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J. W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund
The National Educational Trust of the Australian Forest Products Industries
NON-TRADITIONAL CELLULOSE PRODUCTS - OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION, DIVERSIFICATION AND
DEVELOPMENT FOR THE AUSTRALIAN FORESTRY AND WOOD MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
DR. MIHAI DAIAN
2015 GOTTSTEIN FELLOWSHIP REPORT
1
JOSEPH WILLIAM GOTTSTEIN MEMORIAL TRUST FUND
The Joseph William Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund was established in 1971 as a national educational
Trust for the benefit of Australia's forest products industries. The purpose of the fund is "to create
opportunities for selected persons to acquire knowledge which will promote the interests of Australian
industries which use forest products for the production of sawn timber, plywood, composite wood, pulp
and paper and similar derived products."
Bill Gottstein was an outstanding forest products research scientist working with the Division of Forest
Products of the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) when tragically
he was killed in 1971 photographing a tree-felling operation in New Guinea. He was held in such high
esteem by the industry that he had assisted for many years that substantial financial support to establish
an Educational Trust Fund to perpetuate his name was promptly forthcoming.
The Trust's major forms of activity are,
1. Fellowships and Awards - each year applications are invited from eligible candidates to
submit a study programme in an area considered of benefit to the Australian forestry and
forest industries. Study tours undertaken by Fellows have usually been to overseas
countries but several have been within Australia. Fellows are obliged to submit reports on
completion of their programme. These are then distributed to industry if appropriate. Skill
Advancement Awards recognise the potential of persons working in the industry to
improve their work skills and so advance their career prospects. It takes the form of a
monetary grant.
2. Seminars - the information gained by Fellows is often best disseminated by seminars as
well as through the written reports.
3. Wood Science Courses - at approximately two yearly intervals the Trust organises a week-
long intensive course in wood science for executives and consultants in the Australian
forest industries.
4. Study Tours - industry group study tours are arranged periodically and have been well
supported.
Further information may be obtained by writing to,
The Secretary,
J.W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund,
Private Bag 10,
Clayton South, VIC 3169, Australia
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The information contained in this report is published for the general information of industry. Although
all reasonable endeavours has been made to verify the accuracy of the material, no liability is accepted
by the Author for any inaccuracy therein, nor by the Trustees of the Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the
Trustees.
Copyright © Trustees of the J.W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund 2001. All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written
permission of the Trustees.
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About the Fellow
Mihai Daian is a business management consultant and industry
development professional with expertise in value added wood
products and a strong professional interest in industry
innovation and development.
He has worked in commercial and industry based projects with
focus on process improvement and innovation, market analysis
and development as well as processing assets valuations.
Currently, Mihai enjoys working at Margules Groome
Consulting as a consultant for the Forest Industry stakeholders
assisting them to utilise efficiently their processing facilities and forest resources, and to
maximise the value of the products to the customers. He has proven record of success in
providing process and technical solutions and establishing effective relationships between
industry members, academics and government institutions.
Mihai’s knowledge is in advanced timber processing, sustainability of timber supply chains,
innovative wood utilisation and the dynamics of Australian timber industry and its counterpart
industry in Asian countries. His expertise extends to Australia, Asia, Africa and Pacific
Countries.
Mihai has a PhD in Wood Innovations - Processing of Wood (2006) from Australia, a Masters
of Science in Agricultural Economics and Management Sciences (2004) from the European
Union, and a BSc in Wood Technology from Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania.
Mihai has worked in various engineering, research and consulting roles. He was Research
Engineer at Swinburne University working for CRC for Wood Innovations, Postdoctoral
Research Fellow for Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) at The
University of Melbourne, research consultant/business management consultant at Fitzpatrick
Woods Consulting, ScienceTech Consulting, Daian Consulting and, recently, at Pöyry
Management Consulting Australia.
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Executive Summary
Background:
The present study was driven by the/a recent nanotechnology movement that emerges into the
forest industries globally and considerations from leaders of the Australian forestry and wood
manufacturing industry, reinforcing the need for a closer knowledge on this subject. Insights
obtained directly from the Nanocellulose (NCC) products’ key developers could maximise
decision-making opportunities for innovation, diversification and development.
Purpose/Objective:
The main objective was to provide an informative source of materials that complements studies
which have been done already in Australia, including a summary of lessons learned directly
from the champions of innovation and development in the field of Nanocellulose materials.
Hence, this report identifies and exemplifies the current, international developments on the
utilisation of nanoscale wood cellulose materials and their production technologies, looks at
how governments and private funded research can provide the best benefits to the consumers
and build collaborative relationships, and provides general views of the Australian forest
industry’s leaders towards this subject.
Methodology:
The study involved two stages of work: first, identification of, and contact established with,
the Nanocellulose products’ key developers (pioneers) globally, including also desktop review
for the latest bio-refinery technologies and products based on wood as raw material; second,
interviews of Australian key plantation and paper companies and visits to international
businesses with Nanocellulose footprint in R&D and commercial production.
Key Findings
Australian companies, although not directly involved into Nanocellulose R&D, are part of the
international crowd with pro-active insights into this direction. Limitations to step-up from
insights into tangible investment and development include the decision making process that
belongs to the global parent company in some instances, the technology that is currently used
and non-adaptable, and the current environmental regulations in Australia.
The general view is that closer knowledge is needed in regards to the economics of producing
the new Nanocellulose materials and products. In addition, there is a need to understand the
impacts of price fluctuations of energy and raw materials, the required critical mass/economies
of scale, and ways to create links and explore synergies with interested players and technology
pioneers.
There is a strong interest from the Australian forestry companies to add greater value to the
forest resources and expand product portfolio through collaboration agreements that are able
to establish mutual benefits for other companies, investors and potential new clients; however,
a structured, fact-based approach is considered to be the way forward.
5
Internationally, there are examples of businesses which have made their way into the markets
with potential to absorb the new Nanocellulose materials. Consistently, these organisations
demonstrate a past and long term commitment to innovation and leadership in the forest
industry, a characteristic which created the basis and the driver for their present production
activity and innovative products.
The five key lessons learned from the experience of these forward thinking organisations
include the following:
- Valuable proposals have been taken into consideration by industry lead research
organisations from all sources of ideas including research organisations, private companies,
industry associations, potential future clients
- Financial investment contributed by the private companies has always complemented, and
in some instances even shadowing, the financial support provided by local and federal
governments
- Joint ventures, established through deep understanding of each other capabilities, business
structure and motivation, successfully moved forward ideas well beyond laboratory level
work
- Potential future clients have been involved in all the steps towards the commercial-ready
product, so that the final product was organically customised to clients and market’s needs
- The studied companies were either well established business, which leveraged the external
funding and access to markets through mergers and strategic alliances with market leaders,
or companies established through government and private funding to demonstrate and fine
tune the new products to their potential markets
From the analysis of the case studies presented in this report, one can understand that the key
benefits derived from these new technologies and products include the following:
Access to new markets such as composites, textiles, plastics which are traditional owned
by the oil based products
Creation of new, high skilled jobs for rural communities through the establishment of new
and technologically advanced production facilities and associated services
Potential to commercialise and/or use in a closed-loop system the excess heat and energy
generated from the primary processing of NCC/CNF
Accelerated technology transfers through collaboration between the research organisations,
processors and consumers
Better response to the retailers and consumers ‘expectations with safe, non-toxic,
environmental friendly materials
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In addition, the learnings from the pioneer companies and organisations in relations to
development of NCC businesses underline the need for a strong collaboration with those
potential customers showing the most interest, in order to develop tailor-made
products/solutions; and, hence, to create a focus on the clients with the markets with the most
robust initial impact in terms of sales volume and price.
Recommendations:
In Australia, the efforts should be directed on growing and building new relationships with the
global NCC and rayon champions, which are well beyond the primary research to
demonstration and commercial throughputs. Further, the focus should be on attracting investors
and developing joint-ventures with regional and domestic processors as well as forest owners.
The most logical organisation to lead this drive, based on what worked internationally, should
be an industry-led research organisation, such as FWPA, potentially through a CRC model.
Such an organisation has the potential and leverage to attract funding from both government
and private sector, either directly from companies or through the industry associations. In
addition, it has the mechanisms to facilitate the required research for customisation to the
clients and markets needs.
A simple, practicable way forward towards utilisation of NCC (and NFC) and rayon in
Australia may be based on push marketing strategy – by importing the materials which have
been already developed internationally, in conjunction with close collaboration with companies
with the highest and immediate utilisation potential (i.e. mining drilling lubricant, cement or
paints additive).
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Table of Contents
J. W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund ..................................................................................... 1
About the Fellow ......................................................................................................................... 3
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 4
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... 7
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................... 9
1 Aims of the Fellowship Programme ..................................................................................... 10
2 The Methodology ............................................................................................................... 10
3 Bio-refinery ........................................................................................................................ 11
3.1 The concept ........................................................................................................................... 11
3.2 Products ................................................................................................................................ 13
3.3 Examples of bio-business initiatives ..................................................................................... 14
3.4 Production yields .................................................................................................................. 16
3.5 Product market size .............................................................................................................. 16
3.6 Opportunities for the Australian forest industries ............................................................... 17
4 Non-traditional cellulose products ...................................................................................... 19
4.1 Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) ............................................................................................ 19
4.2 NCC market opportunity and challenges .............................................................................. 29
4.3 Rayon (VSF) fibre ................................................................................................................... 31
4.4 Bio-composites materials ...................................................................................................... 33
5 An Australian point of view ................................................................................................. 33
5.1 Case Study 1: Australian Blue Gum Plantations (ABP), Melbourne ...................................... 33
5.2 Case Study: HVP Plantations, Melbourne ............................................................................. 35
5.3 Case Study: Australian-based pulp and paper companies .................................................... 36
Australian Paper (AP), Melbourne ................................................................................................ 36
VISY Pulp and Paper, Tumut Mill ................................................................................................... 36
6 The international experience .............................................................................................. 36
6.1 Case Study: FPInnovations, Canada ...................................................................................... 37
6.2 Case Study: CelluForce, Canada ............................................................................................ 40
6.3 Case Study: FPInnovations and CelluForce origins ............................................................... 43
6.4 Case Study: VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland ........................................................... 43
6.5 Case Study: Domsjo Fabriker, Sweeden – an Adytia Birla Group company ......................... 44
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7 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 47
8 Annex ................................................................................................................................. 49
8.1 Australian companies – the base for discussion .................................................................... 49
8.2 VTT PowerPoint presentation to Dr Mihai Daian ................................................................ 50
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Acknowledgements
This study was produced for the forest and wood products industry with financial support from
the Gottstein Trust through the 2013 Gottstein Fellowship award. The Gottstein Fellowship
stands as a great opportunity for learning from peers and other organisations from Australia
and overseas.
This work was also made possible thanks to Mr Tim Woods and Fitzpatrick Woods Consulting,
who supported the study at its inception stages, and Prof. Goran Roos, Mr. Andrew Cadel and
Mr Jean Moreau who introduced me to their networks.
Special thanks are due to Mr. Cameron MacDonald, Mr. Tony Price, Mr. Eduardo Mania, Mr.
Tristen Branson, Mr Craig Dunn, Mr Jean Moreau, Dr Richard Berry, Mr Alain Richard, Mr
Jean Hamel, Dr Jean Bouchard, Dr John Schmidt, Dr John Kettle, Dr Annaleena Kokko,
Prof Ali Harlin, Mr Fredrik Östlund and their organisations, for the active cooperation
despite their busy work schedules. Their generosity in sharing expertise and experience is
greatly appreciated.
Acknowledgements and special appreciation are also extended to Mr Ric Sinclair of Forest
Wood Products Australia for general advice and support.
Last but not least, a personal note of gratitude and thanks is addressed to Dr Georgiana Daian
for the ongoing support in many aspects.
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1 Aims of the Fellowship Programme
The main objectives of this project was to provide information and examples of innovative wood fibre
utilization technologies that can support decisions within the Australian forest industries to consider a
diversification of the manufacturing sector and, thus, a sustainable growth through innovation,
collaboration and industry sector interlinkages.
Specifically, this research project looked to:
Identify and exemplify technologies and products arising from the innovative utilisation of wood
fibre
Identify Australian views about benefits, or current impediments, of employing these technologies
in Australia
Study approaches which selected innovative companies and research organisations from Canada
and Northern Europe have applied to develop and commercialise these new technologies and
products
2 The Methodology
The methodology adopted to achieve the above objectives included:
Stage 1: Identify relevant companies and persons of contact and organise visits and interviews; and,
source and review information materials and publications to produce an overview of latest bio-refinery
technologies developments and innovative products based on wood as raw material.
A broad-spectrum of information related to the topic was reviewed, analysed and synthesised. Together
with the knowledge acquired through Stage 2, this information was used to write Chapters 3 and 4
which offer a background to bio-refinery concept, latest technological developments with respect to
wood fibre processing, market potential for the innovative products derived from these technologies
and processes, and players who are actively involved in these type of innovations across the world.
Stage 2: Undertake interviews with the management or research representatives of selected Australian
forestry businesses and international businesses which indicated an innovation footprint in terms of
R&D work and established bio-refinery and Nanocellulose facilities for commercial production.
Four Australian companies and four international companies and organisations based in Canada,
Finland and Sweden were visited and/or interviewed (see details on the next page). Other four
companies that are involved in Nanocellulose (NCC) and rayon fibre research and production in
Germany, Canada and USA were contacted yet they expressed unavailability for visits/discussions or
answered too late to allow for changes to the scheduled plan for the overseas site visits.
Company selection was based on advice from FWPA and other industry contacts, own knowledge of
the industry, and a web-based research looking up for the latest developments related to NCC
innovations.
The interview and site visit’s objectives were to understand the current status of developments and
applications of Nanocellulose technology globally, the market potential, and any impediments to the
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market. In addition, the focus was also to learn from these organisations and businesses what systems
enabled their innovation and development.
The information acquired was reproduced and presented as case studies in Chapter 5 and 6.
Interviewed companies, together with the name of the persons who facilitated access to information or
participated in interviews, are listed below:
Company Contact
HVP, Victoria Australia Cameron MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer
Australian Blue Gum
Plantations, Australia
Tony Price, Managing Director
Visy P&P, Tumut, Australia Eduardo Mania, Pulp Mill Manager
Australian Paper (AP),
Australia
Tristen Branson, Innovation & Technology Manager
Craig Dunn, Senior Marketing Manager Sustainability
Domsjö Fabriker AB, Sweden Fredrik Östlund, Marketing Department
FPInnovations, Montreal,
Canada
Jean Hamel, Vice - President Pulp, Paper & Bio-Products
Dr Jean Bouchard, Research leader Cellulose Biomaterials - NCC
Dr John Schmidt, Principal Scientist Mechanical Pulping -
Biorefinery
Forestry innovations / Global
Business Opportunities
Bureau (BBD), Canada
Andrew Cadell, Trade Commissioner and Global Practice Lead
CelluForce, Windsor, Canada Jean Moreau, President & CEO
Dr Richard Berry, Chief Technical Officer
Alain Richard, Demonstration Plant Manager
VTT, Helsinki, Finland Prof. Goran Roos, Innovation/Manufacturing
John Kettle, International Operations/Development manager
Dr Annaleena Kokko, Team Leader Surface treatments
Prof Ali Harlin, Bio-economy - Chemicals & Materials
3 Bio-refinery
3.1 The concept
A bio-refinery is generally a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment for
sustainable processing of various components of biomass into a spectrum of value added bio-based
products (food, feed, chemicals and materials such as Nanocellulose, lignin based materials, bio
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plastics, etc.) and bioenergy (biofuels, power and/or heat). The whole approach ensures that the value
derived from the biomass feedstock is maximized (see Figure 1). The operations integrate physical and
mechanical methods, chemical and biological conversion, catalysis and bio-catalysis to obtain high
efficiency, low-cost, and low-energy consumption.
Figure 1: General bio-refinery concept (Source: www.viaspacegreenenergy.com)
Specifically, an integrated forest biorefinery processes forest-based biomass such as wood and forestry
residues to bioenergy and bioproducts including cellulosic fibres for pulp and paper production. Figure
2 illustrates the main biomass processes and products that can be derived from an integrated forest
biorefinery.
Figure 2: Integrated forest biorefinery (Source: Integrated Forest Biorefinery, Lew Christopher)
Bio-refineries that integrate energy, fuels, and chemical or material production within a single facility,
or cluster of facilities, have the potential to provide optimal revenues and environmental benefits to
the forest industry1. Studies presented at the 4th Nordic Wood Biorefinery Conference Helsinki,
1 ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/j9425e/j9425e11.pdf
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Finland, in 2012 revealed that a basic biorefinery can produce in real world 200k to 300k or even 500k
tonnes of biofuel per year.
The majority of current bio-refineries are focused on ethanol and biodiesel production, mainly due to
country specific mandates and available subsidies and incentives. However, recent developments show
a growing interest for the production of NCC and bio-chemicals.
3.2 Products
Table 1 provides an overview of established and future generation of bio-refinery technologies and the
range biomass resources they can process into various products such as biofuels, biochemical and
biomaterials. It should be noted that despite the variety of feedstock which can be used to obtain
valuable liquid and gaseous fuels (see Figure 3), the greatest usability is provided by lignocellulosic
material through a range of chemical processes.
Table 1: Bio-refinery technologies and products
Feedstock Technology Products
Agricultural waste, recycling
sludge, industrial waste, grain
straw, rice straw, sawdust,
paper mill waste, fast rotation
crops, wood chips, newsprint
Established
Hydrolysis I (ethanol)
Pyrolysis (bio-oil, char)
Medium/Long term
Hydrolysis II (ethanol, lignin)
Pyrolysis with oil upgrading
(bio-diesel and naphta)
Biofuels
Ethanol
Biodiesel
Biochemicals
Plastics, solvents, chemical
intermediates, phenolics,
adhesives, furfural, fatty acids,
acetic acid, activated carbon,
carbon black, paints, dyes,
pigments and ink, detergents
Biomaterials
Biopolymers
Nanofibres
Packaging, building
Woodplastic composites
NCC based materials
New textiles fibres
Mixed textiles (with rayon)
Hardwood (HW), HW forest
residues, HW sawmill residues
(hydrolysis I)
Forest residues, sawmill
residues, HW, Softwood (SW)
(pyrolysis, hydrolysis II)
14
Figure 3: Biorefinery feedstock options and end-products (Source: European Commission - 2013
Technology Map of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan
http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC86357)
Forest biorefineries can be implemented in different ways, with case specific variation in raw materials,
products, degree of integration and consortia partners. General opinion is that it is efficient to utilise
by-products from pulp mills together with other wooden materials such as sawmill residues or low
value forest biomass from plantations. Also, the most economic option is to establish an integrated
biorefinery, in collaboration or as extension to a pulp and paper mill, that can produce NCC and lignin-
based materials in addition to bio-diesel and ethanol. This option offers lower establishment costs,
access to raw material, thermic agent (heat, steam), etc.
3.3 Examples of bio-business initiatives
UPM BioVerno (Finland)
UPM opened in late 2014 the commercial production of world’s first wood-based renewable diesel
biorefinery in Lappeenranta, Finland. This is the world’s first fully integrated bio-refinery that utilizes
utilize wood (black liquor resulted from the processing of wood into paper pulp and paper) to produce
biodiesel. The biorefinery is based on a hydro treatment process developed by UPM, and produces
approximately 120 million litres of renewable UPM BioVerno diesel yearly2.
2 http://www.upm.com/About-us/Newsroom
15
Licella (New Zealand)
In New Zealand, through the “Stump to Pump” program administered by the Crown Research Institute
Scion, Norske Skog and Z Energy will use Licella’s technology to convert wood waste and forestry
biomass to transport fuel3.
CelluForce (Canada)
A CelluForce production facility was opened in Montreal, Canada, in Nov 2011, producing a tonne of
Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC) a day.
FPInnovations and Kruger Inc (Canada)
In December 2013, FPInnovations and Kruger Inc. announced a joint project to implement the world’s
first 5 ton/day cellulose filament demonstration plant at Kruger’s Trois-Rivières Paper Mill.
Borregaard (Norway)
Borregaard (Norway) is a pioneer in the development of bio-refinery technology and products. The
company is organised in three business areas according to market and product type: performance
chemicals, including Lignotech; specialty cellulose, including Borregaard Chemcell; other businesses:
Vanillin, Fine Chemicals and basic chemicals.
US examples
In the US, examples of companies operating in the bio-energy business include:
A first NCC factory was open in Madison, Wisconsin, in July 2012, marking the rise of what the
US National Science Foundation predicts will become a $600 billion industry by 2020.
In Colorado, ZeaChem has begun production of commercial grade cellulosic chemicals and
ethanol at its 250,000 gallons per year (946,000 litres per year) biorefinery in Boardman, Oregon.
According to the company the facility is among the first operational cellulosic biorefineries in the
world, and showcases the scalability of its process as well as serving as a key stepping stone
toward large-scale commercial production.
INEOS New Planet Bioenergy (INPB) in Florida is now producing renewable power using INEOS
Bio's feedstock flexible bioenergy technology. The facility is producing renewable power for the
facility and for export to local communities.
Columbus, Mississippi KiOR began construction of its first commercial scale facility in 2011.
The facility produces environmentally friendly gasoline and diesel blend stocks from Southern
Yellow Pine woody biomass. The plant is fully funded and KiOR has already established purchase
agreements for the site’s entire fuel output.4
3 http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2013/02/25/licellas-fibre-fuels-drop-in-biofuels-in-pictures/ 4 FWPA, 2013, Opportunities for Australian forest growers from the development of a biorefinery and/or biomaterials
industry within Australia. http://www.fwpa.com.au/sites/default/files/FWPA_OptionsPaper_final_0.pdf
16
3.4 Production yields
Processing technology, material quality and chemical composition of the raw material are all factors
that determine the yield of bio-oil, solids and gases. Current data suggests that more advanced
processing solution and higher costs (i.e. fast pyrolysis) are involved in obtaining higher volumes of
bio-oils and less gasses and solids (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Product yield / process (wt %, solid, liquid, gas) 5 (Source: Energies, 2012)
3.5 Product market size
Driven by government incentives and regulations, environmental consciousness of consumers, and
technological developments, ethanol has the most established market. Noticeable, other biofuels, bio
chemicals and their associated products have a great potential (see Figure 5) – however, most of them
are still either in development stages or at demonstration/pilot scale.
Figure 5. Market size vs product price (estimates) (Source: VTT)
5 Note: the pyrolysis by-products yield depends on the heating rate and the cooking temperature
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3.6 Opportunities for the Australian forest industries
Confronted with the need to increase efficiency for the use of forest resources, and add greater value
to it, plantation owners and processing enterprises have the opportunity and challenge of advancing
their business model into the broader space of bio-economy.
Recent studies6 identified that while opportunities exist for the Australian forest industry, the
development of biorefineries lags considerably behind many developed and developing countries.
A published report7 indicates that, generally, the return on investment for innovative companies could
be somewhere from 24% to 29% through the introduction of innovative technologies, access to new
markets, capacity and the establishment of collaborative partnerships and new connections.
Bio-refineries that consider energy, fuels, and chemical or material production, within a single facility
or cluster of facilities, may be the route forward for the forest industry that provides optimal revenues
and environmental benefits8. Successful investments by Adytia Birla in a Canadian pulp mill, and also
a Swedish specialty pulp and bio-refinery company, are proof that pulp mill conversion can be
realistically achieved.
Chemical pulp mills are uniquely suited to function as a bio-refinery - wood-based "green" polymers,
chemicals, and fuels can be produced on a large scale in parallel with pulp production. The large
amount of wood compounds that are present in black liquor, bark and forest residues are excellent
sources of value-added chemicals and materials. The organic compounds can be used as they are, or
after chemical modification.9
Over the recent years, the idea of maximising the outputs of wood pulp processing have attracted the
attention of companies, governments and scientists. The consideration is to transform a chemical pulp
mill into an integrated forest biorefinery which produces higher value-added products such as ethanol,
polymers, carbon fibres and diesel fuel in addition to pulp. See Figure 6 for an illustration of possible
uses for these products. Further, Borregard10 estimates that 90% of incoming wood biomass in an
integrated bio-refinery can be converted to marketable products (see Figure 7).
6 FWPA, 2013, Opportunities for Australian forest growers from the development of a biorefinery and/or biomaterials
industry within Australia. http://www.fwpa.com.au/sites/default/files/FWPA_OptionsPaper_final_0.pdf 7 Kelly, M., 2012, Innovation. Presentation at the Victorian Association of Forestry Industries workshop on Investment and
Innovation Pathways in Hardwood Processing, 3 August 2012 8 ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/j9425e/j9425e11.pdf 9 http://www.innventia.com/en/Our-Expertise/New-materials/Biorefinery-products/ 10 Borregaard – Creating Value from Wood – The Borregaard Biorefinery
18
Figure 6: Potential markets for future integrated bio-refineries (Source:
http://www.forestcluster.fi/sites/www.forestcluster.fi/files/Forestcluster_FuBio_Report_Reader.pdf)
Figure 7: Spectrum of marketable products (Source: Borregaard – Creating Value from Wood – The
Borregaard Biorefinery)
It is learnt from international projects that a move toward biorefineries will require an entire value
chain approach with a strong support from all levels – government, industry and markets. New business
models, based on advanced and sustainable supply chains and processing hubs that are able to utilise
local plantation resources and wood fibre/pulp processing existent skills, were evaluated in South
Australia by a VTT (Finland) project. For a 3-5 years’ time span, it was concluded that bio-oil by fast
pyrolysis, biochar by torrefaction, power and heat by gasification and biofuels and biochemical are
solutions able to bring benefits to the region as well as to Australia.
19
4 Non-traditional cellulose products
4.1 Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC)
4.1.1 Definition and history
NCC has gained an increased attention and research focus over the last few years, mainly driven by
the ever-increasing prices of petroleum and high level of energy consumption required by the
production of chemicals and synthetic polymers.
These days, the price of petroleum is at historical lows, however the market volatility and its past ups
and downs are still a good reason for investments into the development of new materials. In addition,
the paper markets are declining and the consumer demand for environmental friendly materials, such
as those made of renewable raw materials and recyclable and biodegradable when disposed, is
growing. All are factors that led to an increased allocation of funds to nanotechnology research.
Nanocellulose is a term referring to nano-structured cellulose. This may be either cellulose nanofibres
(CNF) also called microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) - discovered by Turbak in 1973, nanocrystalline
cellulose (NCC) also called cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) - discovered by Ranby in 1951, or bacterial
nanocellulose - discovered by Brown in 1886, which refers to nano-structured cellulose produced by
bacteria.
The name hierarchy for nanomaterials is depicted in Figure 8.
Figure 8: Naming hierarchy for nanomaterials (Source: The Royal Institute of Technology, 2013,
Market prospects for Nanocellulose)
CNF is the name used for cellulose nanofibrils which are less than 100 nm in at least one dimension,
are predominantly produced by mechanical means at mill for paper making, are made of nano-sized
bundle of fibrils, in a range of sizes – from micro to nano (MFC, CF, CNF), and are good for strength,
reinforcement, rheology.
20
NCC is the name used for cellulose crystals that are less than 100nm in at least one direction, are
discrete particles with high crystallinity, can have surface charge, and are good for strength,
reinforcements, rheology, optical, electrical and chemical properties. Figure 11 illustrates the size of
Nanocellulose and Figure 10 the structure of cellulose and Nanocellulose.
Canadian Forest Service description of NCC offers a summary of its properties and potential uses:
NCC is an abundant, non-toxic, and renewable material derived from the cell wall of trees and
plants. It has enhanced permeability, optical, and strength properties that can support various
industrial sectors ranging from the medical to the aerospace sectors. These properties can
improve the surface protection of paint and varnishes, as well as enhance a variety of materials
such as paper, fabrics, and commercial glues. NCC can also be used in the manufacture of
lightweight components for automobiles and airplanes, leading to much lighter, more durable
and greener products for the marketplace. Nanocellulose is a high-value product that can be
obtained by acid hydrolysis of cellulose. 11
Figure 9: Understanding Nanocellulose size (Source: USDA-Forest Products Laboratory
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/)
11 NRCAN – August 2013 Spotlight newsletter – www.celluforce.com
21
a. b.
Figure 10: Anatomy of a. Cellulose; b. Nanocellulose (Source:
http://www.mktintell.com/files/Miller_20Presentation.pdf;
http://www.mktintell.com/files/Miller_20Presentation.pdf)
Following the encouraging research results complemented by the establishment of pilot scale and
demonstration plants around the world, commercial developments for NCC production are underway
as an integral part of advanced bio-products. Produced from various bio mass resources and through a
range of pre-treatments, NCC production is showing a vast potential. The output can be used as
strength enhancer in paper production, composites additives, food packaging, emulsions and parts of
biomedical devices (such as skeletons for tissues engineering, artificial skin or cartilages). Applications
in polymer reinforcement and anti-microbial films are soon to be on the market. Canada’s FP
Innovations estimates this market to be worth $250 million in North America by 2020.
4.1.2 Main applications
As a product resulted from the processing of wood pulp, NCC is currently named ‘the latest wonder
material’. Innovative applications of this newly developed material include, but are not confined to:
The next generation of flexible electronic displays (Japan-based Pioneer Electronics).
The use in fabrication of components for computers (IBM).
The use in fabrication of lightweight body armor and ballistic glass (US Army).
Companies in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer products, and medical device
industries also see massive potential for these innovative materials12.
Other potential uses of biomaterials are summarized below and in Figure 11.
Additive to mining / drilling lubricants (as additive to water-based drilling muds)
Ultra-absorbent aerogels
12 http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/08/03/usda-under-secretary-sherman-unveils-nanocellulose-production-facility/
22
Bendable and paper based batteries
Bio-composites for bone replacement and tooth repair
Pharmaceuticals and drug delivery; additives for foods and cosmetics
Improved paper, building products and next generation filters
Advanced or “intelligent” packaging
High-strength spun fibres and textiles
Additives for coatings, paints, lacquers and adhesives; pigments and inks
Reinforced polymers and innovative bioplastics
Recyclable interior and structural components for the transportation industry
Aerospace and transportation structures
Iridescent and protective films, films for optical switching
Electronic paper printers
Innovative coatings and new fillers for papermaking
Figure 11: Biomaterials and their potential uses (Source: UNECE/FAO - Forest Products Annual
Market Review, 2012-2013)
4.1.3 Technology developments
Significant resources have been allocated for the last two decades to the development and improvement
of various processing techniques able to provide commercial grade Nanocellulose from wood resource
in addition to straw, banana, potato and other agricultural products.
In Europe the focus is on NFC/MFC while in North America it is on NCC/CNC (see Table 2).
Table 2: European vs North American approach
Europe – NFC/MFC North America – NCC/CNC
Long fibrils
Amorphous and crystalline parts both in fibrils
Mechanical process, or chemi-mechanical
No self-assembly
Strongly shear thinning -rheology depends on the
manufacturing process
Whiskers – short
Crystalline
Chemical process
Acid hydrolysis
Self-assembly possible
Defined rheology
Source: VTT, the Finish Centre for Nanocellulosic Technologies
23
Nowadays the production methods include: grinding, homogenizer, intensification, hydrolysis /
electrospinning, ionic liquids.
A number of general and company specific examples of NCC processing steps are shown in Figure
12,
Figure 13 and Figure 14.
Figure 12: Nanocellulose types and their production (Source: www.costfp1205.com)
Figure 13: NCC Production Process at CelluForce, Canada (Source:
http://www.oifq.com/pdf/congres/congres-2012)
24
Figure 14: R3TM Technology (Source: http://bluegoosebiorefineries.com/our-technology/)
The R3TM Technology is able to fractionate lignocellulosic biomass into pure cellulose products by
using an oxidative, nano-catalytic process instead of high corrosive chemicals and high temperatures
as the other processes.
Since its discovery, the NCC production process has undergone a range of improvements. NCC
commercialization failed in 1980s due to the high amount of energy required to produce it (i.e. 30,000
kwh/tonne consumption to delaminate fibres). Over the last few years, the introduction of various
developments and pre-treatment solutions for the fibre has reduced the energy required in some
instances to 98% of the previous levels at approximately 500kwh/tonne13.
4.1.4 Producers and research
Various companies and research organization across the world have invested in the development of
either NCC or NFC, as shown in Table 3.
Table 3: NCC processing facilities/production capacities (2013-2014)
Company Country Unit / Plant Type of CN Capacity
CelluForce Inc. Canada Demonstration NCC 1 tonne/day
Melodea EU Pilot NCC 100kg/day
US Forest Service’s Forest
Products Laboratory
USA Pilot NCC 35 - 50 kg/day
Alberta Innovates -Technology
Futures
Canada Pilot NCC 100 kg/week
Biovision Technologies Inc. USA Pilot NCC 75kg/week
Blue Goose Biorefineries Canada Pilot NCC 35 kg/week
13 FPInnovations, Canada - Nanocrystalline Cellulose – Advancing the Canadian Bio-economy
25
FP Innovations Canada Pilot NCC 10 kg/week
Colorado School of Mines USA Lab NCC Lab qty.
Company Country Unit / Plant Type of CN Capacity
FPInnovations & Kruger Canada Demonstration CNF 5 tonnes/day
University of Maine USA Demonstration CNF 1000kg/day
The US Forest Service USA Demonstration CNF 500kg/day
Nippon Paper Japan Demonstration CNF 150kg/day
Borregaard Norway Demonstration CNF 100kg/day
Inventia Sweden Demonstration CNF 100 kg/day
NamiCell France Demonstration CNF 100 kg/day
Oji Paper Japan Demonstration CNF 100 kg/day
FPInnovations Canada Pilot CNF Small qty.
Stora Enso Finland Pilot CNF Small qty.
UPM Finland Pilot CNF Small qty.
Daicel Japan Lab CNF Small qty.
Luleå University of Technology Sweden Lab CNF Small qty.
Source: http://www.mktintell.com/, ScienceTech Consulting research
Manufacturers across the globe are constantly searching for higher strength, lower weight, cheaper and
more eco-friendly material such as wood to build existing products in order to increase competitive
edge or create entirely new products by taking advantage of these characteristics.14
Recently, in Canada, USA, Japan, Sweden and Finland researchers, industry members and
governments are getting involved on research, small and large scale production of Nanocellulose fibre,
rayon and other wood based composites materials.
In Canada, FPInnovations focused its attention on Nanocrystalline cellulose and advancements of its
production techniques, applications and use. FPInnovations discovered how to extract NCC at high
volumes and in partnership with Domtar established CelluForce. CelluForce production facility was
opened in Canada in 2012. Soon after that, the first US NCC factory was opened in Madison,
Wisconsin, “marking the rise of what the US National Science Foundation predicts will become a $600
billion industry by 2020”15.
Recently, another US company, American Process Inc. (API) has patented a manufacturing process
named AVAP® (American Value Added Pulping) that allow them to produce NCC and CNF at the
digester level using wood chips from feed stock in comparison with the CelluForce process that is
using dried pulp with sulfuric acid. It is mentioned that API process would make the process
simpler and less expensive.
14 www.innventia.com 15 http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528786.100-why-wood-pulp-is-worlds-new-wonder-material.html
26
Companies which invest in the development of NCC commercial solutions also include16:
CelluComp: Curran®, cellulose nanofibres based on food waste materials
Engineered Fibres Technology: nanofibrillated fibres based on Lyocell
Performance BioFilaments Inc (Mercer and Resolute joint venture announced June 23, 2014)
Imerys: FibreLeanTM MFC, 3000 tonnes, installation announced at Verso, Bucksport
4.1.5 Market size and opportunity
Studies by Future Markets Inc and Market-Intel forecast the market size and potential production
capacities for Nanocellulose to 2025, highlighting that a significant increase in production is expected
(see Figure 15 and Table 1).
Figure 15: Nanocellulose production volumes estimates 2010-2025 (Source: Future Markets, The
Global Market for Nanocellulose, March 2015)
Table 4: Nanocellulose production volumes estimates 2010-2025 (tonnes/year)
Product 2013 2020 2025
CNF 10,000 100,000 400,000
NCC < 1,000 8,000 50,000
BNC < 1,000 < 1,000 < 1,000
Source: Market-Intell LLC, 2014
Mr. Jean Moreau, former CelluForce CEO mentioned, during personal communication with the author,
that the above presented/ published market opportunity numbers in Figure 15 seems to show a not
realistic scenario. The reason for this statement, supported by Mr. Moreau experience and previous
forecasts, is that for an NCC above forecast price of approximate $30 per kilo, the production of only
10,000 tones (as Figure 15 shows) would be a financial disaster (a total market of $300 M, with a
EBITDA of about $150M) for a forecasted investment of about $2 B from the global producers
(investment into a commercial plant would likely be in order of $ 500 M in FPInnovations-CelluForce
case, with similar situation probable for the other 3-4 major global players).
16 http://www.mktintell.com/
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
'00
0 t
on
nes
/ y
ear
NCC Production Estimates
Conservative estimates Optimistic estimate
27
Mr. Moreau mentioned that it looks like the next 3-5 years would determine if the technology and the
new products will take off in a big way or die. The second scenario, proposed by Market-Intell (Table
4) is supported and complemented by Mr. Moreau with the addition of the additional timeframe of
2025-2028 when the potential will be for NCC 100,000 t and for CNF 1 M tons (CNF is much more a
traditional application – in addition it will displace some pulp tonnages for paper making).
Regarding the price points of the NCC, Mr. Moreau mentioned that NCC under CelluForce was
positioned at $25 per kilo. This profile NCC has high end applications with very low dosages as below
1 %. On another hand, CNF it would potentially be positioned under $10 per kilo.
Due to a simpler, less expensive process, American Process Inc. (API) looks to have the potential to
market NCC for around $5 per Kilo. At this price point, the NCC would become more of a semi
commodity material oriented on larger volumes.
Further estimates of the Nanocellulose market size, market penetration and demand by application are
summarized in Table 5.
Table 5: Potential global market penetration for Nanocellulose
Market
Market size
(k tonne)
Loading
%
Market penetration
%
Demand
(tonne)
Estimated
CAGR, %
Paper and paperboard 400,000 5 5 - 10 1,000-2,000 6
Excipients 4,600-550,000 2 - 10 2,5 - 6 2 - 3,300 4 -5
Packaging composites 16,000 5 5-10 40 - 80 4 -5
High barrier pck. film 1,600 50 3 -10 24 - 80 5
Paints and coatings 40-44,000 2 3 - 6 26 - 53 4
Manufactured textiles 50-56,000 2 2 - 5 20 - 56 4
Natural textiles 35,000 2 2 - 5 14 - 35 4
Oil & Gas 17,500 1 5 9
Natural fibre composites 5,500 2 3 -7 3 - 8 10 -12
Non-wovens 7,000 2 5 7
Adhesives 4,000 2 5 4
Cement 15 -16,000 0,5 - 1 2 - 5 1,5 - 8 7 - 8
Functional and barrier
coatings in paper 2,000 2 3 - 6 1 - 2 4 - 5
Source: VTT, Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), May 2015
Table 6 profiles the stage of commercialisation for various Nanocellulose applications.
Table 6: Stages of commercialization for various Nanocellulose products
Applications Research
(basic concept -
tech concept
Applied R&D (proof of concept -
lab tested - field
tested)
Demonstration (basic prototype -
field prototype)
Commercial
(fully tested - in
operation)
High Volume Applications
Cement additives
Anti-static coatings
Transparent barrier films
in food packaging
28
Source: VTT, Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), May 2015
CNF attracted various degree of investment for development of production facilities around the world,
in some instances, because of the higher level of integration with the existent P&P production
capacities (see Figure 16).
Figure 16: CNF production locations around the world (VTT, Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), May 2015)
Polymer composites
Printing paper
Pharmaceutical (filler)
Paper composites
Self-cleaning coatings
Filtration
Low Volume Applications
Insulation
Medical implants
Novel Applications
Flexible circuits,
printable electronics,
conductive substrates
Drug delivery
29
If the current trends in research, development and investment for NCC and CNF continue to exist, then
this sector has the potential to provide a range of opportunities and some businesses are already taking
advantage as early adopters/developers.
4.2 NCC market opportunity and challenges
At the end of September 2015 at the 2015 Marcus Wallenberg Prize symposium – “Getting Fibrillated
about the Future”, held in Stockholm, Sweden research leaders as well as business leaders got together
to discuss the present and future potential of the Nanocellulose.
One of the presenters, Dr Petri Vasara from Poyry Management Consulting, Finland presented
“Challenges on the Road to Markets”. The author considers that this topic might be informative so that
a summary of it is presented below:
The NCC producing technology exists and it is already proved by various pilot and demonstration
plants around the world. Now, the major task ahead of us is “to bring the nanoscale to gigascale” by
meaning to bring the nanotechnology to a giga scale global business.
The bio-economy was around already for many years – now we are part of the fourth wave of bio-
economy:
First wave – efficient use of local raw materials as tar and sawnwood
Second wave – paper technology
Third wave – a modern pulp and paper industry
Fourth wave – modern bio-economy – carbon fibre, lignin, nanofibre
An interesting point made by Dr Vasara, is that we should not get into the “low carbon” materials trend
because there’s no reason to use inefficient materials, instead we should better use “high carbon
materials” - materials that are renewable and store carbon on them. We could talk about a process that
“recarbonise materials – decarbonise energy production” in the context of a circular bio-economy.
An important mention is that there are four materials able to fulfil the needs of a circular bio-economy:
fibre, lignin, sugar, Nanocellulose. Each individual material has its applications and properties
however all four are the enabler of an advanced bio-economy.
Further, it was mentioned that there are a couple of “must” and one “maybe” needed to reach the
Nanocellulose success:
Must replace fossil fuels
Must replace fossil based plastics
Must promote lignocellulose, graphene, NCC and then
Maybe NCC will be successful
Talking about the potential size of the NCC market, Dr Vasara explained that about 750 million tonnes
per year of forest chemical industry is the mass that flows globally. It is made of approximatively 390
million tonnes per year pulp/fibre/recycled fibre, approximately 180 million tonnes per year packaging
products, approx. 140 million tonnes per year paper and approximately 30 million tonnes per year
tissues products. Compared with the industrial and construction materials, fossil fuels, biomass and
others, forest industry is not a large mass flows.
30
However, by looking at advanced biomaterials, where NCC could became a significant part of, it was
mentioned that there is already a 22 billion Euro global business (and that is the situation from 5 years
ago). NCC use in bio-based plastic has significant prospects because of the 13% per year forecasted
increase in the EU demand until 2020 (approximately 0.5 million tonnes demand in 2013).
Regarding the way NCC can be used, it seems that the possibilities of various combinations of NCC
with other materials are almost endless. Pulp, NCC, biochemical, lignin, graphene in combination with
plastics, paper, mineral fibres, glass, metal and cement can provide new materials with advanced
properties – in various combinations and most of the time with low % of NCC content). Nanocellulose
composites are most probably the way forward – their cost would be cheaper than the pure product
currently used for various applications.
Two of the main pluses for NCC composites are: - additivity (adding new properties from a new
components or from interaction), and substractivity (replacing a “problematic” components with a
biomaterial and its benefits).
The magnitude of the potential opportunity for the NCC is summarized by Dr Vasara as:
1% of fossil fuel volume substituted by biomass and further processed = 30 billion Euro per year
1% of fossil based plastic and 1% of fossil based plastic packaging substituted by bio-based plastics
and bio-based packaging = 9.5 billion Euros per year. All of these combined providing a 40 billion
Euro per year opportunity for only 15% of potential replacement with NCC (plus the potential
arising from cotton substitution)
General entry barriers observed by Dr Vasara and the USDA Forest Service17 for NCC include:
Technology barriers: high energy costs must be countered by lowering energy consumption
Politics / legislative: health and safety worries, legislation
Market: cost savings must be demonstrated for small amounts of NCC as substitute, unless new
functionalities are enough to make them accepted by markets.
Product quality: to ensure that the processes employed and the end –uses are aware of the key
applicable NCC properties
Lack of collaboration among potential producers and users
Coordination of efforts among government, industry, and academia
Lack of characterization and standards for cellulose nanomaterials
The need for greater market pull
The need to overcome processing technical challenges related to cellulose nanomaterials
dewatering and dispersion
Concluding his presentation, Dr Vasara stated that: The race currently is not on who will be the one to
firstly invest in a large production facility but more important the race is in who will be able to create
the best image for his products as well as a race against the other competing materials (where research
have not stopped). Before any large scale market launch, to change people’s perception about “nano”
17 The Cellulose Nanomaterials – A Path Towards Commercialization - Workshop, August 2014, USDA, NNI
31
name part of the NCC name is something to be dealt with as no new product want to have the wrong
name / perception based barrier against it at its market launch.
4.3 Rayon (VSF) fibre
Rayon or Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fibre18 and, unlike most
man-made fibres, it is not synthetic. Rayon is made from wood pulp, a naturally occurring cellulose-
based raw material, which, nowadays, is sourced from plantation timber. Rayon's properties are more
similar to those of natural cellulosic fibres, such as cotton or linen, than those of thermoplastic,
petroleum-based synthetic fibres such as nylon or polyester.19
Increasingly, both the forest products and textile manufacturing sectors promote the rayon as a very
versatile fibre. It displays the same comfort properties as other natural fibres, being able to imitate the
feel and texture of silk, wool, cotton and linen; it is easy dyed in a wide range of colours and able to
be made in fabrics which are soft, smooth, cool, comfortable, and highly absorbent.
The rayon is not only supplementary and complementary to cotton but also a material used for blending
with all other synthetic and natural fibres to produce value added yarns. Rayon-based yarns have large
number of applications ranging from non-woven to knits, apparels, gum tapes, sewing threads, carpets,
or upholstery. Rayon is the most preferred fibre for non-woven applications in hygienic and moisture
absorbent applications such as baby wipes, skin care wipes and hospital apparels.20
Since the strong rise in the cotton price in 2010, which surged 91% and up to 91 cents a pound21, rayon
produced from certified woodchips has become the raw material of choice amongst the large textile
producers in China, India and Turkey, and increasingly in Europe and US. As a result, great interest is
being shown in India, Canada, Laos, China, Austria, Germany and Sweden for the development of
new plantations, grown specifically for rayon fibre, and new production facilities22.
Global rayon market is made of three grades (generations) of product: Standard Viscose, Modal Fibres
and Lyocell Fibres.
Until recently, wood-based rayon has been processed and produced by only a few companies in India,
Asia, Europe and North America. With innovations and technical developments, as well as a strong
demand for the rayon fibre in India, China, Turkey and increasingly in parts of Europe and North
America, a large-scale wood fibre rayon industry has been born.
Lenzing AG, Austria, is the world leading producer of “man-made cellulose fibres” with a production
of approx. 960,000 tons of cellulose fibre from wood and a market share of 21% in 2014. For many
years now, Lenzing has invested strategically in the further development and broadening of its
cellulose fibre portfolio becoming the only producer capable of globally offering all three generations
of rayon.
18 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon#cite_note-9 19 http://www.swicofil.com/viscose.html 20 http://www.atexcon.com/pdf/birla-cellulose.pdf 21 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730704576066291209981236.html 22 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon
32
Grasim Industries Limited, an Adytia Birla Group’s subsidiary, India, holds around 21-24% of global
rayon market share, with an aggregate capacity of 498,000tpa. Recognizing the positive outlook of the
rayon utilisation and the value of achieving complete backward integration for their rayon business,
Aditya Birla Group has expanded and consolidated its pulp capacities over the years, through important
financial investments in SE Asia, North America and Europe.
Another example is Buckeye in US, a leading producer of Specialty Cellulose and the only company
in the world that manufactures Specialty Products made from both wood and cotton cellulose.
Buckeye’s Specialty Fibres division produces Chemical Cellulose, Customized Fibres and Fluff Pulp.
Chemical Cellulose products are used for their chemical properties. Customized Fibre products are
applied for their physical characteristics. Fluff Pulp products are mainly used in absorbency
applications.23
Rayonier division of Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (US) is also a global leader in this field. They
are leaders in the cellulose specialties products, used in customized applications such as filtration,
plastics, paints, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and LCD screens. Today more than 60% of their
sales are to international customers in nearly 40 countries.24
Other key players on this market are: Kelheim Fibres (Germany), Fulida Group (China), Sateri (China),
Formosa Plastics Group (Taiwan), Shandong Helon Textile Sci. & Tech. Co. Ltd (China) and
Tangshan Sanyou Group Xingda Chemical Fibre Co. Ltd (China)
Various mentions in the specialised literature25 indicate that global cotton production will show either
a very flat growth or stagnation and will no longer be able to meet global fibre demand. Textile clients
must therefore look to a replacement. The only fibre being able to fill the growing cotton gap remains
man made cellulosic fibres (MMCF) such as viscose fibres. Viscose fibres have clear advantages to
replace cotton or to enter in combination with it, especially for the clothing. The sector shows a strong
growth momentum and emerging markets (China, India Turkey). MMCF has already benefited from
a lack of cotton availability over the last 5 years.
The outlook for rayon26 predicts a demand increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7%
in terms of volume, between 2015 and 2020. The estimates are driven by the declining production of
cotton, a high, consistent demand for the rayon fibre from the main textile producer countries (India,
China and Turkey) – this fibre is gradually being used in combination with other materials for
substitution or enhancement, and an increased consumer awareness and preference about eco-friendly
products.
23 http://www.bkitech.com/c-59-specialty-fibres.aspx 24 http://www.rayonier.com/Businesses/Performance-Fibres/Cellulose-Specialties.aspx 25 http://www.atexcon.com/pdf/birla-cellulose.pdf 26 http://www.fibre2fashion.com/textile-market-watch/market-research-reports/global-viscose-market-outlook.asp
33
4.4 Bio-composites materials
Liquid wood
Liquid wood, called also Arboform, is an example of bio-composite material derived from wood pulp-
based lignin, which can be mixed with hemp, flax or wood fibres and other additives such as wax to
create a strong, nontoxic alternative to petroleum-based plastics, according to its manufacturers27.
Wood pulp fibre-plastics composites
Innovative pulp fibre-plastics composites are new, low cost, pulp fibre reinforced thermoplastics
suitable for innovative load bearing structural application28 or furniture production.
5 An Australian point of view
The following three case studies outline the perceptions of a number of Australian executives of the
largest forest and paper companies in Australia on the opportunities offered by the emerging NCC
technologies and challenges before the industry, nationally.
The topics and questions that constituted the framework for the interviews are in Annex 8.1.
5.1 Case Study 1: Australian Blue Gum Plantations (ABP), Melbourne
Summary of interview/discussion with Tony Price, Managing Director of Australian Blue Gum
Plantations when the interview took place
Company’s self-perception
The company identifies itself as a proactive player in the industry, not a front-runner; the
management is aware of industry developments/needs and innovations, and is looking optimistic
to the future
It shares a collaborative culture through active participation at global conferences, expos and
networking events
The leaders have a strong belief that the company applies the right approach to satisfy the customer
needs and requests. One example is FSC certification: it was requested by the clients and, then,
successfully implemented.
A main company value is to remain a strong supporter of the domestic production and value adding
processing while economically successful
The company is adaptive - wants to do things smarter always - and adoptive of new technologies.
Examples of new technologies that were successfully implemented include: GPS system, updated
mapping, smartphones used by the employees in the in-field operations
27 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28283260/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/t/greener-alternative-plastics-liquid-
wood/#.UIiLoLSeTjI 28 http://ipst.gatech.edu/faculty/ragauskas_art/research_opps/Final%20Fibre-Plastic%20ERC%20Proposal.pdf
34
Views on research and its value
The management strongly believes in the necessity and the value of research. The company has its
own internal research capacity.
Employees participate actively to the FWPA information seminars and other stakeholder meetings
The view shared about the Australian forest industry research capacity highlights the lost capacity
nationally, with the end of the Wood/Forestry CRCs and closure of CSIRO divisions, but shows
confidence that FWPA is an excellent vehicle with the potential to look into the innovation of
industry development due to its funding structure and effective operating model
The company grabs research and development opportunities whenever practical; at the time of
interview, it was a member of the Australian Forest Operations Research Alliance (AFORA) led
by Prof. Mark Brown at University of Sunshine Coast
The management is aware of international research on NCC, such as FPInnovations in Canada, and
considers, by comparison, that the Australian research related to wood value adding products is
well insufficient and behind the international counterparts.
Challenges
Part of the valuable forestry research have not been implemented in/by the industry. The concern
is that the field implementation is missing as the transfer of research to operations is not happening
efficiently and in time, in most circumstances.
Australian exporters are slow in changing and adapting to the market conditions. The challenge
perceived is access to flexible contract/shipping agreements.
The Australian forestry industry has a risk-averse culture - is limiting itself to what it knows best
to do without getting involved into new technologies or innovations where potential risk of failure
exists
Interest in bio-refinery/NCC
The company has a strong interest into developing, adjacent to the plantation business, local
processing/value adding facilities by its own and through collaboration with other plantation
managers
The company management is interested in adding higher value to the blue-gum plantation timber,
beyond pulp & paper. It is interested to find out more about the bio-refinery concept, biofuels and
Nanocellulose.
Due to the location of its plantation resources and availability for harvest over the coming years,
the company is seeking opportunities for using the resource as raw material for bio-refining by
considering the Eucalyptus globulus’ suitability for dissolving pulp
The company shows interest in learning more about the dissolving pulp market. It researched
companies that converted dissolving pulp lines from softwoods to hardwoods and have great
potential to produce high quality products if they manage to address small technical issues. The
company reflects on the opportunity for the industry and investors to establish a dissolving pulp,
craft mill in Tasmania to utilize the available Eucalyptus nitens resource
The company recognises the need to acquire more intelligence about Nanocellulose, markets and
future trends and assess its economic viability for the Australian industry
35
Other issues:
The company reflects on the opportunity for the forest industry and construction sector to establish
CLT production facilities in Australia, recognising its value as a product in the AU market
5.2 Case Study: HVP Plantations, Melbourne
Summary of interview with Mr Cameron MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer of HVP Plantations
Company’s self-perception
The company is self-aware about its understanding of the industry challenges and opportunities
The company follows on what innovations means and understands which are the benefits of being
open to change and adaptable to the markets changes
The company identifies itself as being neither “non-adaptors” nor “early takers” but between
“partial adaptors” (prepared to change, but only within the comfort zone) and “proactive
forerunners” (recognises the need to change to survive and flourish in the long term).
The leaders are ready to learn about opportunities in the global markets and new technologies with
potential to create value for customers and markets
Views on research and its value
The company has a research culture, continuously investigating and understanding the current
market conditions; has its own research programs focused on topics such as:
Seed selection, nursery, improved plantation yield, rotation age,
Finding ways of achieving a constant wood density, able to provide the required good
quality of timber mainly for sawn products as well as structural timbers
At the time of interview, the company was a member of the Australian Forest Operations Research
Alliance (AFORA), collaborating on ways to enhance the reliability and effectiveness of harvesting
and haulage processes which represent the largest cost incurred by the company every year
The company has a strong interest in expanding its knowledge about latest technologies, efficiency
and access to new markets
Interest in bio-refinery, NCC and other market opportunities
The company has the capacity to adapt to the changing market environment and understands the
opportunities provided by both growth and emerging markets. The company continuously acquires
market intelligence on pulp/paper capacity developments in China to maintain a diverse client base
(both domestic and international) and mitigate the risks associated with foreign exchange
fluctuations and market movements
The company has a strong interest to diversify its product offerings and markets by exploring
opportunities to collaborate in the bio-energy and the wood based panels sectors
The company perceives China as a potential growing market for new products such as NCC or
rayon
The leaders are interested to understand more about the bio-refinery, NCC and bio-fuels, in terms
of technology, markets and costings
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5.3 Case Study: Australian-based pulp and paper companies
Australian Paper (AP), Melbourne
Summary of interview with Tristen Branson, Innovation & Technology Manager, and Craig Dunn,
Senior Marketing Manager Sustainability, of Australian Paper
The company is a member of the global company Nippon Paper Group, which is renowned for the
significant R&D investment programs in the area of biomaterials derived from cellulose; however,
Australia Paper is not directly involved into the bio-refinery or biomaterials research.
For areas outside of its current Australian-based capabilities, AP relies on directions set by Nippon
Paper Group on fundamental research priorities
The feedback from the AP representatives suggests a series of topics of interest for AP and the
Australian industry, related to the NCC opportunities:
Impacts of the anticipated price escalation of energy
Existing substantial investments in local softwood plantations, and hence softwoods as a
resource base
The use of sulphate and sulphite as the basis for pulping processes, again - local interests.
The reliance on partnering and local specialisations required for complex biorefineries that
may not exist yet in Australia
Critical mass/economies of scale required
Links to existing technical/operations skills and identification of new skills required post-
commercialisation; is this the pulp industry's competitive advantage?
The critical path and sensitivities for commercial success of commercial-scale biorefineries
The critical aspects of establishing markets/market partners for competitive bio-products
VISY Pulp and Paper, Tumut Mill
Summary of interview with Eduardo Manias, Pulp Mill Manager
The leaders have strong knowledge and experience on dissolving pulp technology and processes
There is a strong belief that dissolving pulp can offer significant opportunities in the future
The company has low possibilities to explore the implementation and production of dissolving pulp
due to the nature of its Tumut Mill – the mill integrates production of unbleached high yield Kraft
pulp and Kraft liners papers machines. As an integrated mill, Tumut Mill uses different processes
than the production of dissolving pulp. The company has also a very strong environmental policy
and observe very strictly the environmental regulations.
6 The international experience
This section provides a partial overview of the global innovation which shapes up the bio-refinery eco-
system. It presents innovation experiences of leading research organisations and private companies.
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6.1 Case Study: FPInnovations, Canada
When I researched for the major R&D organisations around the world, which could potentially be able
to provide a valuable source of information for this project, FPInnovations (FPI) through its advanced
NCC research centre (Figure 17) and joint venture company, CelluForce, seemed to be the right starting
point.
Figure 17: FPInnovations premises in Montreal, Canada
FPInnovations profile
FPInnovations is characterised as one of the largest private scientific research centres in the world, and
the largest centre focused on the forest sector: it specialises in the creation of scientific solutions in
support of the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness and responds to the priority needs of its
industry members and government partners29.
The centre has more than 525 employees and R&D laboratories across Canada and a budget of
approximatively $95M. As a membership based consortium, FPInnovations’ business model includes
collaborative research, strategic alliances and products and services offered to companies and federal
and provincial government. It also licenses its R&D results and solutions and establishes joint ventures
with business partners. In addition, FPInnovations partners with the Canadian universities through a
“National Alignment of Transformative Technology Program”.
FPInnovations has developed an efficient process to deliver and accelerate innovation delivery that
involves:
Value proposition based on various sources of ideas (universities, research labs, acquired IPs)
R&D in collaboration with industry and governments complemented by continuous engineering
analysis and design and supported by market analysis and development
End-users/partners input and fine tuning of the delivered solutions
29 https://fpinnovations.ca/about-us/organization/Pages/default.aspx
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It has 11 research programs, which are named below, and two areas of focus such as Environment and
Sustainability and Value Maximization and Decision Support.
Resource Assessment
Forest Operations
Wildfire Operations
Primary Wood Products Manufacturing
Secondary Wood Products Manufacturing
Advanced Building Systems
Market Pulp
Paper, Packaging and Consumer Products
Biomaterials
Biorefinery and Energy
PIT (Performance Innovation Transport)
The main R&D funding streams available for projects are based on government funds and client, or
business partner, contracts such as:
Federal government core contributions and federal agreements (contracts)
Provincial government core contributions and federal agreements (contracts)
Industrial agreements (contracts)
Industry assessments
Strategic research alliance and others
The biomaterials program
FPInnovations’ biomaterials program has two main objectives: to develop non-traditional wood
products by adding value and utilising all forestry resource components and any residual products, and
to develop the new bio-economy by diversifying the wood markets.
One component is Cellulosic Biomaterials that aims to isolate and make new cellulosic structures, such
as Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), cellulose filaments (CF) and gels, whose properties can improve
a wide array of existing products, including pulp and paper, packaging, composite materials, wood
products, bioplastics, paints, inks, varnishes, textiles and cosmetics 30.
A second component is Wood Biomaterials that aims to maximize the value of the basket of products
generated from forest resources. Many high value chemicals, like antioxidants, can be isolated from
forest biomass. Others can add value to various products, such as inks, paints and varnishes, whereas
wood fibres may be used in the manufacturing of construction materials, automobile components and
other composites materials31.
The recent R&D activities and achievements under this program include the following:
Optimizing methods to produce NCC on an industrial scale
30 https://fpinnovations.ca/ResearchProgram/Pages/research-program-biomaterials.aspx 31 https://fpinnovations.ca/ResearchProgram/Pages/research-program-biomaterials.aspx
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Scaling up the method to extract CF and controlling their production
Testing the value of novel biomaterials in pulp and papers
Assessing novel applications for new biomaterials for incorporation in emerging products
Evaluating a series of technologies for the production of adhesives and bio-based resins
Developing a method to manufacture adhesive-free fibreboard
NCC, CF and CMP (Carboxymethilated Pulp) are all materials resulted after several years of research
at FPInnovations.
The unique properties of NCC, established or discovered at the FPInnovations laboratories (Figure
18), include strength, quality surface area and optical properties, and self-assembly properties. By
overcoming a number of challenges such as re-dispersibility in water (due to the need to obtain dry
NCC to reduce transportation costs), thermal stability and toxicity evaluation among others,
FPInnovations filled and owns patents for NCC re-dispersibility in water, self-assembly and optical
properties, and control of iridescence colour reflection. In addition, FPInnovations managed to add the
NCC as the first nanomaterial to the Canada Domestic Substance List (DSL).
Figure 18: NCC at FPInnovations laboratory
The benefits generated from the development of NCC and CF are expected to include:
The potential of using existent fibre feed stock to develop these novel cellulose products
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Added value to the customers through lower weighted materials and cheaper furnish
Significant cost reductions in conventional markets
Diversification of product lines and entry to new markets such as composites, plastic and textiles
Increased profit margins for the producer of these new cellulose products
Employment opportunities in the rural communities and the development of tertiary education in
the forest sector
At the end of 2013, FPInnovations and Kruger announced a joint project to implement the world’s first
5 tonnes/day CF demonstration plant at Kruger’s Trois-Rivieres paper mill in Canada. Further, it was
announced that a simple and chemical-free process developed by FPInnovations, which uses only
mechanical/refining energy and wood fibres with minimal impact, will be utilised to produce the CF.
The way this joint venture was designed has enabled an efficient scale-up to a full commercial stage.
Up-to-date, FPInnovations has succeeded to form two joint-ventures with Domtar (CelluForce, for
NCC production) and Kruger (for CF production), progress the development of a new lignin pilot
plant, initiate research on other two emerging biomaterials with high commercial potential (cellulose
filaments and cellulosic gel) and fill more than 36 patent applications and 27 concept disclosures.
FPInnovations advantages over the competition consists on deep knowledge of fibre science, cellulose
and wood chemistry and products, availability of pilot plant equipment, very strong links with
industrial partners and fast scale-up of their laboratory products through strong expertise in large
processes.
6.2 Case Study: CelluForce, Canada
CelluForce Inc is the world leader in the commercial development of Nanocrystalline Cellulose
(CelluForce NCC™). It operates the first NCC demonstration plant in the world.
CelluForce was initially developed as a joint venture company between FPInnovations and Domtar
through an investment of $42M ($32M in capital) and financial support from the Quebec and Canadian
governments. Currently, its shareholders are Domtar Inc., FPInnovations and Schlumberger Canada
Ltd.
CelluForce is located in Windsor, Quebec, Canada, adjacent to Domtar P&P mill (Figure 19 and Figure
20).
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Figure 19: CelluForce location
a)
b)
Figure 20: a) Trucks entering/leaving Domtar mill; b) CelluForce building at Domtar P&P mill
42
a) b)
Figure 21: a) Dr Mihai Daian @ NCC Concentration Unit (CelluForce); b) NCC bags stock ready for
delivery
CelluForce develops and markets NCC under two brands covered by a patented process
(NCCTM technology): Impact and Allure.
CelluForce was designed to be operated in close synergy with Domtar, sharing not only the land but
most important its facilities and utilities (electricity, steam, chemicals, etc.). Also, about 30 skilled
employees were transferred from Domtar to CelluForce.
The NCCTM produced by CelluForce has the following properties32:
Is composed of crystallites with average dimensions of 100nm length and 5nm diameter
Is tested to be practically non-toxic
Is tested to be renewable, recyclable and biodegradable
Has a measured surface area of approximately 500m2/g allowing for high reactivity
When visited in 2013 (Figure 21), the production unit was interrupted for maintenance and fine tuning
of its drying system. A significant volume of NCC was available in stock (approximately 20 tonnes),
ready to be shipped to a number of potential commercial customers, which were testing the NCC
product for development of new application, and to research organisation in other instances.
In February 2015, CelluForce attracted a $4M grant from Sustainable Development Technology,
Canada, to enable them optimise the NCC extraction process and develop ways of utilising it in the oil
and gas sector. This investment was followed by other significant investment from Schlumberger, a
global leader in IT solutions for the oil and gas industries. Thus, a strategic alliance was formed with
Schlumberger enabling CelluForce to develop NCC products for the oil and gas well extraction.
Following on the steps of the other parent company, FPInnovations, CelluForce is a good example of
collaboration with industry partners, involving capital investment from these, to develop and produce
an innovative product and technology. Further, the market strategy is being developed in close co-
operation with potential clients.
32 http://www.celluforce.com/en/product_specifications.php
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6.3 Case Study: FPInnovations and CelluForce origins
At FPInnovations, the work on NCC (CNC) started in 2000. In 2005, Dr Berry dedicated a full time
group of scientists to further develop this material and led the work to properly identify the material
and its properties, evaluate its toxicity, experiment the manufacturing process, and identifying
commercial applications. Over the next 5 years to 2010, more than $30M were invested in these
processes. Then, CelluForce took off through the FPInnovations’ partnership with Domtar, and from
2011 to 2015 additional $55M were invested.
Former CelluForce CEO, Jean Moreau, estimates that another 5 years of commercial developments
are needed before the community can say that the material is fully commercial and ready to be used in
our day to day life. Moreau also says that the costs involved over the next years are likely to be in order
of $100M; and, then, the investment into a commercial plant would likely be in order of $500M (for
FPInnovations and CelluForce).
The other global players, such as UPM, Inventia or Nippon Paper, which are in the NCC industry with
varieties of products (CF or CNC), are potentially in the same situation in regards to the necessary
investment and timeline.
6.4 Case Study: VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd is a globally networked multi-technological applied
research organisation, a not-for-profit and impartial research centre, working within a large global
business network and in collaboration with an extensive industrial and research community.
VTT is the leading research and technology company in the Nordic countries and is serving both
private and public sectors in both domestic and international markets. The organisation is an integral
part of Finland’s innovation system (Figure 22), operating under the mandate of Ministry of
Employment and the Economy. It has over 73 years of experience in the R&D areas (established in
1942), a turnover of €277M (2014) and employs 2,600 personnel (most with a university degree, 29%
with a Doctorate or licentiates).
Figure 22: VTT positioning as R&D player (Source: VTT presentation to Dr Mihai Daian by VTT)
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VTT is developing smart technologies and new technological solutions as result of its continuous
research and science-based results (Figure 23). It has more than 1,200 patents and patent applications.
Figure 23: VTT’s strategic portfolio (Source: VTT presentation to Dr Mihai Daian by VTT)
VTT has achieved significant advancements into the development of new Nanocellulose materials
applications over the last years through a significant level of investment from both government and
private sectors, and continuous collaboration with various Finish organisations and companies – from
the educational sector to government, research bodies, forestry companies, and other beneficiaries of
the new technologies. A presentation delivered to the author by Prof Ali Harlin on Nanocellulose
developments at VTT, Helsinki, Finland is provided in Annex 8.2.
6.5 Case Study: Domsjo Fabriker, Sweeden – an Adytia Birla Group company
Domsjö Fabriker is an Adytia Birla Group company member since 2011, located in Örnsköldsvik,
Sweden (approximately 100km south of Umea - 300km north of Stockholm) (Figure 23). It is an
innovative speciality cellulose fibre producer (and bio-refinery) for textile material viscose (rayon)
production. It also produces Lignin (120,000tonnes/year), Bioethanol (15,000tonnes/year) and biogas.
It has the capacity of producing up to 823tonnes of dissolving cellulose in one day (255,000
tonnes/year).
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Figure 24: Domsjö Fabriker- Sweden location & aerial view (Source Google Earth, Domsjo Fabriker
Since its beginnings, Domsjö remains at the forefront of the wood fibre processing industry, with a
number of alternative processes to refine wood into products with strong environmental benefits.
Through continuous research and development and investment, the company successfully addressed
all the environmental concerns - environmentally sound measures were implemented in both its
processes and waste treatment facilities, which has led to a gradual decrease of environmental impact
Briefly, the company is profiled by the followings:
Employs 400 people
Processes approximately 1.4M m3 softwoods, source from domestic suppliers and imported from
the region
Has a turnover of over $340M annually
Sales mainly outside Sweden, to Asia
Is one of the first in the world to bleach cellulose to the highest degree of brightness in a process
totally free from the use of chlorine or chlorine dioxide33
Is the only cellulose plant worldwide to have a closed loop bleaching process with zero emissions.
Bleaching residue is burnt and turned into energy used in the process
33 http://www.domsjo.adityabirla.com/
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In the bio-treatment plant, bacteria break down the remaining organic matter and biogas is
produced. This biogas is used as an energy source for the drying of lignin, and generation of
electricity and steam.
Employs an innovative bio-refinery technology, in closed loop, that generates complementary
products such as bio-gas, carbonic acid and energy used for bioenergy production that is used
internally, making Domsjö virtually independent of fossil energy resources
Has a Centre for Innovation and Development – DomInnova, based on strong collaboration with
companies, universities and other research organizations
The production process employed at Domsjö is outlined in Figure 25
Figure 25: Domsjö Fabriker bio-refinery process (Source: http://www.domsjo.adityabirla.com/)
The main products obtained through this process include (see also Figure 26):
Specialty Cellulose
Mainly used in viscose clothing production and hygiene product as an alternative to cotton:
textiles, lining, filament, napkins, sanitary towels, non-woven
Other uses – food industry (sausage-casings), medicine (bonding agent in medicines/pills),
cleaning (cleaning cloths, washing detergent), paint industry (paint thickening agent)
Bleached totally chlorine-free (TCF) and in a closed-loop bleach plant (CLB)
Lignin
Sold to global and regional manufacturers of concrete additives, and for pellets for animal
feed – the company has a share of 7% of the total global lignin market
New products are in development enabling lignin based products to replace oil-based
products.
Bioethanol
It is produced from the sugar extracted from the cooking process that is then fermented with
yeast
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It is produced in a range of strength and qualities
94% bioethanol strength is sold locally to a company producing bio fuels (car fuel) as well
as wind screen washing liquid, fuel and additive in the pant industry34
Figure 26: Domsjö Fabriker raw material & main products
7 Conclusions
This study, which was centred on analysis of non-traditional utilisation of wood fibre for products such
as NCC and CNF as well as rayon, has found that the pioneers in the field, in the international arena,
are already followed by a number of early adopters. Consistently, these organisations demonstrate a
past and long term commitment to innovation and leadership in the forest industry, a characteristic
which created the basis and the driver for their present production activity and innovative products.
While their nations and governments has provided significant financial contribution, the engine for
innovations was, in all cases, the collaborations and strong linkages formed between the industry
members and potential customers and continuous research work undertaken either in-house or through
external research organisations. The partnerships involved both capital sharing and significant in-kind
and financial investments.
From the analysis of the case studies presented in this report, one can understand that the clear benefits
derived from these new technologies and products include the following:
The development of an advanced, sustainable manufacturing sector and diversification of the
current, traditional product lines
Access to new markets such as composites, textiles, plastics which are traditional owned by the oil
based products
Creation of new, high skilled jobs for rural communities through the establishment of new and
technologically advanced production facilities and associated services
Higher attraction of tertiary educated students, engineers and scientists in the forest sector
Increased environmental friendly credentials for the pulp and paper industry
34 http://www.domsjo.adityabirla.com/
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Increased revenue generated from commercialisation of premium products leading to growing
investment in the forest industry
Potential to commercialise and/or use in a closed-loop system the excess heat and energy generated
from the primary processing of NCC/CNF
Improved energy and materials efficiency and cost savings; reduced transportation costs for
NCC/CNF
Accelerated technology transfers through collaboration between the research organisations,
processors and consumers
Better response to the retailers and consumers ‘expectations with safe, non-toxic, environmental
friendly materials
International experience suggests that, as shown in Section 4.2, these developments are not immune to
challenges; however, the fact that initial investments and technological implementation were followed
on and grew over time, proves that the potential benefits from the presented technologies and products
are far more significant.
In addition, the learnings from the pioneer companies and organisations in relations to development of
NCC businesses underline the need for a strong collaboration with those potential customers showing
the most interest, in order to develop tailor-made products/solutions; and, hence, to create a focus on
the clients with the markets with the most robust initial impact in terms of sales volume and price.
This approach will reduce the risk of failure and will enable the investors to start from a level of large-
scale demonstration plant, which permits a quick scale-up with the greater access to markets.
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8 Annex
8.1 Australian companies – the base for discussion
Questions/discussion topics with Australian organisations/enterprises
Q1. Where would you situate your company?
- The non-adaptors/conservatives- Want to maintain the status quo
- The partial adaptors - Prepared to change, but only within a comfort zone
- The proactive forerunners - Recognise the need to change to survive and flourish in the long
term, but future opportunities need to be identified and prioritized
- Early adapters, changers – Moving with the flow, changing quickly, easily influenced
Q2. Is your company/organisation considering the latest technological developments around
‘non-traditional’ cellulose products and their market opportunities? Do you plan for the future
to provide the raw material for these new products?
- if yes, what was that attracted your attention: request form possible customers, your own
research into the new markets, global trends?
- how do you plan to get into these markets? Doing research to adapt your production methods,
species, silvicultural practices, rotation age, use of approved fertilisers, etc., collaboration with
research organisations, linkages with other companies that were in the past competitors?
- If not, which are the main reasons not looking into this options?
Q3. What would it be the perspectives to have the Nanocellulose and Nanocellulose-based
products being produced in Australia? Do you see Australia as a raw material exporter (timber)
or Nanocellulose producer/exporter for these new markets/products)?
- if YES, at what extent can you see this possible market opportunity would create a shift on
your traditional products (in terms of traditional customers, volumes, quality, species)?
- Can you foresee a percentage of your production volume shifting to the new markets? Shifting
a percentage of it or possible planning to move completely to these new markets?
- If NO, any specific reasons for that (low price, environmental regulations, still a too small
niche/specialized market)?
- If you cannot see a market in Australia for these products, are you taking any steps on creating
linkages or network with international partners looking into this market/products? If, yes, to
what extent you envisage that will change your current market practices?
Q4: What information would you like to hear from the Nanocellulose producers from overseas?
I.e.: What particular questions would you like to have answered by the companies (that are researching
and investing in developing these technologies/products) to be visited?
- how and when did they identified the possible/prospective markets (before having the new
materials technology developed or after)?
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- did they have government support at the start of exploring this idea or after the proof-of-concept
of the new materials?
- at this stage (pilot plants, small scale production facilities) is the government providing any
support (legislation, incentive, grants)?
- how much on the decision to explore and develop these technologies was based on the
availability and future access to raw material?
- did the companies think of networking with raw material (plantation owners, etc.) producers,
to create joint-ventures with mutual benefits? (example being Adytia Birla company
establishing new eucalyptus plantation in Laos while establishing pulp processing facilities to
utilise the raw resources).
- is the marketing strategy focusing only on the benefits of using the new materials for new
products or to replace no-renewable materials?
- Is rayon something of interest (keeping in mind the big investments on this material technology
by the Adytia Birla for example) in addition of NCC (even though not a new discovered
material/technology)?
8.2 VTT PowerPoint presentation to Dr Mihai Daian
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