Paper Industry shows how Innovation should be done!

Innovative Chemistry and the Paper Industry was the subject of the final RSC Belgium event of 2014 on 11 December at the Hotel Rastelli in Tervuren. Marco Mensink (pictured below), Managing Director of CEPI (the Confederation of European Paper Industries) presented the results of the CEPI “Two Team Project” competition: an initiative that has brought dynamic and innovative thinking into the sector with a potentially 'game changing' impact for European operations.

The Two Teams challenge looked to identify breakthrough technology concepts that could give the European paper industry the required dynamic for a successful sustainable future in Europe. Eight breakthrough concepts were identified including the use of deep eutectic solvents and supercritical CO2. Marco's talk provides fascinating insights into how fundamental principles of chemistry can help an industry face up to the challenges of the future and also how innovative thinking per se can make an impact.

Roadmap
In November 2011 CEPI launched the Forest Fibre Industry 2050 Roadmap, which looked at how the sector might reduce its fossil-based CO2 emissions by 80% while at the same time creating 50% more added value.

One of the key conclusions was that breakthrough technologies would be needed by 2030 to achieve these targets. So, in 2012, CEPI set up the “Two Team Project” to identify breakthrough technology concepts that would give the industry the required dynamic for a successful future in Europe.

The competition challenged two teams to be as creative and imaginative as possible while focusing on practical technologies and solutions that were appropriate for wide-scale use across the sector.

Eight concepts
The process resulted in eight candidate breakthrough technologies that could help to revolutionise the European paper and pulp industry with the overall winner being the use of Deep Eutectic Solvents that could open the way to the production of pulp at significantly lower temperature and atmospheric pressure resulting in major energy and emissions savings.

Marco was a very dynamic and entertaining speaker and gave a fascinating insight into how fundamental principles of chemistry can help an industry face up to the challenges of the next four decades.

You can find out more on all the eight final projects here.