The ‘Cellulose Fibre materials’, ‘Cellulose for the Future’ and ‘Paper mill for textile recycling in the circular economy framework’ research projects have recently been launched as a direct result of Innventia’s ‘A Cellulose-Based Society’ project. The preliminary studies from these projects will result in, among other things, proposals for our next research programme, which starts in January 2018.

Back in spring, Innventia launched its third Global Outlook Report ‘A Cellulose-Based Society’, which surveyed people’s attitudes to materials that we all use in our everyday lives and described trends and driving forces that are pushing us towards a more sustainable future. The three projects are the results of the needs inventory and research campaign that were organised within the framework of ‘A Cellulose-Based Society’.

The three projects in brief:

Elisabeth Sjöholm, project manager, what is ‘Cellulose Fibre materials (CelFi)’ about?
It focuses on scaling up All-cellulose composites (ACC) – a hot-pressed, high-density cellulose material. An increased understanding of the properties of ACC material and the scope for upscaling also provides us with important knowledge for continued development of other types of hot-pressed cellulose-based materials, such as hybrid laminate consisting of a core containing cellulose and a metal skin. Potential applications include modern materials for buildings and cities.

Katarina Ohlsson, project manager, what is ‘Cellulose for the Future (CelFu)’ about?
One of the challenges of research into cellulose is that the amount of new materials is often limited. This project will facilitate, in various ways, the creation of technology and a knowledge platform for research and upscaling for separation of fibres and wood components within the 1-10 kg range. The focus will also be on establishing cooperation and partnerships with academic research groups.

Tatjana Karpenja, project manager, what is ‘Paper mill for textile recycling in the circular economy framework (Circular Fibres)’ about?
The project is evaluating the techno-economic and sustainability performance of a new concept for paper production. The work focuses on new paper materials where a significant proportion of the fibre raw material consists of low-grade fibres from textile recycling plants. During pilot testing at Innventia, we previously proved that it is technically possible to manufacture paper with attractive material properties from just such raw materials. Based on the framework for a circular economy, this involves so-called ‘cascade recycling’ of fibres from the textile industry to the paper industry. You can experience the new paper in the cover of the ‘A Cellulose-Based Society’ report, which is Innventia’s demonstrator of potential applications for this exciting new material.