PTS in EU research projects

PTS is collaborating in 11 EU projects, in six of them (ALBAQUA, AOP4WATER, PRINTIP, SONOPULP, SORT IT, SOTIPA) as coordinator.

ALBAQUA (Combined ALgal and BActerial waste water treatment for high environmental QUAlity effluents) is an ERA-NET CORNET project funded by national agencies members of the CORNET Network. In this project, the potential of algae for the paper industry and related industrial sectors will be investigated. The aim is to establish suitable concepts for this purpose and determine their cost-efficiency potential. More information at Homepage of ALBAQUA.

AOP4WATER will provide information about water qualities which can be achieved by AOP-treatment and subsequent biological stage. For the first time knowledge will be available, if and to what extent the efficiency of ozone treatment can be improved by the use of AOP-combinations instead of ozone alone. Focus will be on the (re-)use of the different effluent qualities in the production process. Waste water will be provided by paper mills, food and textile industry and municipalities and will be (re-)used in paper mills and textile factories. More information at Homepage of AOP4WATER

The AquaFit4use project aims at a more sustainable use of water in the main water consuming industries. The objectives are ambitious: water consumption should be reduced by 30%. This should have an environmental impact of 5% less CO2 emissions and 20-40% less sludge disposal. And a far-going closure of the water cycle should achieve over 10% energy saving. More information at Homepage of AquaFit4use .

DEMOWOOD is a european research project within the WoodWisdom-Net Research Programme. The general aim of the project is to investigate valorisation concepts for maximising the added value of waste wood in value chains such as pulp production for paper products, particle board production and large scale energy recovery systems: combustion plants and liquid biofuels production. This would help saving the forest resource, reducing the environmental impact of waste wood management, while contributing to the objectives of increasing the use of a renewable resource and reducing the greenhouse gases emissions in the materials and energy sectors. More information at Homepage of DEMOWOOD

BoostEff (Boosting raw material and energy efficiency in papermaking using advanced sheet structure design and fibre modifications) is new EU project starting in 2010. It will focus on more efficient processes that will lead to a better productt as well as lower energy and fibre costs. BoostEff will develop innovative paper manufacturing concepts where the final product has a tailor-made layered structure. This will give the possibility to manufacture products that have the same or better properties compared to the conventional products, while introducing a significant reduction of wood-fibre raw material and energy use. More information at Homepage of BoosEff.

CapWa (Water Capture) is about capturing and condensing water vapour present in industrial waste air flows. The objective within the project is to produce a commercially available membrane modular system suitable for industrial applications within 3-4 years. The produced demineralised water from this system should be competitive with existing demineralised water technologies. The starting point will be the water vapour selective composite membranes that are developed in the proof of principle project. In CapWa the modular membrane system will be developed and tested in the flue gas duct of a gas and coal-fired power plant, a cooling tower (or geothermal well) and in a paper mill. More information at Homepage of CapWa.

PrintIP (Development of suitable laboratory test methods for improved communication between printers and paper and ink suppliers) is is an ERA-NET CORNET project. Purpose is to develop test methods for determination of printability properties of paper for use in the paper, ink and printing industry. The focus is on the three main aspects: mottling, striking-in and picking. A particular aim of the project is to establish the fundamentals for an improved information exchange between the printing industry and its paper and ink suppliers. More information at Homepage of PrintIP.

SONOPULP (Sonication of natural fibres and agro-waste for production and up-grading of papermaking pulps and biogas) is an ERA-NET CORNET project funded by national agencies members of the CORNET Network. The objective of this research project is to develop a process principle for producing pulps for paper manufacturing from annual plants, including agro-waste, utilising high-power ultrasonic (US) pulping technology and to influence by means of US the pulps used in papermaking to develop the desired fibre properties. More information at Homepage of SONOPULP.

The concept of SORT IT is the development of new and improved sensor and measurement technologies for recovered paper sorting. The main objective is to enable sustainable and cost effective paper recovery at more than 95% yield for all recyclable paper and board grades and a purity of 98% in wanted materials. Additional focus will be given to future requirements for food-contact concerning recycled paper products. More information at Homepage of SORT IT .

SOTIPA (Objective assessment of softness of tissue papers and possibility to obtain given softness specifications) is an ERA-NET CORNET project funded by national agencies members of the CORNET Network. The project aims at developing a cost-effective, objective, repeatable and fast measuring procedure which gives information about the softness of a tissue paper with a very close correlation with the human perception. More information at Homepage of SOTIPA.

SUNPAP (Scaling Up Nanoparticles in Modern Paper Making) with a budget of EUR 9.8 million aims to demonstrate that it is possible to manufacture high-quality functional paper and packaging products on a pilot scale by using flexible, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly processes. More information at Homepage of SUNPAP