Research into the application of science and engineering principles to the pulp and paper industry spans several fields in Chemical Engineering. A wide variety of expertise is crucial to understanding and optimizing pulp and paper processes. Current research is currently being done in many aspects of pulp and paper processing:
- Chemical and energy recovery
- Coating and calendaring
- Fluid mechanics
- Heat transfer
- Mechanical pulping
- Particulate systems
- Printing and converting
- Pulping and bleaching
- Microbiology
Research is also currently being carried out in collaboration with industry under consortia of the following specific topics:
- Surface science for new and improved paper products and paper chemicals
- Minimizing the impact of pulp and paper mill discharges
- Increasing the throughput and reliability of recovery boilers and lime kilns
- Surface science for superior paper in the digital era
Facilities
Entrained flow reactor: Used to characterize the combustion behaviour of biofuels
Thermal Analyzer: Used to analyze the thermal behaviour (ie. melting temperature, heat absorption) of ash and inorganic compounds
Wet lab: Fully equipped wet lab with handsheet maker, PFI mill, disintegrator, etc.
Dry Lab: Fully equipped 50% RH lab with tensile, zero-span, Elmendorf, caliper, gloss, etc.
Laboratory calendar