COMPETENCE IN PAPER

Newsletter

November 2022

From the association

Meeting Regional Group South ZELLCHEMING/VPM

Dear members and friends of ZELLCHEMING,

Aristotle already pointed out the importance of community spirit and networks very early on. A few generations later, we see today that political, private and business networks can be very successful and important.

Take advantage of our regional conferences to exchange ideas. The ZELLCHEMING and VPM Regional Group South will meet on November 11, 2022 for the annual face-to-face event at the Papierzentrum in Gernsbach. Two exciting and more than topical lecture blocks have been prepared.

1. New drying concepts – Roadmap 2050

   Is there enough energy to keep our paper mills running? Can we pass on energy prices to our customers or will mills have to close their doors - and, ultimately, what does the future hold? What new concepts are there, and how quickly can they be implemented? Drying energy is known to be the biggest energy guzzler in a paper machine. For steam generation, do we need oil, gas, electricity or, more recently, hydrogen or eMethanol?

2. Training at the Paper Center Gernsbach
   The shortage of skilled workers cuts across all industries. What is the situation like for paper engineers? We are very curious to hear what the Gernsbach Paper Center has to tell us.

For all participants we again offer the possibility to either arrive already the evening before, participate in the dinner and stay overnight in the hotel or to arrive directly on the day of the conference (Friday). To promote the sociability in the association and for networking, we give the opportunity to meet already the evening before. For this purpose, we cordially invite you to a dinner on November 10 at the Papierzentrum Gernsbach starting at 7:00 pm.

In view of the space available and in order to comply with the spacing rules, we will limit this event to 50 participants. The contingent will be allocated in order of registration. Please register for the dinner and the meeting at the following link:

We wish all participants a successful day and many stimulating conversations!

Kind regards

Petra Hanke
Managing Director ZELLCHEMING Service GmbH

Award of the Alexander Mitscherlich Memorial Medal

On the occasion of its 116th Annual General Meeting 2022 in Wiesbaden, the Association of Pulp and Paper Chemists and Engineers awarded

Dipl.-Holzwirt Armin W. Reinhard

the Alexander Mitscherlich Memorial Medal, which was donated in honor of Alexander Mitscherlich.

from left to right: Dr. Ulrich Wittmann, Chairman of the ZELLCHEMING Association, Armin W. Reinhard, laudator Professor Dr. Rudolf Patt (online), Prof. Dr. Helga Zollner-Croll, Vice Chairwoman of the ZELLCHEMING Association

At the beginning of the 1980s, Armin Reinhard studied wood science in Hamburg. The topic of his diploma thesis was "Alkaline sulfite process for wood pulping with chlorine-free bleaching of pulps. Armin Reinhard then moved to the USA to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where he worked on chlorine-free bleaching of softwood sulfate pulps.

In 1987 he returned to Germany and became a project engineer at Haindl Papier. From 1990 to 1994, he was dedicated to the conversion of PWA's pulp mills to chlorine-free bleaching. From 1994 to 1998, he was head of research and product development at PWA Dekor in Aalen. Then his career path took him to Mannheim to SCA Hygiene Paper. In 2001 he took over the management of the packaging paper production of SCA Hygiene Paper and in 2003 he took on a new task with the management of the pulp mill in Mannheim.

When he started working in the pulp and paper industry, he became a ZELLCHEMING member in 1990 and active in the Pulp Production Technical Committee, first as a guest and then as a full member from 2003. Since 2011, Mr. Reinhard has led this technical committee as chairman and has shaped it in more than 10 years.

With the award of the Alexander-Mitscherlich Denkmünze, ZELLCHEMING would like to honor the commitment of Mr. Armin Reinhard over many years for outstanding scientific and technical achievements in the field of chemistry and chemical technology of pulp and paper production.

The recording of the award ceremony is available on our YouTube channel.

We are happy to welcome new members to the ZELLCHEMING association this month again!

We welcome to the ZELLCHEMING association:

• Dr. Wolfram Kalt (Austrocel Hallein GmbH)
• Lydia Tempel (Papiertechnische Stiftung)

Good reasons for a ZELLCHEMING membership

Dr. Petra Wollboldt, Head of Research & Development AustroCel Hallein GmbH

• What role does the paper-, pulp- or fiber-based industry play for you/your company?
  AustroCel GmbH is a pulp producer that produces chemical pulp for the textile industry.
• What made you decide to become a member of ZELLCHEMING?
  I have been familiar with the ZELLCHEMING association since my studies at the Institute for Textile and Fiber Chemistry in Stuttgart. ZELLCHEMING is an important forum for networking in the paper and pulp industry and for current research in this field.
• In what way would you like to be involved in ZELLCHEMING?
  The exchange in the field of cellulose and cellulose derivatives is particularly important for me.

Dates

• 11 November 2022
  Meeting Regional Group South VPM/ZELLCHEMING
  - Invitation
  - Program
• 22-23 November 2022
  Meeting Technical Committee Paper Making
• 29 November 2022
  Meeting Technical Committee Pulp and Paper Testing
• 21-22 March 2023
  Meeting Technical Committee Recovered Paper Utilization and sub-committee Recycling Technology
• 20-22 June 2023
  ZELLCHEMING-Expo

From the office

Lectures Business Forum

We have recorded the entire lecture program of ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2022 live and had it professionally edited. The individual contributions are now available for all participants of ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2022 On Demand.

How can I log in?

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• Log in with the email address and password used during registration or request a new password and get started.

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• You were sent a separate invitation with a link from the Talque platform (please also check the spam folder). Please open this link and go through the on-boarding process.
  After the one-time registration you can access the content with your personal password.

The registration process can be done through your PC or through the Talque app on your smart phone or tablet.

From industry & society

Recycled paper share in public institutions at 93.7% on average

More than 100 cities in Germany have together saved around 1600 gigawatt hours of energy by using recycled paper in recent years. This is the result of the current "Paper Atlas" of the Initiative Pro Recycling Paper. According to the evaluation, the cities covered, including the major cities of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, have increased their share of recycled paper by more than 25% since 2008 - from 68% 15 years ago to an average of 93.7% in 2021.

As a spokesman for the initiative explained, the 1,600 gigawatt hours saved are roughly equivalent to the amount of energy needed to supply Munich's residents with electricity for a year. The water savings are also considerable. Since 2008, the use of recycled paper has saved more than 7.4 billion liters of water, the spokesman added.

The title of "most recycling paper-friendly city" was secured this year by the city of Nuremberg. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) presented it with the eponymous "Paper Atlas" award in Berlin on Tuesday. According to the organizers, Nuremberg achieved the highest overall score in the use of recycled paper in public institutions. 100 percent of the paper used by the city administration in the past year 2021 was recycled paper with the Blue Angel environmental seal, according to the report. Nuremberg also received special points for the use of recycled paper beyond the city administration, for example at public schools. Second place went to the city of Hameln in Lower Saxony and Mönchengladbach in North Rhine-Westphalia. The German capital Berlin came fifth. In the county and university categories, the Unstrut-Hainich district in Thuringia and the University of Vechta in Lower Saxony landed in first place.

The "Paper Atlas" has been documenting the recycling paper rates in German cities every year since 2008, and for some years now also in universities and rural districts. Last year, 102 large and medium-sized cities submitted their data for the city evaluation. Since 2008, the number of medium-sized cities covered has grown steadily, it said.

Updated test method for recyclability of paper

Cepi, the European Paper Industry Association, has unveiled the update of its harmonized European recyclability test method, developed in collaboration with stakeholders from across the paper value chain, including specialist testing laboratories.

Critical to the project was the support of 4evergreen Alliance members, who conducted extensive testing over a nine-month period that led to the improvement of the method and the development of three technical annexes. The method is particularly relevant to the paper packaging industry. Many paper packaging solutions already have high recycling rates, but are also increasingly fulfilling new functionalities.

These need to be considered by brand owners seeking ever higher performance in terms of recyclability and sustainability of their products. Design guidelines and assessment protocols are being developed to support value chain stakeholders in these efforts, with the goal of making all paper packaging recyclable by 2025 and achieving a 90% recycling rate by 2030. The updated harmonized Cepi recyclability test method provides a solid basis for this work and allows paper products to be tested for recyclability under identical conditions throughout Europe.

The test method makes it possible to replicate under laboratory conditions the processes that take place on an industrial scale in paper recycling mills. The new annexes were developed through intensive cooperation between the companies involved in 4evergreen. The working group conducted a "reality check" of the method and supported the efforts of the testing institutes. 4evergreen is an alliance that brings together the entire fiber-based packaging value chain, including a number of global blue-chip companies. The three new technical annexes include a detailed working description of the test method, a template for laboratory reports and a decision tree for evaluating visual contamination.

4evergreen will soon release a "Recyclability Evaluation Protocol" that will provide criteria for packaging developers based on the updated recyclability test method. This will help the industry produce fiber-based packaging that is compatible with a low-carbon and carbon-neutral society.

Download the harmonized European laboratory test method for recyclability of paper:

Download the appendices of the harmonized European laboratory test method for paper recyclability:

From the membership

Voith launches certified bio-based guide roll cover for more sustainable paper production

With the AiroGuide Tune Green, ZELLCHEMING member company Voith is raising the bar in the field of products for papermaking from renewable raw materials. As the newest member of the AiroGuide guide roll cover family, the AiroGuide Tune Green is certified according to the internationally recognized DIN CERTCO for bio-based products.

According to the manufacturer, the guide roller cover combines all the benefits of proven AiroGuide technology while enabling a reduction in carbon footprint. "With AiroGuide Tune Green, we are the first supplier in the market to offer a DIN CERTCO certified guide roller cover with bio-based materials. We are opening up a sustainable alternative for our customers and setting a new milestone on the way to a more sustainable future for paper production," says Ralf Moser, Global Product Manager at Voith.

It is a fiber composite roll cover with bio-based raw material content. The product offers optimized corrosion protection with improved edge sealing to meet corrosion requirements in wet applications. Due to its resilience and high wear resistance, the AiroGuide Tune Green is said to reduce grinding and maintenance requirements compared to standard covers. The combined development of the AiroGuide Tune Green and SkyClean doctor blades is also said to allow them to operate without additional lubrication. Less water consumption and less misting are resulting positive effects.

From the technical committees

Meeting Technical Committee Pulp and Paper Testing (DATA)

The ZELLCHEMING technical committee on pulp and paper testing (DATA) is planning its next meeting on November 29, 2022 at the paper manufacturer Steinbeis in Glückstadt. Christin Joachim from PK Varel could be won as a speaker. She has led a project at her company in which students from the University of Oldenburg were to make intelligent use of data from the paper mill. "Such 'Data Challenges' have been around for some time and at some universities, but this project, so closely linked to paper production, is new and unique. I am very much looking forward to this presentation," says Dr. Heinz Joachim Schaffrath, chairman of the technical committee.

During the meeting, the technical committee will also devote itself to the preparation of its conference session at the ZELLCHEMING-Expo 2023. In addition, the tour of the plant at the Steinbeis site is on the agenda.

More information about the work of the technical committees of the ZELLCHEMING association can be found here: https://www.zellcheming.de/en/committees-and-network/technical-committees

Thematic and technical renewal of the Technical Committee Cellulose and Cellulose Derivatives (CELL)

The Technical Committee Cellulose and Cellulose Derivatives Expert Committee (TC CELL) has revised its profile and now presents itself as follows:

We see ourselves as an important link between university research, application-oriented research institutes and industry, especially (but not exclusively) in the fields of cellulose, cellulose transformation and chemical derivatization of cellulose as well as other polysaccharides.

From a technical point of view, TC CELL deals with the following aspects, among others:

• Cellulose, pulps and lignocellulosic biomass
• Hemicellulose and other native polysaccharides
• Cellulose fibers and moldings, polysaccharide-based biomaterials
• Cellulose derivatives and other chemically functionalized polysaccharides
• Modern analytical methods for characterization of polysaccharides and polysaccharide-based materials
• Current research aspects and regulations in the aforementioned topics (e.g. sustainability, biodegradability, circular bioeconomy)

TC CELL, which currently has about 25 members, has set itself the task of promoting the scientific exchange between the members of the TC CELL (and beyond that in ZELLCHEMING e.V.) in the above-mentioned subject areas in a sustainable manner. The goals are, among others, the promotion of young scientists in industry and research, the transfer of knowledge with a view to a broad connectivity of scientific research results as well as the identification of highly topical R&D trends.

Handing over the baton in the Chemical Pulping Technical Committee (CHEP)

The technical committee Chemical Pulping (TC CHEP) has reorganized itself: Armin Reinhard, the long-standing chairman, has handed over the baton to Dr. Rolf Yaldez. His deputy is Dr. Stefan Horner. Nils Kuhnhenne has been appointed secretary.

"After more than 10 years as chairman, it is time to tackle the change in the Technical Committee Chemical Pulping. The course has been set, the two colleagues have been there for a long time, and I am very confident that the work will continue successfully and that TC CHEP will continue to expand the network in the pulp mills with new accents. It has been a great pleasure for me to lead TC CHEP!" says Armin Reinhard.

The Board of the ZELLCHEMING Association would like to sincerely thank Mr. Reinhard for his many years of commitment and wishes his successor, Dr. Yaldez, every success!

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