Ahead of the Curve

Scientific Work Shows How Corrugated Stops Bacteria

21 Sep 2016 New scientific work explains why corrugated packaging outperforms returnable plastic containers (RPCs) when it comes to micro-biological contamination. As reported by the Corrugated Packaging Alliance, the work was conducted by Professor Rosalba Lanciotti and her research team at the University of Bologna’s Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences and published in Frontiers in Microbiology. It follows a research study published in late June that showed corrugated containers keep fruit and vegetables fresh up to three days longer than RPCs.

SCA will Split into Two Listed Companies in 2017

14 Sep 2016 The new hygiene company will receive a new name and be registered in Stockholm, and the forest products company will keep the name SCA.

‘We believe in potential and performance’

08 Sep 2016 An interview with Suzano’s Walter Schalka, RISI’s 2016 Latin America CEO of the Year

Bioenergy Technologies Office Allocates US$1 Million for Round 2 of the DOE’s Small Business Vouchers Pilot

31 Aug 2016 The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Small Business Vouchers (SBV) Pilot, which is part of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) National Laboratory Impact Initiative, in collaboration with national laboratories, supports small businesses to advance energy technology and help transform our biomass resources into commercially successful, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower.

Recovered paper markets for the rest of the year: What to expect

24 Aug 2016 By Hannah Zhao, RISI After falling for about half a year, the national average price of OCC in the US market finally bottomed out in April and has continued to climb since, reaching US$106/tonne (metric ton) in July, the highest level since June 2014. The price run for mixed paper and old newspaper (ONP) during this period was even faster. The recent price jump reflected the rebound in export demand and the limited supply for these grades, especially for ONP and mixed paper.

Notes from Rio

17 Aug 2016 By Marcello Collares, Fisher International I have been watching the Olympics along with everyone else in Brazil and around the world. As announcers tally the successes of each nation’s athletes, I hear the same country names that we regularly associate with success in the paper industry. Recently I found myself running to my FisherSolveTM database to answer questions that popped into my head about pulp and paper production in various regions of the world. In the spirit of the Olympics (and because I suspect I’m not the only one in the industry with an inquiring impulse about paper), here are some data and statistics about the nexus of international accomplishments in Olympic medals and the paper industry.

DoE grants $2.5M to study biorefinery waste use, renewable bioproducts

10 Aug 2016 By Kathleen Phillips The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $2.5 million for a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study to find ways to use biorefinery waste to make new, marketable products.

Report on the business ecosystem for cellulosic nanomaterials

03 Aug 2016 By Art Ragauskas Editor’s note: This article originally ran in the June, 2016 issue of TAPPI Journal, TAPPI’s flagship research publication provided each month to members.

Creating 3D-printed prostheses from forest raw materials

27 Jul 2016 How can an artificial limb be made a little less… artificial? When it is produced using renewable forest materials to create a highly-customizable, more environmentally-friendly prosthetic at a more reasonable cost for patients and providers.

TAPPI Committee Develops ‘Power’ Tools for Mills

20 Jul 2016 Could your mill benefit from expert tools for power and recovery boiler operators and engineers? TAPPI TIPs (Technical Information Papers), which are developed by TAPPI committees, bring together experts from pulp mills, suppliers, and scientists to develop state-of-the-art guidelines and best practices for key industry processes.