techniques has been carried out and identified a need in the market for an improved optical security label to rival molecular fluorescent dyes. The label proposed was a rare earth (RE) doped borosilicate glass host that was excited and fluoresced in the visible region. Suitable RE dopants were found to be europium, terbium and dysprosium. The ability to triple dope a single glass and to be able to detect all three dopants based on their discrete fluorescence signals and unique fluorescence lifetimes has been achieved with an in-situ detector. This has advantages over current fluorescent dye labels which have broadband spectra that quickly overlap each other reducing their number of permutations. Energy transfer between the dopants was noted. This can be used to increase the security level as the fluorescence signals were altered by these interactions. Europium was found to be enhanced with the addition of dysprosium or terbium whilst dysprosium enhanced terbium. Environmental studies of the doped glasses were carried out under various extreme conditions. These results concluded that no affect was found on their fluorescence signals or weight. Fluorescence lifetime studies on the single RE doped glasses was successfully carried out. These results were used for the detection system design to increase the selectivity of the RE dopants over background fluorescence. Subsequently an initial single channel detector system was designed and built that could selectively detect 5 mm diameter pieces of 3 mol% europium doped glass. The application of doped glass dispersed in ink and printed onto various media was also successfully demonstrated. With the production of micron sized particles, the glass could be incorporated into a wide variety of media increasing their possible applications in brand protection. Additionally, initial tests for compatibility with the detector system were achieved proving the capabilities of the detector system to detect the doped samples whilst mixed in various media.

Denna studie syftar till att belysa papper som konsthantverksmaterial. Studien aktualiserar hur konsthantverkare som arbetar i papper beskriver sin relation till materialet och hur konsthantverkare som arbetar i papper upplever att deras val av material påverkar deras arbetssituation. Uppsatsen bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med sex konsthantverkare som arbetar professionellt i Sverige med att på olika sätt skapa objekt i papper eller på olika sätt skapa materialet papper. Resultatet visar att konsthantverkare som arbetar i papper har en relation till materialet som genomsyras av trygghet, närhet, glädje och kontroll. Genom utbildning och/eller experiment har konsthantverkarna stärkt sin relation ytterligare till materialet. Pappret upplevs billigt, lättillgängligt och enkelt att bearbeta vilket medför att informanterna kan vara flexibla i deras arbeten och djupt utforska materialet. Papprets förgänglighet medför att konsthantverkarna kan uppleva det svårt att sälja sina produkter, men denna egenskap anses även korrelera med deras pappersprodukters avsedda funktion. Uttrycksmedlet papper har gett konsthantverkare en bättre arbetssituation än vad de tidigare upplevt när de till exempel tecknat eller målat då det innebär färre problem och ger fler idéer till gestaltning, de menar att pappret innehar stora möjligheter. I den nuvarande trenden som råder för pappershantverk, som bland annat kan ses på internet, kan arbeten i materialet bli särskilt uppmärksammade. Att arbeta med papper innebär också att konsthantverkarna ibland möter oförstående reaktioner från andra människor vad gäller materialet och den använda tekniken, vilket tyder på att föremål i papper normalt inte är särskilt vanligt och medför att de med tal behöver förklara sina arbeten. Arbetet i papper betyder även att konsthantverkarnas insats i form av tanke, kreativitet och tid blir viktig i det anspråkslösa materialet.

The wicking properties of multi-ply paper samples with dissimilar plies were investigated. These materials exhibit wicking performance in excess of either of their individual plies. Samples were produced from a ply of softwood pulp and a ply of hardwood pulp of equal caliper and basis weight. The softwood sample possessed a larger average pore size, a fact verified via porometry. Samples of a single ply were also produced for comparison. The samples were tested using both upward and downward gravimetric wicking tests. There was no saturation gradient observed, however there was a variation in the degree of bulk expansion during wicking. Capillary pressure and permeability for the various sample types were determined from the results of these tests and compared. It is shown that the wicking performance of the two ply sample is comparable to that of a theoretical material with the capillary pressure of the hardwood ply but the permeability of the softwood ply. Wicking in two-ply samples was also observed in an NMR apparatus. This was used to determine that the hardwood ply leads during wicking, and observe the rate of saturation as well as bulk expansion. A third type of experiment tracked the transport of dyed water from one ply to the other, establishing the direction of fluid transport during wicking to be from the softwood ply to the hardwood ply. The theory is proposed, based on these results, that wicking in this type of material consists of a smaller pored leading ply that draws water from a more permeable larger pored material that acts as a moving reservoir.

Dissolving-grade pulps are commonly used for the production of cellulose derivatives and regenerated cellulose. To obtain products of high quality, these so-called "special" pulps must fulfill certain requirements, such as high cellulose content, low hemicellulose content, a uniform molecular weight distribution and high cellulose reactivity. Most, if not all, of the commercial dissolving pulps accomplish these demands to a certain extent. Nevertheless, achieving high cellulose accessibility as well as solvent and reagent reactivity is not an easy task due to the compact and complex structure presented by the cellulose. In the first part of this work, three commercial monocomponent endoglucanases were investigated with the purpose of enhancing the cellulose accessibility and reactivity of a hardwood dissolving pulp. A monocomponent endoglucanase with a cellulose-binding domain (CBD) was shown to significantly improve the cellulose reactivity. The positive effect of this enzyme on dissolving-grade pulps was also observed on paper-grade pulps. The main focus of the forest industry is the production of paper-grade pulps. Paper-grade pulps are mostly produced by the kraft process. In contrast, dissolving-grade pulps are produced by the sulfite and prehydrolysis kraft processes due to the high purity required for these pulps. The kraft process is known for being the most efficient process in terms of energy and chemical recovery, which makes the production costs of paper-grade pulps lower than those of sulfite dissolving-grade pulps. Besides, the production of dissolving pulps present, among others, higher capital and chemical costs than paper-grade pulps. Therefore, the viability of converting paper-grade pulps into dissolving pulps is brought into a question. However, this task is not simple because paper-grade pulps contain a lower cellulose content and a higher hemicellulose content than dissolving pulps. They also present lower cellulose reactivity and an inhomogeneous molecular weight distribution. As a consequence, the second part of this work focused on the study of the feasibility of converting kraft pulps into dissolving pulps. Several sequences of treatments of hardwoods and non-wood pulps were investigated. The best sequence for each suitable pulp was developed, and the parameters involved were optimized. After several attempts, it was demonstrated that pulps from birch, eucalypt and sisal fulfill the requirements of a commercial dissolving pulp for the viscose process after being subjected to a sequence of treatments that included two commercial enzymes, a xylanase and a monocomponent endoglucanase, and alkali extraction steps.
QC 20101201

Pappersbruken har två pappersmaskiner, PM4 som tillverkar mjukpapper från returfiber och PM13 som tillverkar papper till transformatorer och kablar från oblekt barrsulfatmassa. Överskottsvattnet från PM4, PM13 och returfiberanläggningen samt dagvattnet leds vidare till den externa avloppsreningen. Då någon utav pappersbruken har driftsstop erhålls ojämna utfall främst för pH och COD.

Syftet med projektet är att kartlägga pH och COD förändringen i de enskilda delstegen i processerna PM 4, PM 13 samt den externa avloppsreningen.

Det genomfördes intensiv provtagning från tolv provtagningspunkter i trettiotvå dagar. Prover analyserades samma dag med avseende på pH, konduktivitet, alkalinitet, COD, suspenderade ämnen och glödrester. Dessutom utfördes fällningsförsök på inkommande processavloppsvatten med styrd dosering av järnsulfat, järnklorid och aluminiumsulfat. Det genomfördes även metodvalidering, kalciumbestämning, samt försök med sammanblandat avloppsvattenprov.

Resultat från mätningarna visar att processlinje PM 4 har generellt sätt högre pH-, konduktivitet-, alkalinitet - och COD värden och högre halt glödrester, men lägre halt suspenderade ämnen än PM 13. Det konstaterades att den största förändringen i de två processerna sker strax innan och efter pappersmaskinen. Efter pappersmaskinen, i det vattnet som leds vidare till den externa avloppsreningen, erhålls 70% COD reduktion och en pH ökning på 0,75 pH ekvivalenter för PM 13, respektive 30% COD reduktion och en pH sänkning  på 1,27 pH ekvivalenter för PM 4. Totalt sätt, tyder resultat på att den största pH förändringen sker vid avloppsreningen, med 1,74 pH ekvivalenter. Från fällningsförsöken konstateras det att bästa pH- och lägsta COD- värden erhålls för fällningsmedlen, järnklorid och järnsulfat vid lägsta doseringsmängder, d.v.s. 97 g/m³ respektive 101 g/m³, utan pH justering. Resultat från jämförelse mellan processavloppsvatten och sammanblandat avloppsvatten, där dagvattenpåverkan utesluts tyder på 0,01-0,86 högre pH-värden i dem sammanblandade avloppsvattenprover. Alltså finns det en antydan att dagvatten bidrar till pH sänkning i ingående processavloppsvatten. För att åtgärda problemen borde järnklorid utprövas i lägre doseringsmängder i kombination med minskad svavelsyretillsats. Eventuellt kan järnklorid bytas ut mot järnsulfat. Installera mätinstrument för mätning av pH och COD direkt på det ingående- och utgående vattenflödet i den externa avloppsreningen för att möjliggöra exakt dosering av fällningskemikalierna utifrån dessa värden.

Dagvattnet borde avskiljas från avloppsreningen och istället avledas till det kommunala avloppsnätet.

The paper mills have two paper machines, the PM 4, producing tissue from the RCF and the PM 13, producing paper for transformers and cables from the unbleached softwood craft pulp. Excess water from PM4, PM13 and RCF factory, together with the storm water, leads on to the external wastewater treatment. When any of the paper mills has downtime, unequal outcomes are obtained, primarily with respect to pH and COD.

The aim of the project is to identify the individual steps in the processes PM 4, PM 13 and wastewater treatment re to the pH and COD changes.

Intensive sampling was carried out from twelve sampling points during thirty-two days. These samples were analyzed on the same day re to the pH, conductivity, alkalinity, COD, suspended solids, and inorganic residue. In addition, precipitation tests were carried out on the incoming wastewater with controlled doses of the ferrous sulphate, ferric chloride and aluminium sulphate. In addition methodological validation, calcium determination, and experiments with the mixed wastewater samples were carried out.

The results show that the process line PM 4 has generally higher pH, conductivity, alkalinity, COD and concentration inorganic residues, but has a lower content of suspended solids than PM 13. But the biggest difference in the two processes takes place just before and after the paper machine. After the paper machine, the water that goes on to the external wastewater treatment, where a 70% COD reduction and a pH increase of 0,75 pH equivalents for PM 13, and 30% COD reduction and a pH decrease of 1,27 pH equivalents for the PM 4 are obtained. The results suggest that the greatest pH change occurs in wastewater treatment, with 22.06%. From precipitation experiments it was found that the best pH values and lowest COD values where obtained for precipitation chemicals, ferric chloride and ferrous sulphate at the lowest dose levels, i.e. 97 g/m³ and 101 g/m³, without pH adjustment. Results from the correlation between wastewater- and mixed wastewater samples, which excludes impact of storm water, indicates that pH values are 0.01 to 0.86 pH equivalents higher in those mixed wastewater samples. Thus, there is a hint that the storm water contributes to pH reduction of the input wastewater.

To address these concerns ferric chloride should be tested at lower dose levels combined with reduced sulphuric acid addition. Eventually ferric chloride may be replaced by the iron sulphate. In addition, there should be measuring devices for pH and COD installed on the process wastewater and outgoing water, in the external wastewater treatment in order to allow for accurate dosing of chemicals precipitate from these values. Storm water should be separated from wastewater treatment and instead be diverted directly to the municipal sewage system.

Thesis (MScFor)--Stellenbosch University, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research focuses on the utilisation of de-inking sludge from a tissue mill to produce a wood-fibre inorganic composite called the Deviro panel. The study is based on the SA provisional patent 95/9594 by Ysbrandy and Gerischer' and the further research conducted by Crafford'. The patented Deviro panel contains up to 70% de-inking sludge. Cement and a cement extender serve to fortify the composite. The panel's fibre content of 25-30% is significantly greater than encountered in commercial fibre inorganic composites which contain 8-12% fibre by weight. The physico-mechanical characteristics of the Deviro panel compare favourably with resin bonded wood-fibre composites, but less favourably compared to conventional wood and wood-fibre inorganic composites. These properties are strongly dependent on panel density. For instance flexural strength being directly proportional while dimensional stability and hygroscopicity being inversely proportional to density. After confirming the results from the preceding work by Crafford, further improvements were investigated through chemical and curing enhancements. For instance, an autoclaving treatment during the curing period showed an increase in flexural strength. Addition of water glass could be associated with bulking of the panel, which resulted in increased flexural strength and a slight reduction of density. Panel density could be significantly reduced by the addition of Perlite, while inhibiting the concomitant reduction in strength. In addition a pilot production process was developed to produce 1m2 panels, which exhibited similar curing characteristics as the smaller panel units.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing handeloor die gebruik van ontinkingsslyk van 'n sneespapier meule om die Deviro paneel, 'n houtvesel anorganiese saamgestelde produk, te produseer. Die studie volg uit die SA voorlopige patent 95/9594 deur Ysbrandy en Gerischer en verdere narvorsing deur Crafford'. Die gepatenteerde Deviro paneel bevat tot 70% ontinkingsslyk. Sement en sement-byvoegmiddels dien om die saamgestelde produk te versterk. Die paneel bevat 25-30% vesel wat aansienlik meer is as ander kommersiële anorganiese saamgestelde produkte wat 'n vesel inhoud van 8-12% het. Die megamese eienskappe van die Deviro paneel is vergelykbaar met houtvesel saamgestelde produkte waar hars as kleefiniddel dien, maar vergelyk minder gunstig teenoor konvensionele hout en houtvesel anorganiese saamgestelde produkte. Die paneel se eienskappe is afhanklik van sy digtheid Buig sterkte is eweredig terwyl dimensionele stabiliteit en hygroskopisiteit omgekeerd eweredig aan die digtheid van die paneel is. Die voorafgaande werk van Crafford is eers gestaaf voordat veranderinge aan die chemiese samestelling en drogingsmetodes van die paneel nagevors is. Daar is byvoorbeeld bevind dat, deur die paneel te outoklaveer gedurende die set periode, dit lei tot 'n toename in buig sterkte. Die byvoeging van water glas kan swelling laat plaasvind wat 'n afname in buig sterkte en 'n afname in digtheid tot gevolg het. Digtheid kan ook aansienlik verlaag word deur die byvoeging van Perlite terwyl 'n dienooreenkomstige verlaging in buig sterkte tot 'n mate voorkom word. 'n Loods produksie proses is ook ontwikkel om 'n 1m2 paneel te vervaardig wat dieselfde eienskappe toon as die kleiner paneel.

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are vital components of the earth�s atmosphere, trapping heat around the earth, maintaining temperatures necessary for human existence. Until the Industrial Revolution, these gases existed in a natural equilibrium with the environment. Since that time, anthropogenic activities such as fossil fuel burning and land clearing have increased the quantity of GHGs, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), in the earth�s atmosphere. Evidence indicates that global warming is occurring as a result of the additional accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere. International response to climate change resulted in the 1997 development of the Kyoto Protocol. If the Protocol is ratified, developed countries will be legally bound to reduce their GHG emissions in accordance with negotiated emission reduction targets. At the beginning of the year 2001, the Protocol was still to be ratified. With the possibility of future GHG emission restrictions, some Australian companies have started quantifying their GHG emission levels. One such company is Visy Industries, the largest privately owned paper packaging manufacturing company in the world. Visy�s core business is the manufacture of cardboard boxes from recycled paper. As part of its future operations, a kraft pulp and paper mill is presently being built in New South Wales, Australia. The environmental decision support tool, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), was used to quantify Visy�s CO2 and CH4 emissions across the entire life cycle of the Visy paper recycling and virgin papermaking processes. Commercially defined LCA models were developed for both papermaking processes. GHG emissions estimated by each model were compared and the effect of different energy sources, technologies and manufacturing processes on CO2 and CH4 emissions were assessed. The majority of emissions in the two Visy papermaking models were due to fossil fuel derived energy sources and the decomposition of wood fibre in Solid Waste Disposal Sites (SWDSs). Results were used to propose appropriate GHG reduction strategies and business opportunities. GHG reduction strategies included increasing the use of renewable energy, reducing the volume of solid waste rejects sent to SWDS, incinerating solid waste rejects with energy recovery and sourcing steam from third party providers. Proposed GHG business opportunities included increasing the production of Greenpower from the pulp and paper mill for sale to the grid. This thesis is an example of the practical application of current GHG knowledge and LCA methodology that was undertaken in an environment where technical, political and commercial guidelines at both a national and international level were still evolving. Nevertheless, the thesis is not a critical review of LCA methodology. The LCA support tool was able to quantify CO2 and CH4 emissions across the life cycle of the Visy recycling and virgin papermaking processes. The chosen functional unit, the assumptions and exemptions made, and the placement of the system boundaries, were found to be critical to the Visy LCA results.

Today, a huge part of waste products from pulp and paper industries ends up in landfill which is both economically and environmentally adversely. This report examines the possibilities of using those products as a slag foamer and fuel in different furnaces in the metal industry. The waste products contain valuable elements, especially carbon. Therefore, there is an increased interest in finding possible use for the waste products in the metal industry. The reuse would contribute to preservation of energy as fossil fuel can be replaced. In the report, two waste materials called mixed biosludge and fiber reject are examined. The experiments are performed with the waste products pressed together with a base material and cement forming a briquette. The requirements examined are strength needed for both transportation and use in furnaces and ability to create a foaming slag. The results in strength were ambiguous, no waste material based briquettes met the set criteria. As of now, the briquettes are probably not strong enough to be transported. No foaming occurred during the experiment, but only one experiment was performed. Therefore, further experiments are needed before any conclusions can be drawn. The briquettes can possibly replace coke and coal in applications where strength is not as important. Nevertheless, it is uncertain if the briquettes affect the steel quality.
Idag läggs en stor del av restprodukter från pappers och massaindustrin på deponi, vilket innebär såväl ekonomiska som miljömässiga nackdelar. Den här rapporten undersöker möjligheterna att använda dessa restprodukter som slaggskummare och bränsle i de olika ugnarna inom metallindustrin. Restprodukterna innehåller värdefulla ämnen, framförallt kol. Därför finns det ett ökat intresse för att hitta möjliga användningsområden för restprodukterna inom metallindustrin. Denna återanvändning skulle bidra till energibevarande eftersom fossila bränslen kan ersättas. I den här rapporten undersöks två restmaterial, blandat biologiskt slam och fiberavfall. Experimenten utfördes med dessa restprodukter pressade samman med ett basmaterial och cement till en brikett. Kraven som undersöks är styrka för både transport och användning i ugnarna samt förmågan att skumma en slagg. Resultaten för briketternas styrka var tvetydiga, inga av briketterna innehållande restprodukter satisfierade det uppsatta kriteriet. Styrkan är troligtvis för låg för att transport ska vara möjlig. Ingen skumning skedde under experimentet, men endast ett experiment genomfördes. Därför behöver ytterligare experiment genomföras innan några slutsatser kan dras. Men briketterna tros kunna ersätta koks och kol där styrkan inte är viktig. Men det är osäkert om briketterna påverkar stålkvaliteten.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Whereas fuel used for transport and electricity production are mainly fossil–derived, there has recently been an increased focus on bio-fuels due to the impact of fossil derived fuel on the environment as well as the increased energy demand worldwide, concomitant with the depletion of fossil fuel reserves. Paper sludge produced by paper mills are high in lignocellulose and represents a largely untapped feedstock for bio-energy production. The aim of this study was to determine the composition, fermentability and optimum paper sludge loading and enzyme dosage for producing ethanol from paper sludge. This information was used to develop a model of the process in Aspen Plus®. The mass and energy balances obtained from the Aspen Plus® model were used to develop equipment specifications which were used to source equipment cost data. A techno-economic model was developed from the equipment cost data to assess the economic viability of the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process utilising paper sludge as feedstock. Nine paper sludge samples obtained from Nampak Tissue (Pty) Ltd. were evaluated in terms of ethanol production and those samples yielding the highest and lowest ethanol titres were selected for optimisation. This allowed for the determination of a range of ethanol concentrations and yields, expressed as percentage of the theoretical maximum, which could be expected on an industrial scale. Response surface methodology was used to obtain quadratic mathematical models to determine the effects of solid loading and cellulase dosage on ethanol production and ethanol yield from paper sludge during anoxic fed-batch fermentations using Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain MH1000. This approach was augmented with a multi response optimisation approach incorporating a desirability function to determine the optimal solid loading and cellulase dosage in fed-batch SSF cultures. The multi response optimisation revealed that an optimum paper sludge loading of 21% (w/w) and a cellulase loading of 14.5 FPU g-1 be used regardless of the paper sludge sample. The fact that one optimal enzyme dosage and paper sludge loading is possible, regardless the paper sludge feed stock, is attractive since the SSF process can be controlled efficiently, while not requiring process alterations to optimize ethanol production when different batches of paper sludge are processed. At the optimum paper sludge loading and cellulase dosage a minimum ethanol concentration of 47.36 g l-1 (84.69% of theoretical maximum) can be expected regardless of the paper sludge used. An economic assessment was conducted to ascertain whether ethanol production from paper sludge using SSF is economically viable. Three scenarios were investigated. In the first scenario revenue was calculated from the ethanol sales linked to the basic fuel price, whereas in the second and third scenarios liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption at the paper mill was replaced with anhydrous and 95% ethanol respectively. In all the cases, paper sludge feed rates of 15, 30 and 50 t d-1 were used. The production of ethanol from paper sludge for ethanol sales (scenario 1) resulted in higher IRR and NPV values, as well as shorter payback periods, compared to replacement of LPG at the paper mill (scenarios 2 and 3). At an assumed enzyme cost of $ 0.90 gal-1 (R 2.01 litre-1), IRR values of 11%, 22% and 30% were obtained at paper sludge feed rates of 15, 30 and 50 t d-1. A sensitivity analysis performed on the total capital investment and enzyme cost revealed that the SSF process is only economically viable at a paper sludge feed rate of 50 t d-1 irrespective of the variation in capital investment. For the SSF process to be economically viable the enzyme costs must be lower than $ 0.70 gal-1 (R 1.56 litre-1) and $ 1.20 gal-1 (R 2.68 litre-1) for paper sludge feed rates of 30 and 50 t d-1 respectively. The SSF process at a paper sludge feed rate of 15 t d-1 was not economically viable even assuming a zero enzyme cost. A Monte Carlo simulation revealed that the SSF process is economically viable at a paper sludge feed rate of 50 t d-1 as a mean IRR value of 32% were obtained with a probability of 26% to attain an IRR value lower than 25%. The SSF process at lower paper sludge loadings is not economically viable as probabilities of 70% and 95% were obtained to attain IRR values lower than 25% at paper sludge feed rates of 30 and 15 t d-1 respectively. From this study it can be concluded that paper sludge is an excellent feedstock for ethanol production for the sales of ethanol at a paper sludge feed rate in excess of 50 t d-1 with the added environmental benefit of reducing GHG emissions by 42.5%.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Aangesien dat brandstof vir vervoer en energie meestal vanaf fossiel afgeleide bronne kom, is daar onlangs ʼn groter fokus op bio-brandstowwe as gevolg van die impak van fossiel afgeleide brandstowwe op die omgewing en 'n verhoogde aanvraag na energie wêreldwyd, gepaardgaande met die uitputting van fossielbrandstof-reserwes. Papier slyk geproduseer deur papier meule is hoog in lignosellulose en verteenwoordig 'n grootliks onontginde grondstof vir etanol produksie. Die doel van die studie was om vas te stel wat die samestelling, fermenteerbaarheid, optimale papier slyk en ensiem ladings is vir die vervaardiging van etanol uit papier slyk. Die inligting was gebruik om 'n model van die proses in Aspen Plus® te ontwikkel. Die massa-en energiebalanse wat verkry is van die Aspen Plus® model was gebruik om toerusting spesifikasies te ontwikkel wat gebruik was om toerusting kostes te bereken. ‘n Tegno-ekonomiese model is ontwikkel om die ekonomiese lewensvatbaarheid van die gelyktydige versuikering en fermentasie proses “SSF” wat gebruik maak van papier slyk as grondstof te assesseer. Nege papier slyk monsters verkry vanaf Nampak Tissue (Pty) Ltd. is geëvalueer in terme van etanol produksie. Die monsters wat die hoogste en laagste etanol konsentrasies opgelewer het, is geselekteer vir optimalisering omdat dit toegelaat het vir die vasstelling van etanol konsentrasies en opbrengste, uitgedruk as persentasie van die teoretiese maksimum, wat verwag kan word in industrie. Reaksie oppervlak metodologie “RSM” is gebruik om wiskundige modelle te ontwikkel om die impak van papier slyk lading en sellulase dosis op etanol produksie en etanol opbrengs te assesseer. Die RSM is aangevul met 'n multi effek optimiserings benadering wat 'n wenslikheid funksie inkorporeer om die optimale papier slyk lading en sellulase dosis in gevoerde-enkellading SSF kulture te bepaal. Die multi effek optimalisering het getoon dat 'n optimale papier slyk lading van 21% (w/w) en 'n sellulase dosis van 14.5 FPU g-1 gebruik moet word, ongeag van die papier slyk monster. Die feit dat die optimale ensiem dosis en papier slyk lading dieselfde is ongeag die papier slyk monster, is aantreklik aangesien die SSF proses meer doeltreffend beheer kan word omdat proses veranderinge nie nodig is om die proses te optimaliseer nie. By die optimale papier slyk lading en sellulase dosis kan 'n minimum etanol konsentrasie van 47.36 g l-1 (84,69% van die teoretiese maksimum) verwag word ongeag van die papier slyk wat gebruik word. 'n Ekonomiese evaluasie is gedoen om vas te stel of etanol produksie vanaf papier slyk met behulp van SSF ekonomies lewensvatbaar is. Drie moontlikhede is ondersoek. In die eerste moontlikheid is die inkomste bereken vanaf etanol verkope gekoppel aan die basiese brandstofprys, terwyl in die tweede en derde moontlikhede, LPG by die papier meul vervang is met anhidriese en 95% etanol onderskeidelik. In al die gevalle was daar gebruik gemaak van papier slyk voer tempo’s van 15, 30 en 50 t d-1. Die produksie van etanol uit papier slyk vir verkope (moontlikheid 1) het gelei tot hoër IRR en die NPV waardes, sowel as korter terugverdien tydperke, in vergelyking met die vervanging van LPG by die papier meul (moontlikhede 2 en 3). Met ʼn ensiem koste van $ 0.90 gal-1 (R 2.01 litre-1) is IRR-waardes van 11%, 22% en 30% verkry teen papier slyk voer tempo’s van 15, 30 en 50 t d-1 onderskeidelik. 'n Sensitiwiteitsanalise uitgevoer op die totale kapitale belegging en ensiem koste het aan die lig gebring dat 'n SSF proses slegs ekonomies lewensvatbaar is op 'n papier slyk voer tempo van 50 t d-1 ongeag van die variasie in die kapitale belegging. Vir die SSF proses om ekonomies lewensvatbaar te wees, moet die ensiem kostes laer wees as $ 0.70 gal-1 (R 1.56 liter-1) en $ 1.20 gal-1 (R 2.68 liter-1) vir papier slyk voer tempo’s van onderskeidelik 30 en 50 t d-1. Die SSF proses was op 'n papier slyk voer tempo van 15 t d-1 nie ekonomies lewensvatbaar nie, selfs teen 'n ensiem koste van nul. 'n Monte Carlo-simulasie het getoon dat die SSF proses ekonomies lewensvatbaar is met 'n papier slyk voer tempo van 50 t d-1 omdat 'n gemiddelde IRR-waarde van 32% verkry is met 'n waarskynlikheid van 26% om 'n IRR-waarde laer as 25% te verkry. Die SSF proses teen papier slyk voer tempo’s van 30 en 15 t d-1 is nie ekonomies lewensvatbaar nie omdat waarskynlikhede van 70% en 95% onderskeidelik verkry is om IRR-waardes laer as 25% te kry. Daar kan van die studie afgelei word dat papier slyk 'n uitstekende grondstof is vir die produksie van etanol mits 'n papier slyk voer tempo van meer as 50 t d-1 bereik kan word. Die produksie van etanol vanaf papier slyk het die bykomende voordeel dat kweekhuis gasse (GHG) met 42.5% verminder word.

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2013.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 59-61).
Waste plastic, both industrial and municipal sources, is posing a major environmental challenges in developing countries such as India due to improper disposal methods. Large quantities of non-recyclable plastic waste get collected in paper recycling plants in Muzaffamagar and other regions in India. The plastic waste is typically in the form of protective covers, thin film, binding coils etc., which gets separated from paper during the pulping process. Because of its low value in recycling markets, the plastic waste is currently being burned as a substitute fuel for biomass in meeting the steam generation needs in paper production. Though incineration of plastic along with other solid waste for energy recovery is a common practice in countries like Europe, low technology employed in grate boilers without proper environmental equipment are creating serious problems in this region due to combustion-generated pollution. Instead, pyrolysis technologies in combination with innovative catalysts are evolving in recent years for converting waste plastic into fuel oil, diesel, and LPG. These technologies are proven to be safe and environmental-friendly, while producing value-added products that are in high demand. The primary objective of this research study is to investigate suitable technologies to convert waste plastic that is generated in the Muzaffarnagar paper cluster into value-added products, while considering certain unique requirements such as the ability to handle large quantities of mixed plastic, availability of biomass heating sources, lack of skilled workers, and limited capital and operating costs that play an important role in new technology adoption. Moreover, implementation of a suitable technology subject to economic and social considerations in this region is explored at a system-level. This systems thinking approach is deemed to be suitable for handling such complex problems, where non-technical issues play a crucial role in finding an appropriate solution.
by Padmabhushana R. Desam.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

Thesis (M. Tech. (Graphic Design)) -- Central University of Technology, free State, 2010
Good package design entails employing appropriate yet attractive graphic attributes such as colour, typography and images with which the consumer can engage. Even the name of a colour plays a considerable part in the success of a new product or brand. Consumers use graphic attributes to associate different products with different income groups, to infer the weight of products and even use it as an indicator of the perceived change in temperature resulting from the use of certain products. Consumers develop colour preferences based on associations they have formed through experience which are influenced by factors such as age, gender, culture and demographics. Colour may also affect consumers’ respond to a product and may even have an effect on their emotional state. In order for consumers to involve themselves with store brands more readily, packaging has to be updated constantly to keep packaging fresh and exciting. A shopping bag, transformed with graphic attributes into a designer shopping bag, can, just as good packaging often does, contribute to the art and science of selling a product or promoting a brand. Consumers prefer designer paper shopping bags with attractive appearances and showed a willingness to even pay for the paper bags. This study determined if consumers will actually purchase a designer paper shopping bag as opposed to just indicate a willingness to do so. Semistructured interviews with 100 subjects provived insight into consumers’ perception of the designer paper shopping bag sold at a store selling higher priced items. Designer paper shopping bags were offered to consumers for sale. Two retail stores in Bloemfontein, South Africa, participated in the study. Consumers could choose whether to buy a designer paper shopping bag or to make use of the plastic bags provided by each of the stores. Consumers prefered to rather purchase a designer paper shopping bag sold at a well-known store, selling branded, higher priced items than purchase one from a store that sells lower priced items of which the brand names are unknown to them. Consumers are more likely to pay for a designer paper shopping bag when the amount spent by them in store is relatively high. It is recommended to introduce new packaging items via marketing strategies such as “buy one get one free” and to not test a new packaging item during a recession as consumers then tend to spend less than usual. Interviewees agree that the colour scheme of the designer paper shopping bag used in the study associate well with the clothes and accessories sold in the store. Subjects suggested a few general ideas, but agree that the illustrations used on the paper shopping bag are appropriate. The majority of the interviewees state that they can read all the typography easily and that they will feel confident when carrying the designer paper shopping bag.

Drying contributes a significantly important role in processing of agricultural products in Vietnam, particularly for high-value agricultural exports. Conventionally thermal-based drying techniques have remained critical disadvantages in term of enhancing product quality and process efficiency. The typical disadvantages include deterioration of organoleptic and nutritional properties, highenergy consumption, expensive costs yet low efficiency and hazards to environment change due to the consumption of fossil fuel sources. Electrohydrodynamics (EHD) drying technology has been demonstrated as an innovative solution for drying enhancement in various applications. This paper aims at an overview of the state-of-the-art EHD drying technology to enhance heat and mass transfer in agricultural drying processes. A case study is then presented to demonstrate an even better process efficiency, compared to the state-of-the-art EHD drying technology, and to shorten the gap “research-to-market”. Finally, this study shows obviously potential applications of this innovative technology in sustainable development of food and post-harvesting agricultural processing for Vietnam in the future.
Sấy khô đóng một vai trò quan trọng trong việc chế biến và bảo quản nông sản sau thu hoạch tại Việt Nam, đặc biệt đối với các mặt hàng nông sản cao cấp phục vụ xuất khẩu. Các phương pháp sấy khô bằng nhiệt truyền thống tồn tại nhiều nhược điểm trong việc nâng cao hiệu quả sấy và bảo đảm chất lượng nông sản. Những nhược điểm nổi bật bao gồm: biến đổi thành phần hóa học và giảm giá trị dinh dưỡng của nông sản sau sấy do sử dụng nhiệt trong quá trình sấy, tiêu hao nhiên liệu lớn, chi phí nhiên liệu, lắp đặt và duy trì hệ thống sấy cao nhưng hiệu suất thấp và đặc biệt ảnh hưởng tới môi trường do sử dụng các nguồn nhiên liệu hóa thạch. Công nghệ sấy cải tiến khíđiện động lực học (EHD) hiện tại đã cho thấy tiềm năng thay thế các phương pháp sấy truyền thống. Bài báo tập trung giới thiệu cơ chế sấy các sản phẩm nông sản bằng công nghệ EHD; qua đó tác giả giới thiệu một mô hình sấy đã chế tạo thành công cho hiệu quả thậm chí còn cao hơn các mô hình hiện tại, đồng thời dễ dàng triển khai trong ngành công nghiệp sấy khô nông sản. Nghiên cứu này chỉ ra tiềm năng ứng dụng to lớn của công nghệ EHD trong phát triển bền vững các quá trình sấy khô nông sản cao cấp tại Việt Nam trong tương lai.

The aims of this research is the identification of the degradation by-products in ancient papers by means of chemical, spectroscopic and chromatographic analyses and the development of innovative methods of artificial ageing that should be able to simulate the natural degradation in these materials. For many centuries paper has been representing the main writing support for storing human knowledge. Paper is a material prone to degradation, and its conservation is a main concern, due to its obvious wide diffusion. A considerable effort has been dedicated to the paper preservation issue and it is widely recognized that a proper knowledge of the degradation reactions is essential in designing an efficient conservation treatment. To this purpose, a relevant amount of data has been collected about artificially aged paper, but just a few articles deal with naturally aged materials, since generally paper from ancient books has an artistic or historical value, and either non-destructive or micro-destructive spectroscopic techniques can be applied. In the first part of this work, (“Analysis of degradation by-products in ancient papers”, Chapter 4) a new comprehensive protocol is proposed for assessing the degradation of ancient books. The protocol is based on a multi-technique spectroscopic, chemical and analytical study of material obtained by washing leaves of ancient books. Indeed, the conservation treatments on ancient books involve frequently washing the paper leaves with water to remove the acidic by-products, which is considered a safe treatment. If the waters used for washing are collected rather than wasted, the cross-referencing of the analysis results of these “wasted waters” can provide a broad and deep insight into paper degradation by-products, thus furnishing much valuable information on both the conservation state of the books/documents in question and the degradation reactions occurring within their leaves. The proposed protocol is applied here, as a case-of-study, to the “wasted waters” obtained from washing leaves of a 16th-century-printed book, the De Divina Providentia. The widest range of analytical techniques was applied to the degradation by-products extracted from leaves in different conservation state, ranging from not degraded to very degraded. The here-proposed method is meant to become a pilot protocol for the study of ancient/historical paper degradation processes: it represents the starting point of a wider study on ancient and historical papers. Its potential application on a broad range of books and papers of different ages, origins and in different conservation state could allow for the creation of the first database on the natural by-products generated by aging in ancient books. Furthermore, a fruitful comparison with the data collected directly on ancient sheets can represent the basis for the development and the optimization of an innovative method for paper ageing (accelerated or artificial ageing methods, AAMs), able to closely simulate the natural degradation of cellulosic materials, depending on their chemical composition. In the second part of this research (“Artificial ageing by ozonation”, Chapter 5) a method for the artificial ageing of paper is proposed, aiming to reproduce oxidative by-products found in naturally aged paper. In literature, much research has been carried out in the area of paper artificial ageing, especially as regards the simulation of hydrolytic damage of paper leading to the depolymerisation of cellulose. However, other mechanisms that proceed during the natural ageing of paper, such as oxidation and autoxidation reactions, can become predominant in certain cases and therefore render these systems more complex and difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. In the last few years, much work has been performed in order to shed light on this class of reactions and on the reactive species, which promote and catalyze them. Much evidence has been collected on the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cellulose natural oxidation reactions, on their ability to induce paper radical reactions and to produce radical species in ancient papers. In general, nowadays serious and complete studies of paper radicals and, in particular, of their correlation with the paper oxidation by-products are not present in literature. In this sense, they have been reported here the first steps followed towards the development of a specific method of artificial ageing, which implies the use of ozone as a trigger for the accelerated degradation of paper. A great effort has been dedicated towards the achievement of an ozonation protocol of paper, which could reproduce the formation of both the natural degradation by-products and the open-shell species and allow for a deeper study of their nature and their effect on the writing support. The continuous comparison between the data collected on ancient papers and on artificially aged papers is the only sensible way to develop and optimize new methods for artificial or accelerated ageing of paper, able to simulate the natural degradation in cellulosic materials according to their chemical composition. The third part of this research (“Logwood inks”, Chapter 7) reports the results of the spectroscopic and analytical study on Logwood inks, carried out in cooperation with the Scientific Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. Fe and Cu/Fe - based Logwood inks have been synthesized following late 19threcipes and they have been characterized using UV-VIS, IR, Raman, EPR and ESI-MS analyses. This multi-technique approach is aimed to shed light on the coordination environment of the metallic ions in the colorant matrix, in order to better understand the structure of the complexes responsible for the ink colors. The UV-VIS and FT-IR spectra confirm the complexation of the metallic ions by the coloring Logwood organic matter, the hematein (Hm) macromolecule, while the Raman spectra show that the aromatic rings, composing the molecule, are also involved in the interaction. The high-sensitivity of the EPR technique allows for a deeper study of the ink structure giving information about the coordination environment of the metal ions. It turns out, together with ESI-MS, as the only technique, among the applied ones, that can provide a unique outline for each ink. Unexpected results are obtained by the ESI-MS analyses: for the first time in literature, mass analysis of Logwood inks has demonstrated the breakdown of Hm molecules during the ink preparation, as just complexed cathecols and/or byciclic compounds were identified as the main component of the three inks. These chemical species are very similar to the ones which compose the iron gall inks: the Fe(II)/Fe(III)-pyrogallates.
Questo lavoro è finalizzato all’identificazione dei prodotti di degrado in carte antiche attraverso l’uso di analisi chimiche, spettroscopiche e cromatografiche e allo sviluppo di metodi innovativi di invecchiamento artificiale capaci di simulare la degradazione naturale di questi materiali. Per molti secoli la carta ha rappresentato il principale supporto scrittorio per tramandare la conoscenza e la cultura dell’intera umanità. La carta è un materiale incline al degrado: data la sua ampia diffusione, una particolare attenzione è stata dedicata alla preservazione e alla conservazione del patrimonio documentario cartaceo. È, infatti, ampiamente riconosciuto che è necessaria una profonda conoscenza delle reazioni di degrado per progettare un efficace trattamento di conservazione. A questo scopo, una grande quantità di dati è stata raccolta dall’analisi di carte artificialmente invecchiate, ma solo alcuni lavori in letteratura riportano studi su materiale cartaceo naturalmente invecchiato, a causa dell’impossibilità di applicare tecniche di analisi distruttive e non distruttive su carte antiche di alto valore storico-artistico. Nella prima parte di questo lavoro (“Analysis of degradation by-products in ancient papers”, Capitolo 4) si propone, per la prima volta in letteratura, un protocollo globale che sfrutta la combinazione di un vasto numero di analisi spettroscopiche, chimiche e separative su materiale ottenuto dal lavaggio di fogli appartenenti a libri antichi. Infatti, i trattamenti di conservazione di libri antichi spesso prevedono il lavaggio dei fogli di carta per eliminare l’acidità e i composti bruni, che conferiscono la colorazione scura alle carte degradate. Se le acque contenenti questi prodotti “di scarto” vengono conservate anziché gettate, la loro analisi può fornire un’ampia e profonda conoscenza dei prodotti di degrado cartaceo insieme ad utili informazioni sullo stato di conservazione dei libri/documenti in esame e sulle reazioni di degrado avvenute sui fogli, che li costituiscono. In questo lavoro di tesi, il protocollo proposto è applicato alle acque di lavaggio ottenute dalle pagine di un libro a stampa risalente al sedicesimo secolo, il De Divina Providentia, e sul materiale estratto da fogli in differente stato di conservazione (da molto degradati a non degradati). Il metodo qui descritto vuole proporsi come un protocollo pilota per lo studio dei processi di degrado in carte antiche e storiche: esso rappresenta il punto d’inizio per uno studio più ampio di carte antiche e storiche. La sua potenziale applicazione su un numero rilevante di libri e carte risalenti a varie epoche, di diversa origine e caratterizzati da vari stati di conservazione, permetterebbe la creazione del primo database dei prodotti di degrado indotti dall’invecchiamento del supporto scrittorio. Nella seconda parte di questa ricerca (“Artificial ageing by ozonation”, Capitolo 5), si propone un metodo di invecchiamento artificiale mirato a riprodurre i sottoprodotti di ossidazioni trovati in carte invecchiate naturalmente. In letteratura, molte ricerche si sono concentrate sulla simulazione del deterioramento idrolitico della carta, che causa la depolimerizzazione delle catene di cellulose. La carta, però, è anche soggetta ad altri meccanismi di degrado, quali l’ossidazione e l’autossidazione, che in certi casi diventano predominanti e rendono il sistema più complesso e difficile da riprodurre in laboratorio. Negli ultimi anni, molto lavoro è stato realizzato per studiare maggiormente questa classe di reazioni e le specie reattive, che le promuovo e le catalizzano. Molti dati sono stati raccolti sul ruolo delle specie reattive all’ossigeno (ROS) nelle reazioni di ossidazione della cellulosa, sulla loro capacità di indurre reazioni radicaliche e di produrre specie radicaliche nelle carte antiche. In generale, in letteratura non è ancora presente uno studio completo sui radicali della cellulosa e sulla loro correlazione con sottoprodotti di ossidazione cartacea. In questo senso, vengono qui riportati i primi passi verso lo sviluppo di uno specifico metodo di invecchiamento artificiale, che implica l’uso di ozono come agente di innesco della degradazione accelerata della carta. Un grande sforzo è stato dedicato alla realizzazione di un protocollo di ozonizzazione della carta, che potesse riprodurre la formazione dei prodotti di degrado naturale della carta e le correlate specie open-shell e che permettesse uno studio più approfondito della loro natura e del loro effetto sul supporto cartaceo. Il costante confronto fra i dati raccolti direttamente su carte antiche e i dati ottenuti su carte invecchiate artificialmente rappresenta l’unico criterio ragionevole per lo sviluppo e l’ottimizzazione di metodi innovativi di invecchiamento accelerato o artificiale del supporto cartaceo, capaci di simulare la degradazione naturale dei materiali cellulosici, in base alla loro composizione chimica. Nella terza parte di questo lavoro (“Logwood inks”, Capitolo 7) vengono riportati i risultati dello studio spettroscopico e analitico di inchiostri a base di campeggio realizzato in collaborazione con il Dipartimento Scientifico del Metropolitan Museum of Art di NYC. Durante questo progetto, sono stati sintetizzati tre tipi di inchiostro a base di campeggio, due dei quali contenenti ioni Fe3+/Fe2+ e un terzo contenente sia ioniFe3+/Fe2+ che ioni Cu2+, seguendo delle ricette del tardo ottocento, e sono stati caratterizzati tramite l’uso di tecniche UV-VIS, IR, Raman, EPR ed ESI-MS. Lo scopo dello studio è quello di comprendere la natura e la struttura dei complessi responsabili del colore assunto dall’inchiostro. Gli spettri UV-Vis e IR degli inchiostri indicano l’avvenuta complessazione degli ioni metallici da parte del colorante organico estratto dal campeggio, l’emateina, mentre gli spettri Raman mostrano come gli anelli aromatici della molecola siano coinvolti nell’interazione con gli ioni metallici. L’elevata sensibilità della tecnica EPR ha permesso uno studio approfondito dalla struttura degli inchiostri, fornendo informazioni sull’intorno di coordinazione degli ioni metallici. Insieme all’ESI-MS, l’EPR risulta essere l’unica tecnica capace di fornire un profilo unico e identificativo per ciascun inchiostro. L’applicazione dell’analisi ESI-MS ha fornito risultati inaspettati: per la prima volta in letteratura, gli spettri di massa degli inchiostri a base di campeggio hanno dimostrato come il processo di preparazione dell’inchiostro implichi la decomposizione della macromolecola di emateina. La colorazione dell’inchiostro non è data quindi da complessi metallo-emateina, ma da catecoli e/o composti biciclici, strutture costituenti la macromolecola, complessati agli ioni metallici aggiunti nella preparazione. Queste specie chimiche sono molto simili a quelle che sono alla base degli inchiostri ferrogallici: i pirogallati di ferro.

Cellulosans tillgänglighet och reaktivitet är nyckelparametrar vid framställning av regenererad cellulosa och cellulosaderivat. Det är välkänt att på grund av cellulosans kristallina struktur är tillgängligheten begränsad för lösningsmedel och olika reagens. Till exempel kan en inhomogen substitution av hydroxylgrupperna i cellulosakedjan resultera i cellulosaderivat av sämre kvalitet. Baserat på detta har en del av arbetet i denna studie fokuserat på att förbättra cellulosans tillgänglighet och reaktivitet genom att studera effekten av olika enzymatiska behandlingar med monokomponent endoglukanaser. Resultaten visar att närvaron av en cellulosabindande domän fyller en viktig funktion för att öka cellulosans reaktivitet, men strukturen för den katalytiska domänen visade sig ha den största inverkan på cellulosans tillgänglighet. I kompletterande studier har även effekten av en mekanisk förbehandling i kombination med enzymatisk behandling utvärderats. Kombinationen av förbehandlingarna resulterade i en positiv effekt, cellulosans reaktivitet kunde ökas i större omfattning.

I dag används huvudsakligen dissolvingmassor som råvara vid framställning av cellulosaregenerat och cellulosaderivat. Kraven för dessa s.k. specialmassor är högt cellulosainnehåll samt lågt hemicellulosa- respektive lignininnehåll. På grund av dessa specifika krav är produktionskostnaderna för dessa massor högre än konventionella sulfatmassor. Den andra delen av studien har därför fokuserat på möjligheten att använda dessa sulfatmassor som dissolvingmassa. Det har visats att kombinationen av enzymatiska behandlingar med monokomponent endoglukanas och xylanas följt av ett alkaliskt steg kan resultera i massor där kraven uppfylls med avseende på cellulosans reaktivitet, och cellulosa- respektive hemicellulosainnehåll.

The accessibility and reactivity of cellulose are key parameters on the manufacturing of cellulose derivatives and regenerated cellulose. It is well known that, due to the crystalline structure of cellulose, the accessibility of solvents and reagents is limited. For instance, an inhomogeneous substitution of the hydroxyl groups of the cellulose chain might lead to the production of derivatives of low quality. As a consequence, part of this work has focused on improving the accessibility and reactivity on cellulose by studying the effect of different monocomponent endoglucanases. It has been demonstrated that the presence of the cellulose-binding domain plays an important role on the enhancement of cellulose reactivity; however, the structure of the catalytic domain has been showed to have the highest influence on this parameter. Furthermore, the influence of mechanical treatment prior to enzymatic treatment has been examined. The combination of pretreatments showed a positive effect enhancing to a larger extent the cellulose reactivity.

Currently, dissolving-grade pulps are commonly used for the production of cellulose derivatives and regenerated cellulose. The requirements for these so-called “special pulps” are a high cellulose content and a low hemicelluloses and lignin content. As a result of these specific demands, the production costs of these pulps are higher than those of common kraft pulps. The second part of this work, therefore, has been focused on the study on the viability of converting kraft pulps into dissolving pulps. It has been demonstrated that the combination of enzymatic treatments using a monocomponent endoglucanase and a xylanase together with the addition of an alkaline step could fulfil the requirements of a commercial dissolving pulp in terms of cellulose reactivity and cellulose and hemicellulose content.

Bio and nano technologies are absent or incipient in papermaking industry and, concretely, in recycling and high-yield pulps sectors. In this sense, the present Thesis uses cellulose nanofibers (CNF), both in bulk and on surface, for physicomechanical properties enhancement of both recycled papers and of those made from high-yield fibers. Moreover, in order to reach even higher physicomechanical properties, the synergetic action between CNF and enzymatic refining was investigated. Recycling through mechanical refinement was found to produce papers with similar properties than the original ones, without the possibility of enhancement. However, the above cited combination drives to papers with properties that can be used in higher performance applications.
L’aplicació de la bio i la nano tecnologia en el sector paperer en general i, més concretament, en el subsector del reciclatge i les pastes d’alt rendiment és pràcticament inexistent o molt incipient. En aquest sentit, en aquesta tesi s’utilitzen nanofibres de cel·lulosa (CNF), tant en massa com en superfície, per tal d’incrementar les propietats físico-mecàniques del paper de fibres secundàries i d’alt rendiment. A més, amb l’objectiu d’assolir fins i tot propietats físico-mecàniques superiors, es van utilitzar tècniques de refinat enzimàtic en combinació amb l’addició de CNF. Es va constatar que el refinat mecànic de les fibres secundàries permet la fabricació de papers amb les mateixes prestacions físico-mecàniques que el paper original, sense la possibilitat d’incrementar les propietats. D’altra banda, l’addició de CNF i el refinat enzimàtic doten als papers de propietats que els obren les portes a nous horitzons d’aplicació on els requeriments físico-mecànics són superiors.

The Study aims to evaluate what kind of systems buyers of raw materials use for handling the flow of information in their supply chain of raw materials. Due to the complexity of the topic, the Study is only examining the continuous exchange of information between suppliers and buyers of raw materials. The purpose of the Study is to provide recommendations to Boliden on which system is suitable for implementation at the company. The Study’s results were achieved by collecting both primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through interviews with raw materials buyers and trade organisations. A total of fifteen interviews were conducted in the Study. The secondary data was collected through a literature study. The results of the Study indicate that there exists four different solutions for managing the flow of information in a supply chain of raw materials. The most common solution among buyers of raw materials is to use the so-called “traditional” systems, i.e. e-mail, telephone and physical meetings. The second most common solution is to use an external information handling system provided by a trade organisation. The third most common solution is to use a commercial information handling system, i.e. a system provided by a commercial provider. Lastly, the least common solution is to develop an information handling system on its own, i.e. a proprietary information handling system. The conclusion of the Study is that Boliden should use two information handling system simultaneously, i.e. an external information handling system and the traditional information handling systems. However, Boliden should also look into the option of developing a proprietary information handling system.

Dissertação de Mestrado em Design, com a especialização em Design de Produto apresentada na Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre.
Em diferentes ocasiões, Richard Sennett e Vilém Flusser descreveram que a prática e a teoria, a técnica e a expressão, a arte e a tecnologia, o criador e o usuário, antes compartilhavam a mesma raíz. Ao longo da história, no entanto, estes conceitos se dividiram com o design posicionado ao centro. Esta proposta de pesquisa visa, em primeiro lugar, contribuir para a diminuição desta herdada separação. Isso, por meio do uso de estratégias computacionais aplicadas ao design. O presente estudo aplicará essa abordagem ao projeto e construção de uma prancha de surfe. Um dos objetivos é desenvolver uma plataforma de codesign que permita aos usuários gerarem suas próprias pranchas de surf, por meio de modelagem algorítmica / paramétrica (Grasshopper e ShapeDiver). Um segundo aspecto considera criticamente os materiais utilizados na indústria do surf, com o objetivo de desenvolver produtos que utilizem materiais menos nocivos ao meio ambiente e com maior capacidade de controle e alteração em relação às capacidades de desempenho. Em particular, esta proposta visa desenvolver um algoritmo para gerar objetos com seus núcleos internos compostos por estruturas de papel. O objeto específico a ser gerado neste caso é uma prancha de surf.
ABSTRACT: As pointed out on different occasions by both Richard Sennett and Villém Flusser, practice and theory, technique and expression, art and technology, maker and user, once shared a common ground. Throughout history, however, they have become divided. Design stands in between. This research proposal firstly aims to contribute to the diminishing of this historical inheritance. This, by means of providing a workflow for designers with the use of computational strategies. The present study will apply this approach to the design and building of a surfboard. The goal is to develop a co-designing platform allowing users to generate their own tailor-made surfboard by means of algorithmic/parametric modeling (Grasshopper and Shapediver). A second aspect critically considers the materials used in the surf industry, with the objective of developing products using materials that are less harmful to the environment and with a greater capacity of control and alteration with regards to performance capabilities. In particular, this proposal aims to develop an algorithm that can be used to generate objects of paper structures composing their inner core. The specific object to be generated in this case, is a surfboard.
N/A

La flottation est la principale étape du processus de recyclage,ayant pour but l’élimination de l’encrede la pâte. Pour une moyenne de seulement 2% d’encre présent dans la pâte, le rendement estd’environ 80 %. Les pertes sont ainsi principalement composées de fibres, charges minérales etéléments fins. Le procédé de flottation est le seul processus permettant une séparation sélective desparticules d’encre de la pâte à papier, lors du recyclage des papiers récupérés. Ce processus estappliqué par toutes les usines européennes de désencrage et, bien qu'il soit reconnu comme étant leplus sélectif, il génère des pertes solides qui restent encore trop important (15 à 20% de pertes) parrapport au 2% en poids de l'encre appliquée en général sur imprimé. Ainsi, la sélectivité de la flottationa besoin d'être améliorée. Cette amélioration permettrait à la fois d'augmenter le rendement duprocédé de désencrage ainsi que de réduire les volumes de boues produites au cours de désencrageet donc de simplifier tous les problèmes liés à la valorisation de ces boues. Les travaux retranscritsdans ce mémoire ont, dans un premier temps, pour but d'améliorer la connaissance fondamentale desphénomènes se produisant au cours de flottation, en particulier pour obtenir une meilleureconnaissance i) sur les mécanismes de transport des différentes particules (encres, fibres decellulose, éléments fins et charges minérales) au cours de la flottation, en présence de différentstensio-actifs utilisés, ii) des rôles des la chimie utilisée ainsi que leur propre utilisation lors de laflottaison. Dans un deuxième temps, la modélisation des mécanismes de transport dans la pâte etdans la mousse, en tenant compte de paramètres mécaniques (débit de pâte, d’air, turbulence, laconception des cellules…) et physico – chimiques, pour ainsi finalement développer une simulation duprocédé de flottation permettant d'évaluer l'incidence de la chimie utilisée ainsi que des paramètresmécaniques des cellules. Cette simulation permettra par la suite d’améliorer à la fois l’efficacité descellules existantes mais aussi des lignes de désencrages
Flotation is the main step of de-inking to remove the ink from the pulp. Whereas the target is toremove 2% of ink from the pulp, there is a loss of 20% of total matters (fibers, fillers and ashes). Theflotation process is the only process allowing to more or less selectively separate the particles frominks during recycling of recovered papers. This process is applied by all the European deinking millsand, although being recognized as being the most selective, it generates solid losses which remainstill too important (15 to 20% of losses) compared to the 2% of ink in weight applied to printed papers.Thus, the selectivity of flotation requires to be improved. Such improvement would at the same timeallow to increase the deinking process yield but also to reduce in parallel the volumes of sludgegenerated during de-inking and thus to simplify all the problems connected with the valorisation ofthese sludges. On the one hand, the objectives of this study are to improve fundamental knowledge ofthe phenomena occurring during flotation, in particular to obtain a better knowledge i) on mechanismsof transport of the various particles (ink, fibres and fines cellulose, mineral loads) during flotation in thepresence of various surface-active components from de-inking, ii) of the role of surface-activesubstances and their elimination during flotation. On the other hand, modelling of the mechanisms oftransport in the pulp and in the froth, taking into account mechanical parameters (air ratio, turbulence,design of the cells) and physico – chemical parameters has been highlighted to finally develop asimulation of the flotation process allowing to evaluate the incidence of the design of the cells,simulation which should then make it possible to improve the effectiveness of the existing cells

Xylan is the main hemicellulose in birch, eucalyptus, and most other hardwood species. During kraft pulping a series of chemical reactions and physical processes involving xylan takes place. The processes studied here are the following: dissolution, degradation, redeposition onto the fibres, side-group conversion, and cleavage of side groups off the xylan backbone. The side group in native xylan consists of methylglucuronic acid, which is partly converted into hexenuronic acid during kraft cooking. Hexenuronic acid affects the pulp in terms of increased brightness reversion and reduced bleachability. The kinetics of the side-group cleavage and conversion reactions were studied using various analytical tools. The study revealed that the most common methods for methylglucuronic acid quantifcation can be signifcantly improved in terms of accuracy. A modifcation and combination of two of the methods was suggested and evaluated. In order to minimise the hexenuronic acid content, a common suggestion involves the use of a high cooking temperature. The kinetic study found that the degree of substitution of pulp xylan is only slightly affected by temperature, and that the observed effects are likely to be more associated with the xylan content of the pulp than with the hexenuronic acid content of the xylan. For the dissolved xylan, however, the degree of substitution indicated a high temperature dependency for birch kraft cooking. By collecting black liquors at different stages in the cook, different molecular properties of the dissolved xylan was obtained. The liquors were charged at later parts of the cook, making the dissolved xylan to reattach to the fibres. Depending on the molecular properties of the added xylan, the tensile strength properties of the produced paper were improved. These improvements in paper properties were correlated to the molecular behaviour of the added xylan in solution.
QC 20100702

Abstract The Finnish chemical forest industry has undergone a profound structural change over the past two decades. The basic industry is increasingly focusing its product development investments on its own products and operations while the development of processes and process machinery is left to specialised companies. At the same time the purchases of the pulp and paper industry are becoming larger: there is a shift from single device purchases to larger functional units. This research studies the Finnish process machinery industry serving the needs of the pulp and paper industry and its product development environment and strategies, and evaluates the ability of selected case companies to design integrated process solutions. Particularly the role of measurement and automation technology in these solutions is under closer scrutiny. Aspects of product life cycles and technology management, together with various procedures and operating models for innovation and product development processes, are discussed on the basis of the literature. The empirical part of the research was carried out as a case study with several Finnish companies manufacturing machinery and equipment for the chemical forest industry. The results show that the strategies of the studied industry are still very much dominated by the traditional emphasis on machinery design and construction. The change in the customers' purchasing behaviour towards ever larger units and functions is reflected particularly as increasingly large delivery projects. The units required by the customers are put together in the project phase, using parts and components developed in isolation from each other. There is very little evidence of actual product development, design or producing of integrated process solutions. In those cases where the design work has explicitly aimed at an integrated functional unit, the result has been a process that the customer can easily purchase and where the supplier's expertise in processes and process control is already included in the package. Designing integrated process solutions takes more than technical expertise and capability: the strategy, organisation, and product development process of the supplier company must support the integration of different technologies and expertise areas in the product. Instead of the traditional serial product development it is imperative that the questions of process design, process machinery, and process control are treated and solved simultaneously. The in-house expertise and networking of research and development must be promoted in such a way that the capabilities necessary to include the required technologies and expertise areas in a product project are already available when the product is being specified and designed.

Doutoramento em Química
Em Portugal, as indústrias corticeira e de pasta de papel constituem um importante sector económico, contudo, gerando elevadas quantidades de subprodutos. Estes subprodutos poderiam ser explorados em aplicações de alto valor acrescentado, como fonte de compostos fenólicos, por exemplo, em vez de serem apenas queimados para produção de energia. Estes compostos são conhecidos pelas suas inúmeras propriedades, entre as quais, antioxidante, anti-inflamatória e anti-trombótica. Neste estudo as frações fenólicas da maior parte dos subprodutos gerados nas indústrias corticeira e de pasta de papel foram caracterizados em detalhe, com vista à sua valorização. A fração fenólica das cascas de Eucalyptus globulus, E. grandis, E. urograndis e E. maidenii, bem como da cortiça de Quercus suber e resíduos provenientes da sua exploração, nomeadamente, o pó de cortiça e os condensados negros, foi obtida por processos convencionais de extração sólido-líquido. No caso da casca de E. globulus, foi ainda avaliado o potencial de metodologias “verdes” no processo de extração de compostos fenólicos, usando extração com CO2 supercrítico. Esta técnica foi otimizada com recurso a metodologias de superfície de resposta. Na identificação e quantificação dos compostos fenólicos foi usada cromatografia líquida de alta resolução aliada a técnicas de espectrometria de massa. O teor de fenólicos totais foi ainda determinado pelo método de Folin- Ciocalteu, essencialmente para efeitos comparativos. A caracterização da fração fenólica de cada extrato foi ainda complementada com a análise da atividade antioxidante, usando o radical 2,2-difenil-1-picrilhidrazilo (DPPH). Foram identificados trinta compostos fenólicos na casca de E. globulus, 17 deles referenciados pela primeira vez como seus constituintes, nomeadamente os ácidos quínico, di-hidroxifenilacétic, cafeico e metil-elágico, bis-hexahidroxidifenoil( HHDP)-glucose, galoil- bis-HHDP-glucose, galoil-HHDPglucose, isoramnetina—hexosídeo, quercetina-hexosídeo, ácido metil-elágicopentosídeo, miricetina-ramnosídeo, isoramnetina-ramnosídeo, mearnsetina, floridzina, mearnsetina-hexosídeo, luteolina e uma proantocianidina B. Neste trabalho, foi estudada pela primeira vez a composição fenólica das cascas de E. grandis, E. urograndis e E. maidenii. Treze, doze e vinte e quatro compostos fenólicos foram identificados nas cascas de E. grandis, E. urograndis e E. maidenii, respetivamente. Entre estes compostos encontram-se os ácidos quínico, gálico, metilgálico, protocatequínico, clorogénico e elágico, catequina, galoil-bis-HHDP-glucose, digaloilglucose, epicatequina, quercetina-glucoronídeo, di-hidroxiisopropilcromona- hexosídeo, isoramnetina-hexosídeo, ácido elágicoramnosídeo, taxifolina, quercetina-hexosídeo, di-hidroxi- (metilpropil)isopropilcromona-hexosídeo, ácido metil-elágico-pentosídeo, miricetina-ramnosídeo, isoramnetina-ramnosídeo, aromadendrina-ramnosídeo, mearnsetina, mearnsetina-hexosídeo, eriodictiol, quercetina, isoramnetina e naringenina. A análise da fração fenólica da cortiça permitiu identificar vinte e dois compostos fenólicos, dez deles referenciados pela primeira vez como seus constituintes, nomeadamente, os ácidos quínico, salicílico, p-hidroxifenillático e metilgálico, ácido carboxílico da brevifolina, eriodictiol, naringenina, um éster isoprenílico do ácido cafeico, isoramnetina-ramnosídeo e isoramnetina. No pó de cortiça industrial foram identificados dezasseis compostos fenólicos, nomeadamente os ácidos quínico, gálico, protocatequínico, cafeico, ferúlico, elágico e metilgálico, esculetina, ácido carboxílico da brevifolina, coniferaldeído, um éster isoprenílico do ácido cafeico, uma dilactona do ácido valoneico, ácido elágico-pentosídeo, ácido elágico-ramnosídeo, isoramnetinaramnosídeo e isoramnetina. Destes, apenas o ácido elágico foi previamente referenciado como componente do pó de cortiça. Do mesmo modo, treze compostos fenólicos foram identificados no condensado negro, doze deles referenciados pela primeira vez como seus constituintes. São eles os ácidos quínico, gálico, p-hidroxifenil-láctico, protocatequínico, p-coumarico, cafeico e elágico, vanilina, esculetina, coniferaldeído, um éster isoprenílico do ácido cafeico e o eriodictiol. A extração supercrítica de compostos fenólicos da casca de eucalipto permitiu não só verificar os parâmetros que afetam a qualidade e quantidade finais dos extratos, como também obter os valores ótimos para estes parâmetros. Esta extração mostrou ainda ser bastante seletiva para determinados grupos de compostos fenólicos, como as flavanonas eriodictiol e naringenina e para o flavonol O-metilado isoramnetina. Este é também o primeiro estudo envolvendo a determinação da atividade antioxidante de extratos da cortiça e dos resíduos da sua exploração, bem como da casca de E. grandis, E. urograndis e E. maidenii. A vasta gama de compostos fenólicos identificados em cada extrato analisado, assim como as prominentes atividades antioxidantes, todas na mesma gama de valores do bem conhecido antioxidante comercial, ácido ascórbico, são claramente um grande contributo para a valorização destes subprodutos industriais.
In Portugal, the cork and the pulp and paper industries are important economic sectors, however, generating substantial amounts of by-products. These byproducts could be exploited in added value applications, rather than being simply burned for energy production, as, for example, as a source of the valuable phenolic compounds. These compounds are known by their innumerous properties, as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory or even antithrombotic. In this study, the phenolic fractions of the most abundant cork and pulp industrial residues were characterised in detail, aiming at up-grading them. The phenolic fraction of the barks of Eucalyptus globulus, E. grandis, E. urograndis and E. maidenii as well as the cork from Quercus suber and the residues of its exploitation, namely, cork powder and black condensates, were obtained by conventional solid-liquid extractions. In the case of E. globulus bark, the potential application of green methodologies in the extraction of phenolic compounds was also evaluated, by using supercritical CO2 extraction. This approach was optimized by using surface response methodology. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry techniques were used in the identification and quantification of phenolic compounds. The total phenolic content was also accessed by the Folin- Ciocalteu method, mainly for comparative purposes. The characterization of the phenolic fraction of each extract was also complemented with antioxidant activity measurements, by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging. Thirty phenolic compounds were identified as constituents of E. globulus bark, 17 of them referenced for the first time, namely, quinic, dihydroxyphenylacetic, and caffeic acids, bis-hexahydroxydiphenoyl(HHDP)-glucose, galloyl-bis- HHDP-glucose, galloyl-HHDP-glucose, isorhamentin-hexoside, quercetinhexoside, methyl-ellagic acid, methyl-ellagic acid (EA)-pentoside, myricetinrhamnoside, isorhamnetin-rhamnoside, mearnsetin, phloridzin, mearnsetinhexoside, luteolin and a proanthocyanidin B-type dimer. The phenolic composition of E. grandis, E. urograndis and E. maidenii bark was studied in this work for the first time. Thirteen, twelve and twenty four phenolic compounds were identified in E. grandis, E. urograndis and E. maidenii bark extracts, respectively. These compounds include quinic gallic, protocatechuic, chlorogenic and ellagic acids, methyl gallate, catechin, galloyl-bis-HHDPglucose, digalloylglucose, epicatechin, quercetin-glucuronide, dihydroxyisopropylchromone- hexoside, isorhamnetin-hexoside, ellagic acid-rhamnoside, taxifolin, quercetin-hexoside, dihydroxy-(methylpropyl)isopropylchromonehexoside, methyl-ellagic acid-pentoside, myricetin-rhamnoside, isorhamnetinrhamnoside, aromadendrin-rhamnoside, mearnsetin, mearnsetin-hexoside, eriodictyol, quercetin, isorhamnetin and naringenin. The analysis of the phenolic fraction of cork allowed to identify twenty two phenolic compounds, ten of them reported for the first times as its constituents, namely, quinic, salicylic and p-hydroxyphenyl-lactic acids, eriodictyol, naringenin, methyl gallate, brevifolin carboxylic acid, caffeic acid isoprenyl ester, isorhamnetin-rhamnoside and isorhamnetin. It were identified sixteen phenolic compounds in industrial cork powder, namely, quinic, gallic, protocatechuic, caffeic, ferulic and ellagic acids and methyl gallate, esculetin, brevifolin carboxylic acid, coniferaldehyde, caffeic acid isoprenyl ester, valoneic acid dilactone, ellagic acid-pentoside, ellagic acid-rhamnoside, isorhamnetinrhamnoside and isorhamnetin. From these, only ellagic acid was previously reported as constituent of cork powder. Likewise, thirteen phenolic compounds were identified on black condensate, twelve of them for the first time, namely quinic, gallic, p-hydroxyphenyl-lactic, protocatechuic, p-coumaric, caffeic and ellagic acids and vanillin, esculetin, coniferaldehyde, caffeic acid isoprenyl ester and eriodictyol. The supercritical extraction of phenolic compounds from E. globulus bark allowed to verify the parameters affecting the qualitatively and quantitatively the final extracts. The optimal conditions of those parameters were obtained. This technique showed to be selective to restrict classes of compounds, such as flavanones and O-methylated flavonols. This was also the first study involving the evaluation of the antioxidant activity of the phenolic extracts of E. grandis, E. urograndis and E. maidenii bark as well as of cork and the residues of their exploitation. The vast range of phenolic compounds identified in each vegetal source studied, as well as its outstanding antioxidant activities, all in the same range of the well known commercial antioxidant ascorbic acid, are, clearly, a contribute to the up-grading of these industrial by-products.

The purpose of this thesis is, in collaboration with the Swedish company Innventia, to explore the possibilities of using paper machines to create fabric-like nonwoven materials. As part of a relatively new research-area, it serves as some of the ground knowledge that is needed to drive this field forward. The research of this thesis is born from the increasing need for more environmental friendly textiles, and to find new uses for the paper production facilities and companies that are currently experiencing a decline in paper production. The materials used in the research were produced with the Finnish handsheet former and the StratEx sheet-maker made by Innventia. The research consists of the following tests: Tissue Softness Analysis, (TSA), tensile strength and bending stiffness. The tests are done with different combinations of lyocell, PLA, softwood and dissolving pulp in the tested sheets. It is also tested if the lyocell can be a meaningful substitution for PLA in combination with softwood pulp and dissolving pulp when creating the fabric-like materials. In conclusion of this research it can be said that, compared to benchmarking samples like bedding sheets, table cloths and cotton shirts, the sheets created and tested are competitive alternatives to existing materials when it comes to softness. It also became clear that the tensile strength has to be increased to make fabric-like nonwoven materials applicable on the same level as existing textiles. Even so, it is still evident that there is a potentiality in the use of paper machines in the development and creation of new fabric-like materials.

L’envelliment disminueix la tolerància del cor a l’exercici i l’estrès i augmenta la incidència d’insuficiència cardíaca, una de les principals causes de mort i discapacitat a tot el món. Fins a un 80% dels pacients amb insuficiència cardíaca són ancians i aquesta condició empitjora significativament el pronòstic d’aquesta malaltia. Estudis preclínics indiquen que els cardiomiòcits envellits produeixen alguns canvis endògens, que contribueixen a una major susceptibilitat a desenvolupar disfuncions i errors, independentment d’altres factors com la taxa de comorbiditat present en l’envelliment. De fet, els cardiomiòcits envellits comparteixen alguns trets fenotípics comuns amb els cardiomiòcits malmesos, com ara el dany oxidatiu i el desajust energètic en augment de la demanda metabòlica. Estudis previs del nostre grup han demostrat que aquests trets fenotípics es poden explicar per una alteració en la comunicació anatòmica i funcional entre el reticle sarcoplasmàtic (RS) i els mitocondris, necessaris per regular la producció d’energia i la regeneració antioxidant. Tanmateix, no es coneixen els mecanismes de tal interrupció. Aquesta tesi investiga la contribució de la glicació intracel·lular avançada a la disfunció dels cardiomiòcits i a l’alteració mitocondrial durant l’envelliment.
El envejecimiento disminuye la tolerancia del corazón al ejercicio y el estrés y aumenta la incidencia de insuficiencia cardiaca, una de las principales causas de muerte y discapacidad en todo el mundo. Hasta un 80% de los pacientes con insuficiencia cardíaca son ancianos y esta condición empeora significativamente el pronóstico de esta enfermedad. Estudios preclínicos indican que los cardiomiocitos envejecidos producen algunos cambios endógenos, que contribuyen a una mayor susceptibilidad a desarrollar disfunciones y errores, independientemente de otros factores como la tasa de comorbilidad presente en el envejecimiento. De hecho, los cardiomiocitos envejecidos comparten algunos rasgos fenotípicos comunes con los cardiomiocitos dañados, como el daño oxidativo y el desajuste energético en aumento de la demanda metabólica. Estudios previos de nuestro grupo han demostrado que estos rasgos fenotípicos pueden explicarse por una alteración en la comunicación anatómica y funcional entre el retículo sarcoplásmico (RS) y las mitocondrias, necesarios para regular la producción de energía y la regeneración antioxidante. Sin embargo, no se conocen los mecanismos de tal interrupción. Esta tesis investiga la contribución de la glicación intracelular avanzada a la disfunción de los cardiomiocitos y la alteración mitocondrial durante el envejecimiento. La glicación avanzada es una de las alteraciones químicas más relevantes y omnipresentes asociadas al envejecimiento biológico. Induce daños terminales a proteínas y otras macromoléculas, que en última instancia precipitan en forma de AGE (productos finales de glicación avanzada). La acumulación de AGE se ha documentado en varias enfermedades asociadas al envejecimiento, como el Alzheimer, el Parkinson, las cataratas y otros. Sin embargo, no se conoce su contribución a la fisiopatología del corazón envejecido.
Aging decreases the tolerance of the heart to exercise and stress and increases the incidence of heart failure, a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Up to 80% of heart failure patients are elderly and being old significantly worsens the prognosis of this condition. Preclinical studies indicate that aged cardiomyocytes develop some endogenous changes that contribute to their greater susceptibility to develop dysfunction and failure, independently of other factors, like higher comorbidity rate present in aging. Indeed, aged cardiomyocytes share some common phenotypic traits with failing cardiomyocytes, such as oxidative damage and energy mismatch under increased metabolic demand. Previous studies of our group have demonstrated that these phenotypic traits can be explained by an alteration in the anatomical and functional communication between the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and the mitochondria, necessary to regulate energy production and antioxidant regeneration. However, the mechanisms of such disruption are not known. This thesis investigates the contribution of intracellular advanced glycation to cardiomyocyte dysfunction and mitochondrial alteration during aging.
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Programa de Doctorat en Medicina

Nivåerna av växthusgaser i atmosfären har ökat drastiskt de senaste århundradet, till följd av mänsklig aktivitet. Det krävs en stor omställning för oss människor om klimatförändringarna ska motverkas och för att konsekvenserna för planeten inte ska bli allt för stora. Koldioxid är en av de viktigaste växthusgaserna och skogen är en viktig del i balansen av koldioxid i atmosfären genom att växter och träd binder in koldioxid och lagrar biogent kol i biomassan. Rundvirke kan användas för att producera en mängd olika produkter med olika användningsområden och varierande livslängd och det finns både globala och nationella mål som stödjer ett arbete för en minskad klimatpåverkan med skogens resurser som verktyg. Syftet med examensarbetet var att analysera inbindningen av biogent kol i det årliga tillskottet av träbaserade produkter från svensk skogsindustri, för att sedan undersöka potentialen att öka tiden för inbindning av det biogena kolet. FN:s klimatpanel (IPCC) har tagit fram en generell metod för att beräkna lagringen av kol i skördade träprodukter och beräkningarna bygger på tre produktkategorier, vilka är sågade trävaror, spånskivor och papper och kartong. Detta examensarbete har utvidgat FN:s klimatrapportering genom att studera totalt sexton produktkategorier. Flödet av biogent kol studerades genom en materialflödesanalys, som bygger på massbalans mellan ”inputs” och ”outputs” i ett system. Systemet studerades från det att råvara förbrukas till dess att produkterna går som avfall och förbränns. Statistik över råvaruförbrukning inom sågverksindustrin och massaindustrin, samt produktionsmängd av fibermassa och träbaserade produkter användes i analysen. En stor volym biomassa går dessutom direkt till förbränning och ger bioenergi. Resultatet visade att sågade trävaror från sågverksindustrin har längst medellivslängd och binder även in störst mängd biogent kol. Biobränslen har kortast medellivslängd, och koldioxid frigörs till atmosfären på mycket kortast tid. Enligt detta examensarbete innehåller träbaserade produkter från Sverige 29,0 miljoner ton koldioxid årligen. Tre strategier att förlänga inbindningstiden av biogent kol studerades, vilka är förlängd livslängd för produkter, kaskadanvändning och Bio-Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). Att förlänga livslängden för produkter innebär att återvinning av exempelvis cellulosabaserade textilier införs. Kaskadanvändning innebär att skogsindustrin primärt ska producera långlivade produkter och undvika att biomassa direkt går till förbränning. BECCS bygger på att träden binder in kol i sin biomassa och när en träbaserad produkt förbränns pressas frigjord koldioxid ned i marken och lagras. BECCS bedöms vara den strategi som är mest avancerad.
The levels of greenhouse gases have increased drastically over the past hundred years as a result of human activity. Major actions are needed to counter climate change, if the consequences are not to be too great. Carbon dioxide is one of the most important greenhouse gases and the forest is an important part of the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, by the fact that plants and trees bind carbon dioxide and store biogenic carbon in the biomass. Roundwood can be used to produce a variety of products with different applications and varying life spans and there are both global and national goals that support a work to reduce climate change with forest resources as tools. The aim of the thesis was to analyse the storage of biogenic carbon in the annual addition of wood-based products from the Swedish forest industry, and then to investigate the potential to increase the time of storage. The UN Climate Panel (IPCC) has developed a general method for calculating the storage of carbon in harvested wood products and the calculations is based on three product categories, which are sawn wood, wood-based panels and paper and paperboard. This thesis has expanded the UN climate reporting by studying a total of sixteen product categories. The flow of carbon was studied using a material flow analysis, which is based on the mass balance of inputs and outputs in a system. The system was studied from the raw material being consumed until the products are defined as waste and incinerated. The calculations were based on statistics on raw material consumption in the sawmill industry and the pulp and paper industry, as well as production volume of fibre pulp and wood-based products. A large volume of biomass also goes directly to incineration and provides bioenergy. The binding time of biogenic carbon was analysed to explore the potential of increasing the binding time, using different strategies. Sawn timber products from the sawmill industry have the longest average life span and also bind the highest amount of biogenic carbon. Biofuels have the shortest average life span, which means that carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere rapidly. A total of 29.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide are stored in wood-based products annually, according to this study. Three strategies to extend the storage time of biogenic carbon were studied in this study, which were extended life span of the products, cascading wood use and so called BECCS. To extend product life means introducing recycling of, for example, cellulose-based textiles. Cascading wood use means that the forest industry primarily produce long-lived products and avoid biomass going directly to incineration. BECCS is based on the fact that trees bind carbon dioxide in their biomass and when wood-based product is incinerated, the carbon dioxide is stored in the ground. BECCS is considered to be the most advanced strategy, of the three.

Based on the insight that the type of product an economy exports can have important implications for its economic performance and that goods exported predominantly by rich countries will have different characteristics from those exported by poor countries, Lall et al (2006) put forward a novel means of classifying commodities based on the income levels of a product¿s main exporters. At around the same time Hausmann et al (2006) following a similar approach put forward a slightly different form of product classification and Rodrik (2006) applied this specifically to an analysis of China. This paper highlights the difference between the approaches and its implications for the analysis of China, which appears less `special¿ using the approach of Lall et al.

En aquesta Tesi hem investigat sis canyons submarins situats als marges continentals català central (canyó submarí del Foix) i del nord (canyons submarins del Cap de Creus, la Fonera i Blanes), i del sud de Califòrnia (canyons submarins de Santa Mònica i Redondo), amb la finalitat d’aprofundir en el coneixement dels processos de transport sedimentari que s’hi produeixen, de les seves resultants morfosedimentàries de detall, i del paper que juguen en la transferència i acumulació de deixalles d’origen antròpic. Per assolir allò que preteníem hem utilitzat dades de batimetria de multifeix i de sísmica de reflexió de molt alta resolució adquirides amb mètodes ara ja convencionals, des de vaixells en superfície, i amb un vehicle subaquàtic autònom (AUV), i també imatges obtingudes in situ amb un vehicle subaquàtic operat remotament (ROV). Els resultats assolits han estat publicats en tres articles que formen el cos d’aquesta Tesi, els quals resumim breument en els paràgrafs següents. L’estudi morfomètric detallat del canyó del Foix ha permès il·lustrar la complexitat de les xarxes de drenatge dels talussos de marges continentals passius, comparables en certa mesura a les xarxes fluvials. El principal element que contribueix a la complexitat morfològica, i també a la jerarquització, de les lleres que conformen els sistemes de canyons submarins són els xaragalls de vessant, l’evolució dels quals a hores d’ara resulta de l’acció subjacent de fluxos gravitatius i de les interferències provocades per l’acció de l’home sobre el fons, en especial per la pesca de ròssec. La modelització de la xarxa de drenatge i la seva parametrització morfomètrica subseqüent permeten quantificar i analitzar objectivament la forma, la mida, el patró de desenvolupament i la capacitat de transport del conjunt de lleres que conformen un sistema de canyó submarí i, per tant, discriminar les rutes de transport principals. L’estudi d’altíssima resolució de la geomorfologia i el recobriment sedimentari més superficial dels canyons submarins de Santa Mònica i de Redondo, a Califòrnia, ens ha permès resoldre el significat de les formes de fons observades i interpretar els processos responsables del seu desenvolupament. Destaquen especialment una successió d’ones de sediment rítmiques al fons del canyó de Redondo i un conjunt de cicatrius erosives al curs inferior del canyó de Santa Mònica. Pel que fa a les ones de sediment, l’anàlisi acurada d’aquestes formes de fons sedimentàries ha permès provar la seva migració ascendent, només explicable per l’acció de corrents de terbolesa, les quals a més de transportar sediment també n’intercanvien amb la llera del canyó, fet determinant del tipus d’empremta generada. Hem identificat els tipus de deixalles presents als canyons del Cap de Creus, la Fonera i Blanes, analitzant-ne també llur distribució i abundància. A partir d’aquestes observacions hem mirat d’escatir quins són els processos hidrosedimentaris responsables del transport de les deixalles cap als trams intermedis i distals dels canyons investigats. A partir de la categorització de les deixalles, hem aproximat els seus orígens i vies d’entrada al medi marí, que té lloc al llarg de la línia de costa en el seu conjunt, comptant també amb l’acció del vent, i puntualment per les desembocadures fluvials, i mar enfora per efecte de l’activitat pesquera i de la navegació recreativa i de transport de mercaderies. Els plàstics, lleugers i fàcils de transportar per la dinàmica marina, i les restes d’arts de pesca, resultants de l’aprofitament històric intensiu dels recursos vius de la zona, són els tipus de deixalles més abundants. La interacció entre deixalles i organismes és ambivalent, doncs hem observat que tan pot ésser perjudicial com beneficiosa. On més gran és l’acumulació de deixalles, si més no en nombre d’ítems, és preferentment a profunditats superiors als 1.000 o 1.500 m, segons el canyó considerat. D’acord amb els patrons de distribució observats i els processos hidrosedimentaris que ocorren al marge català del nord, considerem que les cascades d’aigües denses de plataforma i els grans temporals de llevant són els principals causants de la transferència de deixalles canyó avall. Aquesta interpretació se sosté per la capacitat d’aquests processos per resuspendre, remobilitzar i transportar de manera altament eficient i en grans volums aigua densa, sediments i, pel que es veu, substàncies estranyes com les deixalles des de la plataforma continental fins la conca profunda, a més de 2.000 m. Els tres articles de la nostra Tesi proporcionen una visió més amplia i més transdisciplinar dels processos hidrodinàmics que operen als canyons submarins, de les morfologies generades i dels efectes colaterals d’aquests processos en l’actual periode Antropocè, caracteritzat per l’abast de la petjada humana arreu del planeta. En aquest aspecte concret, el de la petjada humana als fons marins profunds, és de plena aplicació la idea de que “no per poc conegut, és menys rellevant”. Per tant, la nostra Tesi també conté un crit d’alerta front al caràcter estès de l’impacte antropogènic a l’ambient marí. En aquest marc, conèixer el funcionament dels canyons submarins assoleix encara més transcendència, doncs no es tracta només de Geologia, o de Sedimentologia, sinó que va molt més enllà.
In this PhD Thesis we have investigated six submarine canyons located in the central (Foix submarine canyon) and north (Cap de Creus, la Fonera and Blanes submarine canyons) Catalan continental margins, and in the continental margin of Southern California (Santa Monica and Redondo submarine canyons). Our main aim has been to improve the understanding of sediment transport processes within the canyons, unveil the resulting morphologies, and illuminate their role in the transfer and accumulation of marine litter. Our dataset was obtained by means of state of the art high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and seismic reflection systems from surface vessels and an advanced autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), jointly with an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that provided in situ seafloor imagery. The main results obtained have been published in three scientific papers that form the core of this PhD Thesis, which are briefly summarized in the following paragraphs. The detailed morphometric study of the Foix Canyon has shown the complexity of drainage networks on the slopes of passive continental margins, which are comparable to some extent to fluvial networks. The modelling of the drainage network and their subsequent morphometric parameterization allow to objectively quantifying and analysing the shape, size, pattern of development, and the transport capacity of all channels that make up a submarine canyon system and therefore discriminate major transport routes. The high-resolution analysis of the geomorphology and sediment cover of the Santa Monica and Redondo submarine canyons, in California, has allowed understanding the significance of the observed bedforms and subsequently interpreting the processes responsible for their development. We have identified the types of litter present in Cap de Creus, Fonera and Blanes canyons, also analysing their distribution and abundance. Plastic, which is lightweight and easy to carry by ocean dynamics, and lost or dumped fishing gear resulting from intensive historical exploitation of living resources in the area, are the most abundant types of litter. The interaction between organisms and litter is ambiguous, as it has been observed to be both detrimental and beneficial. Litter accumulation is larger, at least in number of items, at depths in excess of 1.000 or 1.500 m, depending on the canyon considered. According to the observed patterns of distribution and the hydrosedimentary processes occurring in the northern Catalan margin, dense shelf water cascading and severe coastal storms appear as the main transferring mechanisms of litter down-canyon. The three papers in our PhD Thesis provide a broader and more multidisciplinary vision of the hydrodynamic processes operating in submarine canyons, the resulting morphologies and the side effects of these processes in the present Anthropocene epoch, which is characterized by the long reach of the human footprint over the entire planet. Therefore, our PhD Thesis also conveys a warning message against the pervasive character of the anthropogenic impact on the marine environment. In this setting, knowing the functioning of submarine canyons becomes even more relevant as it goes much beyond than just Geology or Sedimentology.

Junto con los esfuerzos de la sociedad civil, la preocupación por el cumplimiento de pactos internacionales y legislación interna de cada gobierno en pro del cuidado del medio ambiente, desde mi experiencia profesional en el área comercial, con este trabajo de investigación, propongo la creación de productos de papel de consumo dentro del hogar, tales como papel higiénico, papel toalla y servilletas, para que sean fabricados solo a base de papel reciclado reemplazando a su principal insumo hoy en día, que es la celulosa. Para esta tarea el reto es generar concientización y motivar al consumidor a realizar un cambio en sus hábitos de compra de manera que se convierta en un agente activo en un mejor porvenir para nuestro planeta.
Together with the efforts of civil society, the concern for compliance with international pacts and internal legislation of each government in favor of caring for the environment, from my professional experience in the commercial area, with this research work, I propose the creation of paper products for consumption within the home, such as toilet paper, paper towels and napkins, are made only from recycled paper, replacing their main input today, which is cellulose. For this task, the challenge is to generate awareness and motivate consumers to make a change in their buying habits so that they become an active agent in a better future for our planet.
Trabajo de investigación

Doutoramento em Engenharia Química
A vida da sociedade atual é dependente dos recursos fósseis, tanto a nível de energia como de materiais. No entanto, tem-se verificado uma redução das reservas destes recursos, ao mesmo tempo que as necessidades da sociedade continuam a aumentar, tornando cada vez mais necessárias, a produção de biocombustíveis e produtos químicos. Atualmente o etanol é produzido industrialmente a partir da cana-de-açúcar e milho, matérias-primas usadas na alimentação humana e animal. Este fato desencadeou o aumento de preços dos alimentos em todo o mundo e, como consequência, provocou uma série de distúrbios sociais. Os subprodutos industriais, recursos independentes das cadeias alimentares, têm-se posicionado como fonte de matérias-primas potenciais para bioprocessamento. Neste sentido, surgem os subprodutos gerados em grande quantidade pela indústria papeleira. Os licores de cozimento da madeira ao sulfito ácido (SSLs) são uma matériaprima promissora, uma vez que durante este processo os polissacarídeos da madeira são hidrolisados originando açúcares fermentáveis. A composição dos SSLs varia consoante o tipo de madeira usada no processo de cozimento (de árvores resinosas, folhosas ou a mistura de ambas). O bioprocessamento do SSL proveniente de folhosas (HSSL) é uma metodologia ainda pouco explorada. O HSSL contém elevadas concentrações de açúcares (35-45 g.L-1), na sua maioria pentoses. A fermentação destes açúcares a bioetanol é ainda um desafio, uma vez que nem todos os microrganismos são capazes de fermentar as pentoses a etanol. De entre as leveduras capazes de fermentar naturalmente as pentoses, destaca-se a Scheffersomyces stipitis, que apresenta uma elevada eficiência de fermentação. No entanto, o HSSL contém também compostos conhecidos por inibirem o crescimento de microrganismos, dificultando assim o seu bioprocessamento. Neste sentido, o principal objetivo deste trabalho foi a produção de bioetanol pela levedura S. stipitis a partir de HSSL, resultante do cozimento ao sulfito ácido da madeira de Eucalyptus globulus. Para alcançar este objetivo, estudaram-se duas estratégias de operação diferentes. Em primeiro lugar estudou-se a bio-desintoxicação do HSSL com o fungo filamentoso Paecilomyces variotii, conhecido por crescer em resíduos industriais. Estudaram-se duas tecnologias fermentativas diferentes para a biodesintoxicação do HSSL: um reator descontínuo e um reator descontínuo sequencial (SBR). A remoção biológica de inibidores do HSSL foi mais eficaz quando se usou o SBR. P. variotii assimilou alguns inibidores microbianos como o ácido acético, o ácido gálico e o pirogalol, entre outros. Após esta desintoxicação, o HSSL foi submetido à fermentação com S. stipitis, na qual foi atingida a concentração máxima de etanol de 2.36 g.L-1 com um rendimento de 0.17 g.g-1. P. variotti, além de desintoxicar o HSSL, também é útil na produção de proteína microbiana (SCP) para a alimentação animal pois, a sua biomassa é rica em proteína. O estudo da produção de SCP por P. variotii foi efetuado num SBR com HSSL sem suplementos e suplementado com sais. A melhor produção de biomassa foi obtida no HSSL sem adição de sais, tendo-se obtido um teor de proteína elevado (82,8%), com uma baixa concentração de DNA (1,1%). A proteína continha 6 aminoácidos essenciais, mostrando potencial para o uso desta SCP na alimentação animal e, eventualmente, em nutrição humana. Assim, a indústria papeleira poderá integrar a produção de bioetanol após a produção SCP e melhorar a sustentabilidade da indústria de pastas. A segunda estratégia consistiu em adaptar a levedura S. stipitis ao HSSL de modo a que esta levedura conseguisse crescer e fermentar o HSSL sem remoção de inibidores. Operou-se um reator contínuo (CSTR) com concentrações crescentes de HSSL, entre 20 % e 60 % (v/v) durante 382 gerações em HSSL, com uma taxa de diluição de 0.20 h-1. A população adaptada, recolhida no final do CSTR (POP), apresentou uma melhoria na fermentação do HSSL (60 %), quando comparada com a estirpe original (PAR). Após esta adaptação, a concentração máxima de etanol obtida foi de 6.93 g.L-1, com um rendimento de 0.26 g.g-1. POP possuía também a capacidade de metabolizar, possivelmente por ativação de vias oxidativas, compostos derivados da lenhina e taninos dissolvidos no HSSL, conhecidos inibidores microbianos. Por fim, verificou-se também que a pré-cultura da levedura em 60 % de HSSL fez com que a estirpe PAR melhorasse o processo fermentativo em HSSL, em comparação com o ensaio sem pré-cultura em HSSL. No entanto, no caso da estirpe POP, o seu metabolismo foi redirecionado para a metabolização dos inibidores sendo que a produção de etanol decresceu.
The fossil resources are declining while the requirements of modern lifestyle for energy and materials are growing. Hence, the search for sustainable alternatives to produce fuels and chemicals from non-fossil feedstocks is increasing. Among all biofuels, ethanol is currently being industrially produced from sugar-containing biomass such as sugarcane and corn. The use of these raw-materials, belonging to human and animal feeding, resulted in the rise of prices of food all over the world and, consequently, in social disturbance. The use of industrial by-products, raw-materials outside the food chain, with polysaccharides hydrolysed to fermentable sugars, is an attractive prospect for future biotechnologies. In this context, spent sulphite liquors (SSLs), by-products from the pulp and paper industry, are promising feedstocks for bioprocessing. The composition of SSLs depends on the type of wood used by the pulp and paper industry (softwoods, hardwoods or mixture of both). Hardwood spent sulphite liquor (HSSL) is a by-product from the pulp and paper industry, rich in pentoses, which is not fully exploited for bioprocessing. The sustainable fermentation of pentoses into bioethanol is a challenge to overcome since not all the microorganisms are able to use these sugars. Scheffersomyces stipitis is one of the most efficient yeast to naturally ferment pentoses to ethanol. However, besides sugars (35-45 g.L-1), HSSL contains microbial inhibitors that limit the possibility of its bioprocessing. Therefore, the main purpose of this work was the production of bioethanol by S. stipitis from HSSL of Eucalypt globulus. To accomplish this objective two different strategies were studied. The first one was the bio-detoxification of HSSL with the filamentous fungus Paecilomyces variotii, known for growing in polluted residues. Two fermentative approaches were compared, a single batch and a sequential batch reactor (SBR). Biological treatment of HSSL to remove microbial inhibitors was more efficient in the SBR. P. variotti was able to assimilate acetic acid as well as low molecular weight phenolics such as, gallic acid and pyrogallol, recognized yeast inhibitors. This bio-detoxified HSSL was subjected to a successful fermentation by S. stipitis, attaining a maximum ethanol concentration of 2.36 g.L−1 with a yield of 0.17 g.g−1. Moreover, the biomass produced by P. variotii is a potential source of protein and other nutrients for animal feeding. Hence, SCP production by P. variotii from HSSL was studied using a SBR with and without mixed salts supplementation. The best approach for SCP production was the SBR without salts addition. The biomass produced presented 82.8 % of protein with 6 essential amino acids and 1.1 % of DNA. Therefore the produced SCP could be considered a good candidate for animal feeding and, eventually, human nutrition. This is a major advantage for a biorefinary approach, since this bio-detoxification process and the SCP production can be integrated with bioethanol production by S. stipitis. The second strategy to produce bioethanol was to improve the tolerance of S. stipitis in order to utilize the xylose present in HSSL without the removal of inhibitory compounds. A continuous reactor with increasing HSSL concentrations, between 20 % and 60 % (v/v) was operated during 382 generations of HSSL, at a dilution rate of 0.20 h-1. The resulting adapted population (POP) showed improved fermentation behaviour in 60 % HSSL when compared with the parental strain (PAR). POP achieved a maximum ethanol concentration of 6.93 g.L-1, with a maximum ethanol yield of 0.26 g.g-1. It was also showed that POP could assimilate dissolved lignin oligomers and tannins probably through activating oxidative pathways. Moreover, preculturing PAR in HSSL improved its tolerance towards the HSSL inhibitors and also the yeast fermentation ability. Nevertheless, preculturing POP in HSSL, redirected its metabolism to the assimilation of inhibitors, reducing the ethanol production.

In recent years, the necessity and opportunity for transforming pulp and paper mills into integrative units for large-scale output of biochemicals, biomaterials, and biofuels have come up in discussions of industrial renewal in the Northern hemisphere (mainly in Canada, Sweden and Finland). This transformation is related to technology shifts as well as changing business models based on new bioproducts due to profoundly new market conditions. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse how wood-based biomass industries – with an emphasis on incumbent pulp and paper industries (PPIs) – are managing this industrial and technological transformation that is taking place beyond the papermaking paradigm. Innovation theories on mature industries, their incumbents, and their propensity for technological lock-in and inertia are well-known. How new entrants and incumbents manage these large shifts is seen as central in understanding the dynamics of new, large-scale sustainable technologies on the one hand and the renewal of large, mature process industries on the other. Three research questions are addressed. First, where are the knowledge and technology frontiers developing in this transformation? Second, how are incumbents of PPIs are managing large market and technology shifts based on existing capabilities and knowledge bases? Third, what are the key mechanisms behind the transformation of PPIs from a process-industry perspective? The hermeneutical insights into the system of biomass technologies in general and the PPI industries in particular were gained by using a qualitative case-study approach, which formed the basis for four research articles and for outlining the empirical context and key words search of the quantitative bibliometric methods in a fifth research article. The research findings and main contributions address an identification of the, analytical, “formal”, science-based technology frontiers from a knowledge base perspective.  Old industrialised forest/PPI nations tended to specialize in rather slow growing, forest-based frontiers. They seem to have stayed close to the research trajectories of their woody raw material and knowledge base with the exception of North America. However, this not the entire explanation of transformation and technology development. Chemical pulp mills, in several cases developed into biorefineries, are the nexus of the emerging development block. They are contributing with products in a bioeconomy that is actively moving away from fossils and polluting materials (such as cement, cotton, plastics). In addition, demo plants (potentially nurturing hundreds of bioproducts) that are present at mill sites and involve different stakeholders, can act as the interface between analytical and synthetic knowledge bases that otherwise are difficult to combine in the upscaling phases of process industries. The response of PPI organizations to shifts in both technology and business models is also explained by the concept of diverging innovations of non-assembled products. These are part of a diversification of an industry from a forest industry perspective, and also of a diversification that may enter trajectories of several by-products and side-streams of the pulp “biorefinery” mill, and have analogies to a product-tree and to the material transformation flow of its production systems. But it is also a phenomenon of synergies in a broader multi-sectorial perspective, i.e. new sets of related products/processes that are able to replace industries of non-assembled products under the above-mentioned, new market conditions. The phenomenon of diverging innovations can be regarded as both an empirical contribution – the breaking up of a closed integrated process industry into something new with several emerging and integrative industries as a response to the large shifts in papermaking and sustainable needs in society – and as a theoretical remark on the model for non-assembled products presented by Utterback (1994).
Under de senaste åren har nödvändigheten och möjligheten att omvandla massa- och pappersbruk till integrerade produktionsenheter för storskalig produktion av biokemikalier, biomaterial och biobränslen uppkommit i diskussioner om industriell förnyelse på norra halvklotet - främst i Kanada, Sverige och Finland. Denna omvandling är relaterad till teknikskiften samt förändrade affärsmodeller baserade på nya bioprodukter och kraftigt ändrade marknadsförutsättningar. Syftet med avhandlingen är att analysera hur vedbaserade industrier – med betoning på befintliga massa- och pappersindustrin - hanterar denna industriella och tekniska omvandling utanför det traditionella papperstillverkningsparadigmet. Innovationsteorier om mogna branscher, deras benägenhet för teknisk inlåsning och tröghet är välkända. Hur nya och etablerade aktörer hanterar dessa stora förändringar ses som central för att förstå dynamiken i ny, storskalig, hållbar teknik å ena sidan och förnyelse av mogna processindustrier å andra sidan. Tre forskningsfrågor behandlas. Först, var utvecklas kunskaps- och teknikfronter i denna omvandling? För det andra, hur hanterar etablerade aktörer i massa- och pappersindustrin  stora marknads- och teknologiskiften baserade på befintliga kunskapsbaser? För det tredje, vilka är de huvudmekanismerna bakom omvandlingen av massa- och pappersindustrin ur ett processindustriellt perspektiv? Förståelsen för det biomasseteknologiska systemet i allmänhet och massa- och pappersindustrin i synnerhet erhölls genom att använda kvalitativa fallstudier och metoder. De låg till grund för fyra forskningsartiklar och utmejslade den empiriska kontexten för kvantitativa, bibliometriska metoder i en femte forskningsartikel. Forskningsresultaten utgörs bl a av en identifiering av analytiska, "formella", vetenskapligt baserade teknikfronter. Äldre skogsindustriländer tenderar att specialisera sig i långsamväxande, skogsbaserade teknikfronter. De följer forskningsbanor närmare deras vedråvaru- och kunskapsbaser (med undantag av Nordamerika). Men det är inte hela förklaringen till teknikutvecklingen och dess omställningspotential. Kemiska massabruk, i flera fall utvecklade till bioraffinaderier, kan utgöra hävstången för ett framväxande utvecklingsblock. De bidrar med produkter i en bioekonomi som aktivt rör sig bort från fossila och resursineffektiva material och processer (såsom cement, bomull, plast). Dessutom kan demonstrationsanläggningar härbärgera en storskalig testmiljö för hundratals bioprodukter som är placerade i närheten av massafabriker och som involverar forsknings-, industri- och samhällsintressenter. De kan ävenfungera som gränssnitt mellan analytiska och syntetiska kunskapsbaser som annars är svåra att kombinera i uppskalningsfaser. Massa- och pappersindustrins omvandling förklaras också av begreppet divergerande innovationer av icke-sammansatta produkter. Dessa är delvis en diversifiering av en bransch ur ett skogsindustriellt perspektiv, delvis en diversifiering som kan generera i biprodukter och sidoströmmar, som har analogier med produktträd och påminner om det materiella transformationsflödet i det egna produktionssystemet. Divergerande innovationer kan ge ett synergifenomen ur ett bredare sektoriellt perspektiv, dvs nya uppsättningar av produkter och processer som kan ersätta industrier med icke-sammansatta produkter under de nya marknadsförhållandena som ovan beskrivits. Fenomenet med divergerande innovationer kan betraktas som både ett empiriskt bidrag - att bryta upp en sluten, integrerad processindustri till något nytt med flera framväxande och integrerande näringar som ett svar på de stora förändringarna i industrin och i samhället – och också som en kritik av modellen för icke-sammansatta produkter som tidigare presenterats av Utterback (1994).

QC 20160829

Flertalet stora produktionsbolag inom förädlingsprocessen av råvaror har som mål att så mycket som möjligt av materialet i produktiosprocessen kommer till användning. Detta kan ske genom att effektivisera produktionen, men även genom att de restprodukter som uppkommer återanvänds tillbaka i processen alternativt komma till användning i nya områden, hela tiden i åtanke att bibehålla samma kvalitet på ursprungsprodukten. Detta arbete har valt att fokusera på restprodukter från de två områdena skogs- och pappersindustrin samt gruvoch stålindustrin. I gruv- och stålindustrin kommer stora kvantiteter av restprodukter upp under produktionsprocesserna i form av bland annat sidoberg, anrikningssand och slagger. Ofta gör de stora mängderna restprodukter att det blir logistiska problem när nya områden för produkterna ska analyseras, även att det finns svårigheter att få lönsamhet i de nya områdena. Ur perspektivet skogsindustrin kommer detta arbete att fokusera på den del av branschen som producerar för pappersindustrin. I arbetet har undersökningar gjorts på vilka produkter respektive industrier i nuläget producerar genom sina restprodukter och avfall, samt vilka i framtiden som har potential att produceras. Detta har gjorts genom att intervjua centrala personer för området på företag som är stora aktörer inom respektive industri samt litteraturstudier inom dessa områden. Det som erhölls genom arbetet var att skogs- och pappersindustrin redan i dagsläget har ett välfungerande system och får generellt lite restprodukter som är svåra att komma till ny använding alternativt läggs på deponi. De små mängder som uppkommer bedrivs det samtidigt utveckling på för att även de ska kunna tas tillvara på, exempel på detta är biodrivmedel där företag som SCA har planer att utvidga sin verksamhet. Gruv- och stålindustrin hade även de utveckling för att minska och förädla de restprodukter som uppkommer, bland annat försöker LKAB utveckla gödsel ur den fosfor som finns i anrikningssand och sidoberg, samt att SSAB exempelvis kan använda sina slagger i asfalt och cementproduktionen
Several of the big production companies aim to use as much of their products as possible in the manufacturing of raw materials. This can be done by streamlining or reusing the residual products from the production process for new products, while still ensuring the quality of the product. This article focuses on the products from the wood and paper industry and the mining and steel industry. In the mining and steel industry, large quantities of residual products come up during the production processes in the form of, for example, country rock, enrichment sand and slag. Often, the large quantities of residual products cause logistical problems when analyzing new areas for the products, also that there are difficulties in obtaining profitability in the new areas. In the perspective of wood industry will this work focus on the areas which produces for the paper industry.In this area, studies have been done on which products each respective industry produces today with their residuals and waste. The study relied on interviews with key people in every area of each big company. They found that the wood and paper industry already has a system that works well and generally has only a few residuals that are hard to get rid of in landfills, and the small amounts of residuals that do exist are being developed so that they can also be utilized (biofuel companies like SCA are expanding their operations to do this). The mining and steel industry has also made progress toward minimizing and refining their residuals. For example, LKAB is trying to develop fertilizers from the phosphorus found in tailings and country rock, and SSAB is using its slag in asphalt and cement production.

Crowing Hens Bindery is an independent business that I have founded to combine my passion for bookbinding, printmaking, and production. The purpose of this study is to provide an opportunity for me begin to make the transition from being a student in a graduate level book arts program to a self-employed bookbinder in a production and market driven environment. To gain a better understanding of production binding techniques I implemented a small production run. I designed three blank book prototypes that focus on the needs of the user, and I developed marketing descriptions to help put these products within a market context. To diversify my product line, I have created a variety of decorative papers including paste papers and linocut letterpress printed papers. These will serve as my proprietary covering material and offer alternative avenues to supplement my income. I have photographed the various stages of bookbinding and printing to illustrate the process of product development. This study has allowed me to begin to assume the various roles and responsibilities that a self-employed bookbinder must assume in order to cultivate a successful business.

Master of Arts
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work
Gerad D. Middendorf
The label “fair-trade” might seem to be a definitive designation: either a product is or isn’t. In fact, a continuum exists, resultant mostly from the participation in fair-trade by diverse groups of producer organizations, buyers, certifying organizations, and consumers. Therefore, the way fair-trade is perceived and practiced cannot be presumed to be homogenous. In order to better understand the complexities of fair-trade, a qualitative study was carried out to examine one fair-trade product and its producers. Two Nepalese handmade paper companies, Bhaktapur Craft Paper (BCP) and Get Paper Industry (GPI), were studied to gain insight into the producers’ perceptions, interpretations, and practices of fair-trade. This study also assesses the impact of fair-trade affiliation on the socio-economic conditions of producers and workers. To provide the opportunity for comparison, the cases of BCP and GPI were also compared, where possible, to those of a non-fair-trade company, Bagmati Paper Industries (BPI). The study finds that the fair-trade producer organizations were affiliated with fair-trade networks primarily to promote their business by way of the multiple and committed trading partners involved in fair-trade. Also, affiliation seemed to have positive impacts on the overall business of the paper companies, contributing to growth in sales over the years. Likewise, different training programs sponsored by fair-trade organizations, such as Fair Trade Group Nepal and World Fair Trade Organization-Asia, and fair-trade buyers also contributed to the capacity enhancement of producer organizations. The producers in the paper companies lacked an understanding of fair-trade due to a lack of participation in decision making, a high level of illiteracy among producers, and because management did not consider producer awareness of fair-trade as significant. The study finds positive impacts of fair-trade involvement on the producers’ socio-economic position: a company’s participation in and practice of fair-trade is positively related to improvement in the socio-economic conditions of producers. Considering wages, work-hours, working conditions, and job satisfaction of workers, the fair-trade companies were determined to more favorably affect workers’ lives than the non-fair-trade company.

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue el desarrollo de un plan de negocios para una distribuidora de productos de papel tissue llamada DIFRON, distribuidora de la frontera, en la zona sur de Chile, específicamente desde la VIII hasta la X región, con base logística en Temuco, capital de la IX región de la Araucanía. Los principales motivos que justifican este proyecto son la ineficiencia que tiene la división institucional CMPC Tissue S.A. en la distribución de estos productos, el aumento de los clientes potenciales debido al crecimiento en hotelería y servicios identificado en las regiones del sur del país y la cercanía con muchos empresarios de la zona debido a que el potencial inversionista de la distribuidora es oriundo de Temuco por lo que se podrían generar muchos contactos para comenzar. El mercado de estos productos ha tenido un crecimiento sostenido los últimos años debido al nivel de penetración de estos productos por el ahorro monetario que se genera para las empresas, pero aún no es un mercado maduro y mas de un 45% de las empresas regionales aún no utilizan estos productos y siguen utilizando el papel que se comercializa en los supermercados y en el canal tradicional o mayoristas. La metodología utilizada para la ejecución del proyecto, es la que se aplica para realizar un plan de negocios, y por lo tanto adecuada para la estructuración del proyecto. Se aplicó el modelo de las cinco fuerzas de Porter, FODA y de la cadena de valor para analizar la situación del medio interno y externo. Para el plan de marketing se realizó un estudio de mercado apoyado en entrevistas y la aplicación de una encuesta, lo cual posibilitó establecer los aspectos relevantes en el caso de los servicios y conocer las características de los clientes y de la competencia. El plan de recursos humanos se construyó en base a la funcionalidad, definiendo el personal necesario según las labores a desempeñar, el perfil requerido y las remuneraciones asociadas a cada cargo, con el objetivo de incentivar el desempeño según resultado durante las distintas etapas del proyecto. Para el plan operacional se distinguieron los procesos más relevantes de la operación de la empresa y quienes participan en ellos. Por último, se estimaron los ingresos y costos asociados al proceso productivo de la empresa a lo largo del horizonte del proyecto, obteniendo con éstos los indicadores financieros relevantes. De la investigación de mercado se obtiene que el mercado potencial estimado es de MM$5.895 anuales, y el mercado meta de la distribuidora será un 14% equivalente a MM$825 anuales. En base a la encuesta se obtiene además que la deficiencia de las distribuidoras de la zona es en los servicios, principalmente en el cumplimiento tanto en el tiempo como en los errores de los despachos, lo que determina que la estrategia de la distribuidora será la de diferenciación por servicios. En el plan de marketing se decidió diferenciarse entregando despacho 24 horas con garantías por fallas en la entrega y por entregas atrasadas. Pese a que los precios competitivos se encuentran un 5% bajo el precio de lista, la distribuidora comenzará la venta en el precio de lista ya que se estima que habrá una mayor disposición a pagar debido al mejor servicio entregado y los productos se promocionaran principalmente puerta a puerta posicionándose también en la Web debido a que en el presente la mayoría de los negocios se están buscando a nivel de Internet. El plan de ventas está hecho de manera de modelo para el área comercial, a modo de incentivar la venta a través de mayores remuneraciones tanto por número de clientes como por tamaño de facturación. El plan de RRHH y el de operaciones están desarrollados para adecuarse a los objetivos de la distribuidora y para responder de manera eficiente a cambios en el mercado. Del plan financiero se desprende que la mejor opción para la distribuidora es realizar el proyecto con apalancamiento del 50,8% con un crédito hipotecario de libre disposición lo cual entrega un VAN de $92.516.637 y una TIR de un 46%. A modo de conclusión final se aconseja realizar el proyecto, pero solo en el escenario con apalancamiento ya que el otro escenario el VAN no satisface las necesidades del inversionista.

Les travaux présentés dans cette étude ont eu pour objectif de mieux appréhender l'opération de désintégration de la pâte à papier, d'un point de vue d'agitation, mélange et dispersion d'une phase solide (pastilles de pâte à papier ou fibres agglomérées) dans une phase liquide (l'eau) pour une pâte de résineux et une pâte de feuillu. Dans un premier temps il a été nécessaire d'établir les paramètres opératoires, pour arriver à mettre au point une série des méthodes, de façon à déterminer l'intensité de ségrégation ou le degré d'inhomogénéité, soit dans la suspension, soit dans les feuilles de labo. Ensuite, une étude préliminaire ayant pour objectif de déterminer la consommation d'énergie dans le pulpeur lors de la désintégration de la pâte, a été réalisée. Un montage assez complet a été fait, aussi bien que plusieurs expériences exploratoires, qui permettent de déterminer la consommation de puissance à vide, dans l'eau et dans les supensions fibreuses à différentes consistances. Dans un deuxième temps, un travail d'exploitation de données expérimentales en comparaison avec d'autres données collestées dans différentes sources bibliographiques, notamment les travaux de Merrett et Savolainen, a été fait. Les résultats de cette synthèse ont conduit à l'élaboration d'un modèle cinétique globale de la désintégration, où on peut trouver un coefficient (1/[alpha]o) dont la valeur numérique traduit la résistance d'une pâte à la désintégration. Inclus dans ce chapitre, on trouve une approche originale, qui utilise une technique se basant sur l'analyse des concentrations massiques en différents points de la suspension. Simultanément, des techniques d'analyses d'images ont été usées pour caractériser la qualité de la désintégration. Une corrélation entre les deux à été établie et elle semble acceptable. Dans le futur, il est nécessaire d'analyser les éléments du montage électrique et d'élargir ces méthodes à d'autre matières fibreuses.

The press-section of a paper machine holds several different types of press rolls. One of the many press roll variants is the Valmet produced press roll, ViscoNip. This press roll utilizes an extended nip in order to increase the amount of water removed. The extended press nip in ViscoNip is special since it is controllable by a pressurized polyurethane press shoe. The press shoe runs through the body of the press roll. Due to limits of the current production process, new manufacturing methods and construction solutions are needed. In cooperation with another thesis, the current design and manufacturing process was reviewed and a plan intended to improve the current solution was formulated. The plan was to, by working together in a project, perform a product development process intended to create concepts able to utilize new methods of manufacturing. By using established methods of concept generation, such as Brainwriting 6-3-5, 11 concepts were created. Some of these concepts involved a redesign of the press shoe, leading to a need for construction and performance analysis. With the other thesis focusing on researching new possible and available manufacturing solutions. The work of this thesis fully committed to the structural and mechanical performance evaluation of the new concepts. This was performed by creating a model of the technical application using Finite Element Modelling in ABAQUS. The model included a hyperelastic material model for the polyurethane material as well as cohesive zone modelling to account for partitioning of the part. The model was then used to simulate the different concepts as they were subjected to a challenging load case. The results of which were used as the basis for structural and performance analysis. The analysis showed proof of sufficient structural stability and mechanical performance for all evaluated concepts. Then, in cooperation with the other thesis, a final concept choice was made. All in all, three different redesigned concepts were deemed as having potential for further development. The current solution was also deemed as having potential for future development but only when new manufacturing methods or techniques were considered.