Articulo Cientifico
Páginas: 3 (630 palabras)
Publicado: 23 de octubre de 2012
NANOCELLULOSE HAS PAPER POTENTIAL
24 February 2012
Patrick Walter
A nano form of cellulose could soon displace wood pulp in paper, allowing producers to increase the amount of mineralfiller they use when they make paper, thanks to work by a Finnish team. This advance would cut the carbon footprint of paper substantially - by 15% or more, the researchers say. Cellulose is a biopolymer that provides structure in plants. 'Nanocellulose' is a new class of nanomaterial comprising crystalline or fibrous units of cellulose between 5 and 500nm in diameter andpotentially hundreds of micrometres in length.
'The basic idea to increase the filler content in paper is a long lasting dream of the papermaker because china clay is typically much less expensive thanthe cellulose and its carbon footprint is less as it's just a mineral coming from the earth,' says Ali Harlin, a professor of renewable materials at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Byadding 'nano-fibril' cellulose during the production process, wood pulp can be displaced and, because of the superior structural strength of nanocellulose, more filler can be added, cutting productioncosts by around 3%. Furthermore, it takes about 30% less energy to dry out because much less nanocellulose is needed. Compared with conventional cellulose, the paper is less carbon intensive. 'It's notonly cheaper - it's providing better properties, it's less porous, its printing quality is higher and it's not so translucent, so in all respects you get a better paper for less money,' Harlin says. Paper with an even higher filler content (80%) could be a suitable substrate for printed electronics. Harlin says printed electronics is a rapidly growing field and the nanocellulose paper they'vemade has a comparable smoothness and stability to conventional plastic substrates like Mylar A.
Theodore Wegner, assistant director of wood, fibre, composites and research at the US Deparment...
24 February 2012
Patrick Walter
A nano form of cellulose could soon displace wood pulp in paper, allowing producers to increase the amount of mineralfiller they use when they make paper, thanks to work by a Finnish team. This advance would cut the carbon footprint of paper substantially - by 15% or more, the researchers say. Cellulose is a biopolymer that provides structure in plants. 'Nanocellulose' is a new class of nanomaterial comprising crystalline or fibrous units of cellulose between 5 and 500nm in diameter andpotentially hundreds of micrometres in length.
'The basic idea to increase the filler content in paper is a long lasting dream of the papermaker because china clay is typically much less expensive thanthe cellulose and its carbon footprint is less as it's just a mineral coming from the earth,' says Ali Harlin, a professor of renewable materials at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Byadding 'nano-fibril' cellulose during the production process, wood pulp can be displaced and, because of the superior structural strength of nanocellulose, more filler can be added, cutting productioncosts by around 3%. Furthermore, it takes about 30% less energy to dry out because much less nanocellulose is needed. Compared with conventional cellulose, the paper is less carbon intensive. 'It's notonly cheaper - it's providing better properties, it's less porous, its printing quality is higher and it's not so translucent, so in all respects you get a better paper for less money,' Harlin says. Paper with an even higher filler content (80%) could be a suitable substrate for printed electronics. Harlin says printed electronics is a rapidly growing field and the nanocellulose paper they'vemade has a comparable smoothness and stability to conventional plastic substrates like Mylar A.
Theodore Wegner, assistant director of wood, fibre, composites and research at the US Deparment...
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