R&D Goals and Priorities

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "R&D Goals and Priorities"

Transcription

1 The AGENDA 2020 TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE encourages the development of advanced manufacturing technologies that promise transformational impact on the paper and forest-based industries. The Alliance commissioned work teams to explore key technology advancement needed for the industry to reach its vision for Vision National Priorities Improve Energy Productivity Reduce GHG Emissions / Environmental Impact Create New / Preserve Existing Jobs Support Healthy, Resilient Forests Industry Goals Reduce Fresh Water Demand by 50% Reduce Purchased Energy by 50% Improve Resource Efficiency Develop New Bio- Based Products Roadmaps Reuse of Process Effluents Drier Web before Dryer Section Black Liquor Concentration Next- Generation Pulping Cellulose Nanomaterials In 2014, the Alliance received a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as part of its program to support industrial consortia in the area of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMTech). With this AMTech grant, Agenda 2020 developed research roadmaps to address key opportunities and challenges for the industry. The roadmaps provide research pathways for consideration by industry, the research community and government funding agencies to sponsor projects to move the industry forward. Agenda 2020 invites experts from research institutions, industry, and government agencies to engage in finding solutions to these challenges and helping to realize these objectives for the benefit of the nation and this important industry based on renewable raw materials. January 16, 2016 Page 1

2 Reuse of Process Effluents Stimulate development of new breakthrough technology concepts and projects to reduce average water usage by half by 2030 Paper Machine Whitewater Reuse Develop cost-effective, operationally reliable technologies for the removal of suspended solids, especially in the micron range Develop cost-effective technologies for the control or removal of dissolved colloidal substances Develop technology to effectively remove inorganic constituents (total dissolved solids and calcium) that cause scaling issues Develop the platforms and tools that will enable mills to meet their water use and re-use goals in creative and cost-effective ways. The two major opportunities are the reuse of paper machine whitewater and the reuse of effluent following secondary biological treatment. For internal process streams and treated effluent to be reused, target areas for reuse must be identified and their water quality requirements established; then, there must be cost-effective, practical technologies to bring the streams to the stipulated water quality needed for reuse in the target area. Reuse of Biologically Treated Effluents Determine a process for cost-effective reuse of biologically treated effluent in bleach plant applications Demonstrate the compatibility of treated effluents from five broad categories of mills with various process applications within these mills Focus on PM Whitewater Reuse Model development Development of a predictive model to determine the possible water reuse options in the mill and corresponding ROI Removal of suspended solids in the range µm Develop alternative processes to separate particles based on material properties other than size Removal of dissolved organic and colloidal substances Determine whether technologies utilized in other industries could be transferred to process water streams Removal of inorganic constituents (TDS and calcium) that cause scaling Explore the feasibility of the following approaches: chemical agglomeration and filtration, surface passivation, or both January 16, 2016 Page 2

3 Next-Generation Pulping Develop next-generation chemical pulping processes that preserve fiber strength and pulp performance attributes while achieving one or more of the following: Reduce total energy 25% Increase yield 5 percentage points Reduce BOD/COD effluent loadings Determine advanced pulping technologies to Increase the fiber yield Develop strategies to keep the yield gains throughout the bleaching process Bleachable High-Yield Pulping - Break the bleachable-yield barrier Develop a cost-effective bleach sequence for higher Kappa pulping processes with similar or better loadings to the waste treatment plant compared to current bleach processes Develop non-chlorine-based lignin activators to improve O 2 delignification selectivity Chip Activation - Wood pretreatment chemistries to activate reactive sites in the lignin matrix, predisposing them to be readily available to subsequent pulping processes Develop a chip activation method to facilitate pulping selectivity Explore oxidative alkaline pretreatments to remove a portion of hemicelluloses while activating lignin to subsequent kraft cooking conditions Catalytically Assisted Pulping - Discover new, practical catalysts for pulping, oxygen delignification, and bleaching Complete a computational chemistry study to screen categories of potential catalysts Identify higher-performing catalysts for strength, yield, and selectivity improvement Yield-protective pretreatment - Develop an approach to stabilize carbohydrate end-groups (cellulose, galactoglucomannans [softwoods] & glucuronoxylans [hardwoods]) toward primary peeling. Develop a better understanding of cellulose dissolution reactions and how they differ in hardwood and softwood Accelerating the Rate of Delignification - Enhance delignification rates at lower cooking temperatures through development of new catalysts Catalytic Oxygen Delignification - Develop catalysts to increase reactivity in oxygen delignification January 16, 2016 Page 3

4 Black Liquor Concentration Develop an energy-efficient method to remove water from kraft pulp mill black liquor with energy savings of 23 trillion Btu, worth $ million a year (based on $3-5 per MMBtu energy cost) Continue or start work in the following areas: 1. Overcome barriers surrounding membrane separation technology 2. Determine viability of black liquor concentration through freeze crystallization 3. Explore other technologies through fundamental business case review and proof of concept testing - Overcome barriers surrounding membrane separation technology Sacrificial coatings Improve separation efficiency to meet target permeate quality Define fate and handling methods for key components (methanol and soap) Explore process implementation roadblocks (surface fouling and cleaning) Robust membranes Define capabilities for separating model solutions Demonstrate proof of concept for methanol separation Super-hydro-tunable HiPAS Membranes Explore proof of concept for liquor separation in high-performance hydrophobic and hydrophilic membranes Modeling study to establish acceptable permeate quality specifications and process integration alternatives Iterative process modeling to define acceptable process stream conditions and permeate use that allow economically viable membrane application Characterize the capability of existing membrane technology Evaluation by a membrane consultant and a pulp and paper process expert of existing commercial technologies for feasibility screening Characterize process streams across membranes and conduct bench-scale membrane performance screening and research - Utilize a neutral party with in-house capabilities to test streams as membrane research continues Develop a pilot skid to analyze and optimize membrane technology Utilize a neutral party with in-house testing capabilities to build and demonstrate pilot equipment, potentially with capability to test at mill site(s) Process simulation/modeling to predict stream compositions based on inputs, membranes, and configuration Develop new instrumentation to operate/control membrane systems January 16, 2016 Page 4

5 Reduce Drying Energy Develop advanced manufacturing technologies that increase dryness of paper webs entering the paper machine dryer section from the current level of percent solids to approach 65 percent solids Develop a fundamental understanding of rewet and technologies to control or eliminate it Develop advanced fiber matrix to facilitate water release without impacting sheet strength and uniformity Mechanistic Understanding of Rewet and of Intra-web Transport Develop general mathematical model describing water flow rate and direction in the complex 3-D porous media Conduct experiments to isolate and quantify the sources of re-wet Develop a mathematical model including intra-nip modeling supported by sensor data to measure in-sheet moisture Felt Materials, Felt/Fabric/Roll Design Develop adaptive felt materials or structures that have high permeability at high nip-loads, and low permeability at low loads Identify or develop a membrane that will support unidirectional or preferential flow of water away from the fiber web Facilitating water release Develop options to shift or decouple the strength/water retention relationship including alternative fiber surface treatments Investigate the effect of covalent bonding strength additives to reduce the need for refining Investigate alternate chemical strategies to increase hydrogen bond sites without mechanical action and/or block the fiber from absorbing water Develop an understanding of the relationship between the fines fraction and water retention Investigate methods for increasing filler content; explore the impact of binding bonding material to the surface of bulking agents Develop a measurement technique to visualize and quantify rewet. This would include: (a) imaging and quantification of the felt/web interface; (b) developing a methodology for measuring rewetting; (c) quantifying rewetting under dynamic conditions Develop alternative and novel approaches to decouple strength and water retention through chemical bonding strategies or through use of alternative fiber types and minerals Develop a model to understand and quantify the different rewet mechanisms January 16, 2016 Page 5

6 Cellulose Nanomaterials Enable commercial development of cellulose nanomaterials for a broad range of applications Develop pre-competitive methods and technologies that will encourage proprietary development Characterization and Testing Develop the ability to measure and characterize particle morphology and particle size Development of rapid, low-cost measurement methods for control Dewatering and Drying Develop an economically viable dewatering and drying method that allows for re-dispersion Responsibly and efficiently moving cellulose nanomaterial through RD&D requires efforts in the following areas: Developing economically viable and environmentally preferable cellulose nanomaterials production methods with particular attention to the dried form Characterizing nanomaterial morphology and properties Exploring new applications for cellulose nanomaterials and tailoring of properties to perform well in such applications Research to Enable Applications Determine composite systems, resins that will work with cellulose nanomaterials, conventional polymers and/or biodegradable varieties Develop other strategies for using nanocellulose in composite materials GRAS designation - Conduct toxicological investigation for publication and expert peer review in order to obtain FDA Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) designation Dewatering method that allows redispersion - Find a cost-effective solution that preserves properties by modulating hydrophilicity, drainage rates, rheology; create temporary or reversible flocculation; explore alternative solvents Drying method that allows redispersion - Explore and compare existing drying technologies for cellulose nanomaterials and for other nanomaterials via literature review and bench & pilot evaluations; Explore chemical aids to prevent agglomeration/hysteresis Develop characterization standards for nanocellulose and composites - Develop standardized descriptions and characterization methods of materials and structures to facilitate comparisons and commercialization Prepare Life Cycle Analysis of production and application pathways - Model various nanocellulose production methods and develop cradle-to-grave Life-Cycle Analysis to demonstrate low carbon-footprint Facilitate commercialization in high-volume composites - Develop scalable dispersion technologies by investigating alternative modes of incorporation and surface functionalization January 16, 2016 Page 6