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AFRY project partner in TreeToTextile sustainable textile fibre demo plant in Sweden
TreeToTextile, owned by H&M Group, Inter IKEA Group, Stora Enso, and LSCS Invest, invested €35 million in constructing a textile fiber process technology demonstration plant in Sweden. AFRY supported TreeToTextile throughout the project in the development and implementation phases from 2016-2022. The demonstration plant is now in the start-up phase.
Showcasing proven industrial-scale MFC breakthroughs for paper, packaging, and more
FiberLean.com — an entirely new website featuring innovative, productive, and game-changing advantages from their scalable MFC (micro-fibrillated cellulose) Modules — is now live. The site showcases a portfolio of unique formulations, equipment, and know-how to:
- Convert brown board grades to White Top “without spending millions”.
- Gain fibre flexibility, including high performance from cheaper recycled furnish.
- Substitute MFC for starch and synthetic additives.
- Make entirely new grades with modest process changes.
(By Martin Koepenick, Fred Naves and Elizabeth Wood.)
AFRY to be engineering partner in Stora Enso’s renewable packaging project in Oulu, Finland
Stora Enso Oyj and AFRY have agreed an engineering assignment for converting a decommissioned paper machine into a consumer board production line at the company’s mill in Oulu, Finland. The rapid growth of the renewable packaging sector continues due to demographic changes and overall long-term economic growth, while the increasing focus on sustainability, particularly in the consumer goods industry, is contributing to wider adoption of fibre-based packaging solutions.
Renewcell applies new textile fiber preparation system using Andritz ADuro green technology
Renewcell has successfully produced its first fiber material with the ADuro textile fiber preparation system from Andritz at its new site in Sundsvall, Sweden. Renewcell applies the process to produce pure dissolving pulp from 100% textile waste. The product is finally transformed by Renewcell’s customers into new garments for the circular clothing industry. The plant in Sundsvall recently reached its Commercial Operation Date (COD) on October 31, 2022.
Using CO2 emissions from industry to make climate-friendly plastics
Reducing industrial carbon dioxide emissions plays a key role in the fight against climate change. Utilization of CO2 emissions is an important means to this end. A research project coordinated by VTT examines the capture and utilisation of carbon dioxide from the forest industry and waste incineration in the manufacture of different types of plastic products. Simultaneously, process concepts will be developed to enable the commercial utilisation of carbon dioxide emissions also in other fields of industry.
Metsä Group and CollectiveCrunch: AI application for identifying storm and insect damage
Metsä Group and CollectiveCrunch, a company in the application of artificial intelligence to forestry, are jointly developing an application based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and open data for identifying and visualising storm and insect damage.
Electric railway engines, artificial intelligence, machine vision and an extensive network of wood terminals
An entirely new operating method has been adopted for the wood logistics of Metsä Group’s Kemi bioproduct mill. It combines electrified rail transports, the weighing and reception of wood at wood terminals, artificial intelligence, and machine vision. “The Kemi bioproduct mill receives two thirds of the wood it uses by train. Smooth rail logistics are essential to ensure that the bioproduct mill receives the volume of wood it needs,” says Hannu Alarautalahti, SVP, Production, Metsä Forest.
Official start of construction of CertainTeed Roofing's glass mat plant
CertainTeed Roofing in Oxford, North Carolina, broke ground in November on the construction of a new state-of-the-art glass mat plant. The facility will be used for the highly efficient production of glass mat, a key component in the manufacture of roofing shingles. With a total investment of $167 million, this is CertainTeed Roofing's largest investment to date in a U.S. site. The company has contracted Voith to supply the production machine as well as automation and digitalization solutions from Voith´s Papermaking 4.0 portfolio. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2024.
Russia's war is changing wood pellet market dynamics in Europe, with prices tripling in 12 months
The international trade of wood pellets has increased yearly for over ten years thanks to growing demand in Europe and Asia. Although shipments in the first half of 2022 were practically unchanged from the same period in 2021, an anticipated increase in demand in Europe in the second half of the year is likely to make 2022 another record year of close to 30 million tons shipped worldwide. The most significant change is the rising demand in Asia, with Japan and South Korea having become the second and fourth largest markets in the world, respectively. The United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium continue to be the major import markets in Europe.
Kelheim Fibres once again awarded with dark green/green shirt in Canpoy's Hot Button Report
In this year's “Hot Button Report”, released on November 9, 2022, by environmental NGO Canopy, Kelheim Fibres has once again achieved a top position with a dark green/green shirt and was able to improve its overall ranking by another 1.5 points compared to the previous year. The Hot Button Report thus confirms the viscose speciality fibre manufacturer's role when it comes to conserving Ancient and Endangered Forests.
VTT accelerates the development of sustainable soft materials by 50% through physics-based modeling and AI
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has expanded the application of its Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) toolbox ProperTune beyond hard materials like metals to now model and design soft materials like wood, polymers and plastics. This allows companies to cut down product development time by at least 50%, decrease cost elements of product development, reduce environmentally harmful materials and design entirely new materials that perform better. This expanded use of ICME makes it fast and economically viable for the replacement of an increased number of unsustainable materials while providing improved material performance.
WRI Market Insights, 2022: Global Softwood Lumber Market Update
Global trade of softwood lumber fell about 10% in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Most of the decline was driven by lower lumber demand in China, the US, and Germany. The slowdown in lumber consumption worldwide came at an opportune time since European countries, North America, and Asia boycotted Russian forest products after the country invaded Ukraine. As a result, Russia's lumber exports fell by over 30% y-o-y during the first six months of 2022 and are expected to fall further in the year's second half.
