MARKO SUMMANEN, FISHER INTERNATIONAL In general, specialty paper producers are small—often smaller than their suppliers or even their customers. Most specialty paper products are made with small and old machines. Average deliveries are small and some grades can be vulnerable to competition from larger machines that have been converted from other grades, such as newsprint or printing and writing. Customer ...

The papers summarized here are from the June 2017 and July 2017 issues of TAPPI Journal. TAPPI Journal is an online publication of relevant and timely peer-reviewed research delivered via email and free to all TAPPI members. To receive TAPPI Journal, join TAPPI at www.tappi.org. JUNE BLEACHING Improving the efficiency of hydrogen peroxide bleaching of chemimechanical pulp by continuous replenishment ...

JENNIFER BAILEY As the world’s need for clean, sustainable water sources continues to increase, so does the need for industrial operations to reduce freshwater intake and to efficiently treat wastewater before it is released back into the environment. Pulp and paper manufacturers, as participants in a particularly water-intensive industry, have a special responsibility to control and optimize water use throughout ...

DOUG SWEET, P.E. Vacuum systems are essential for papermaking. They contribute to sheet formation and dewatering, press performance, felt conditioning, and general machine efficiency. The vacuum system includes several sub-systems for vacuum control, air/water separation, and vacuum pump seal water management. Generally, paper machines operate with little attention required of the vacuum processes. Yet these systems tend to evolve into ...

This state-of-the-art pilot plant welcomes all industry stakeholders—suppliers, R&D institutions, and universities, as well as producers. MARK RUSHTON What may be the world’s most modern pilot plant for tissue recently opened in Graz, Austria. Paper360° was given the opportunity to speak to Klaus Gissing, the man in charge of the new research center serving the global tissue industry. The PrimeLineTIAC—Tissue ...

Having made premium grades for popular branded products for decades, in what new ways can a mill further optimize to stay ahead? That was the question management asked itself at Reno de Medici Ovaro, which produces a wide range of cartonboard grades and is part of the RDM Group (see sidebar.) “Creativity must always be in the air,” says Giorgis ...

It took a phoenix to let an eagle soar again. GRAEME RODDEN Greek mythology describes the phoenix as the bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn; typically the phoenix rises from the ashes. In this story, the phoenix is an eagle—American Eagle Paper Mills, Tyrone, PA. It began Project Phoenix in 2013 to “reinvent the mill’s critical infrastructures by primarily ...

ZENAIDE PERES To support the development and growth of the paper and pulp industry, while securing positive returns on invested capital—that is the vision of Suzano CEO Walter Schalka, who recently won RISI’s Latin American CEO of the Year Award for an unprecedented third consecutive time. According to Schalka, his management model focuses on dialogue and teamwork. For him, all ...

Partnerships can help speed scale-up and ensure that our industry is getting the most value from cellulosic resources. TONY DUNCAN Millions of tons of cellulose are under-utilized every year. When biotechnology company Circa Group was set up in 2006, its founders wanted to build on their lengthy experience in the Australian and New Zealand print and paper industries to establish ...

The forest biorefinery is more than just an idea—we have evidence that it’s coming. One key is to look at the relationship between the technology and the way a region values its biomass. BEN THORP, HARRY SEAMANS, AND MASOOD AKHTAR The US corn ethanol industry processes more than 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol each year. The US biodiesel industry ...