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A true green cover for industrial waste landfills, TAPPI Journal April 2024

ABSTRACT: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States totaled 5,981 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMT CO2eq) in 2020. Of that, GHG emissions by the pulp and paper sector amounted to 35 MMT CO2eq direct emissions and those by industrial waste landfills summed to 7.4 MMT CO2eq direct emissions. Loss of GHG sinks due to change in land use further contributes to the net GHG emissions. Industrial waste landfills are typically required to comply with certain federal and state regulations, including meeting requirements for final cover systems. Conventional final cover systems have included use of soil covers and/or soil-geosynthetic composite covers. An engineered turf cover provides for an excellent “green” alternative final cover system for industrial waste landfills.This paper discusses various sustainability aspects pertaining to use of an engineered turf final cover, including: (i)significantly low carbon footprint associated with the construction of an engineered turf alternative final coverwhen compared to closure using a traditional or prescriptive cover system; (ii) saving valuable soil and land resourc-es; (iii) saving water resources by reduction in its use during and after construction; (iv) reducing impacts associated with borrow areas; and (v) reducing overall carbon footprint. Further, when using an engineered turf cover, opportunities exist for beneficial reuse of land, including development of solar energy. A brief discussion on the potential fordevelopment of solar energy is included.

Improving monochloramine performance with innovative sensor-controlled dosing, TAPPI Journal January 2024

ABSTRACT: Monochloramine (MCA) has become one of the major oxidant chemistries for biological control in the paper industry. Feedback control, such as oxidative-reductive potential (ORP), is often used to provide better control of a dosing scheme. The trademarked Ackumen MCA-i is a chemical-digital solution that uses artificial intelligence with actionable insights to stabilize the wet-end process, providing improved performance and reduction in overall chemical costs. Accurate sensor-controlled dosing can be tied to multiple inputs, such as production rates, grade changes, pH, ORP, chlorine residual, freshwater usage, and more. In this study, a case history will be presented to demonstrate how this technology provided a more consistent MCA molecule throughout the process, resulting in a higher level of efficacy and reduction in chemical costs.

TAPPI Journal Summaries, Paper360º January/February 2024

The Paper360° 2024 TOP 50 POWER LIST, Paper360º July/August 2024

Impact of different calendering strategies on barrier coating pickup, TAPPI Journal November 2023

ABSTRACT: Paper was pre-calendered in a pilot scale configuration with a traditional soft nip calender and a metal belt calender. All calendering strategies reduced surface roughness and permeability of the samples, but different strategies affected the surface roughness and permeability differently. The metal belt calender seemed to have a larger effect on the large-scale variations compared to the soft nip calender. Six test points from the pilot calendered papers were chosen for laboratory coating studies. Uncalendered paper was included as reference samples. The calendered samples and the reference were pre-coated with a regular pigmented coating consisting of a ground calcium carbonate (GCC) pigment and a styrene acrylate (SA) latex. Both uncoated and pre-coated substrates were barrier coated with a polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) in one and two layers. The coating pickup was determined gravimetrically, and the barrier properties were evaluated with TAPPI Standard Test Method T 454 grease resistance test. All samples needed two PVOH coating layers to form a grease barrier. The uncalendered sheets showed the best results with one coating layer, but this was at the expense of a higher coating pickup compared to the calendered sheets. The barrier coating pickup could be reduced by a combination of high temperature metal belt calendering and pre-coating. The high temperature and long residence time in the nip enabled plasticization of the fibers. This led to an irreversible deformation, even after water application. This meant that the smoothness obtained during calendering would be less affected by water-induced roughening during the coating operation.

Use of kaolin clay in aqueous barrier coating applications, TAPPI Journal November 2023

ABSTRACT: Paper-based packaging with barrier effect, as opposed to single use plastics, is gaining more prominence for sustainability reasons. At the same time, latex- or biopolymer-based aqueous barrier coating dispersions are increasingly being adopted as a better alternative to the traditional barrier coating materials, such as wax, surface active chemicals, and polyethylene. In this work, studies were performed to determine the influence of different kaolin clays in latex binder-based aqueous coatings on barrier properties, namely, oil and grease, water resistance, and water vapor transmission rate, by applying coatings to solid bleached sulfate (SBS) paperboard substrate in the laboratory. The aim was to explore potential benefits of using kaolin clay to replace some of the latex binder in coating and improve or maintain various types of barrier performance and blocking without negatively influencing the other performance attributes, including heat seal. The delaminated clay with the highest shape factor provided improved barrier properties over the clays of low shape factor. The ultrafine and non-delaminated clays required significantly higher coat weights to reach satisfactory barrier properties. Coatings with different latex levels indicated that a considerably high proportion of coarse delaminated clay can be incorporated to replace latex binder, while still achieving exceptional barrier properties. Furthermore, a change in binder system was found to significantly alter the barrier properties and the role that a mineral pigment can play. The results indicate that a proper selection of binder systems for each barrier property would be required while considering the clay/latex coating systems.

The practical influence of heterogeneity on tensile accelerated creep in paper, TAPPI JOURNAL, March 2001, Vol. 84(3)

The practical influence of heterogeneity on tensile accelerated creep in paper, TAPPI JOURNAL, March 2001, Vol. 84(3)

How to use a search firm, Solutions!, August 2002, Vol. 85(8) (59KB)

How to use a search firm, Solutions!, August 2002, Vol. 85(8) (59KB)

Hot show hints industry is warming up, Solutions!, August 2002, Vol. 85(8) (181KB)

Hot show hints industry is warming up, Solutions!, August 2002, Vol. 85(8) (181KB)

Benchmarking maintenance practices at North American paper mills, Solutions!, August 2002, Vol. 85(8) (250KB)

Benchmarking maintenance practices at North American paper mills, Solutions!, August 2002, Vol. 85(8) (250KB)