Utilization of natural fibers

Lead Institute HF Institute of Wood Research

Research on the use of chemical and mechanical pulp, recovered paper and paper products

This institute-internal project comprises numerous individual projects, in which different pulp and paper products are tested for different applications. It includes beating or conversion, for example for the production of microfibrils. An essential goal is to find new, high-valued applications.

Background and Objective

The institute of wood research has the expertise and equipment to process, to beat, to chemically modify and to characterise a broad range of different fibrous materials, including recovered paper. Many individual projects are conducted in cooperation with the University of Hamburg with input by bachelor or master students. In most cases, the aim is to create process steps more efficiently or more environmentally friendly and to improve the added value by better product properties. The permanent research on the field contributes to our know how and enhances our advisory expertise with regard to questions about primary and secondary pulps and their use for paper production to other areas of application.

Approach

A uniform procedure is not possible, because the various individual studies subsumed under this institute-internal project require specific approaches. A current focus is the preparation of microfibrils. By selection of the applied pulps and by chemical or structural conversions the energy demand for fibrillation should be drastically reduced and the properties of the product should be improved.