The New Fiber Products project addresses the ongoing megatrend, which creates the market opportunity: as the world’s most populous countries continue to prosper, the use of renewable materials increases. The markets and the opportunities are huge but the materials and the solutions must be competitive against the existing solutions and materials, both in terms of quality and costs. In addition the materials should fulfill all criteria for sustainability and resource efficiency. This requires progress and breakthrough innovations in several research and development topics.

Objectives

New FP project aims to increase renewable materials usage by focusing on new cellulose modification methods: new enzymes and high consistency processes, on enabling foam technologies as well as on new product solutions in the area of antimicrobial products. The further development of the fiber and cellulose competence is one general target of the project. This enables many and diverse benefits not only in the project but also in other fiber product applications.

Structure

New FP project consists of four work packages (WPs):

WP 1 focuses on enzyme-aided oxidative fiber modification concepts to be exploited, in short and long term in up-grading of fiber-based materials.

WP 2 aims to generate new knowledge on antimicrobial activity of cellulose fibers modified with metal and metal oxide nanostructures created by LFS nanoparticle deposition or by chemical treatment and thereby prevent microbial growth on such fiber based products.

WP 3 focuses on testing and development of research and pilot infrastructure for processing of cellulose at high solid contents.

WP 4 aims to improved understanding of the interfacial phenomenon in complex fiber-polymer foams.

Participants

Aalto University, CLIC Innovation Ltd., Kemira Oyj., Metsä Board Oyj, Metsä Fibre Oy, Novozymes A/S, Paptic Ltd., Stora Enso Oyj, Sulzer Ltd., Tampere University of Technology, University of Turku, UPM-Kymmene Oyj, Valmet Oyj, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., Åbo Akademi University

Contact person:

Tomi Erho
VTT
tomi.erho@vtt.fi