Ahead of the Curve Archive

Notes from Rio

17 Aug 2016 By Marcello Collares, Fisher International I have been watching the Olympics along with everyone else in Brazil and around the world. As announcers tally the successes of each nation’s athletes, I hear the same country names that we regularly associate with success in the paper industry. Recently I found myself running to my FisherSolveTM database to answer questions that popped into my head about pulp and paper production in various regions of the world. In the spirit of the Olympics (and because I suspect I’m not the only one in the industry with an inquiring impulse about paper), here are some data and statistics about the nexus of international accomplishments in Olympic medals and the paper industry.

DoE grants $2.5M to study biorefinery waste use, renewable bioproducts

10 Aug 2016 By Kathleen Phillips The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $2.5 million for a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study to find ways to use biorefinery waste to make new, marketable products.

Report on the business ecosystem for cellulosic nanomaterials

03 Aug 2016 By Art Ragauskas Editor’s note: This article originally ran in the June, 2016 issue of TAPPI Journal, TAPPI’s flagship research publication provided each month to members.

Creating 3D-printed prostheses from forest raw materials

27 Jul 2016 How can an artificial limb be made a little less… artificial? When it is produced using renewable forest materials to create a highly-customizable, more environmentally-friendly prosthetic at a more reasonable cost for patients and providers.

TAPPI Committee Develops ‘Power’ Tools for Mills

20 Jul 2016 Could your mill benefit from expert tools for power and recovery boiler operators and engineers? TAPPI TIPs (Technical Information Papers), which are developed by TAPPI committees, bring together experts from pulp mills, suppliers, and scientists to develop state-of-the-art guidelines and best practices for key industry processes.

An early glimpse at APP’s OKI Mill, Sumatra

13 Jul 2016 This look at APP’s new mill, due to open later this year in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI), South Sumatra, is an excerpt from a feature appearing in the upcoming July/August issue of Paper360° and is offered here as a preview for Ahead of the Curve readers.

UK exit likely to have very limited near-term effects on the pulp market

06 Jul 2016 Kurt Schaefer, RISI The UK voted in June to exit the European Union, surprising most observers and raising many questions and concerns.

Top 6 Coolest Things About the Paper Industry

29 Jun 2016 Sarah Dawkins, Solenis TAPPI’s Young Professionals Division promotes the future of our industry by recognizing members’ creativity and drive while encouraging them to become more personally involved in the industry. As our future leaders and innovators, we’ve invited members of the YP Division to share their insights with Ahead of the Curve readers.

Rick's Tips - Calender safety

22 Jun 2016 Nanotechnology—defined as science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers—has been a hot topic in the paper industry, as researchers work to define opportunities for industry innovation. To help papermakers explore those opportunities.

Bringing the safety message home: PPSA annual meeting meets the challenge of change

15 Jun 2016 Moving to Mobile for its 73rd annual event, the Pulp & Paper Safety Association (PPSA) conference program touched all the bases, practical and theoretical, and then some. Nancy Garry, HRP Associates, also led a full day session dealing with the fundamentals of OSHA compliance in the paper industry.