Ahead of the Curve Archive

U.S. Senate Recognizes Biomass Energy Carbon Benefits

23 Mar 2016 In late February Bob Cleaves, president of the Biomass Power Association, wrote the following commentary on the current level of U.S. government support of biomass for energy.

The Evolving Role of the Mill Engineer

16 Mar 2016 By Graeme Rodden This is an advance-look excerpt from the cover story of the March/April issue of Paper360°.

Researchers Turn Paper Waste into Multi-Use Aerogels

09 Mar 2016 A research team led by Assistant Professor Duong Hai Minh from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Faculty of Engineering, has achieved a world’s first by successfully converting paper waste into green cellulose aerogels that are non-toxic, ultralight, flexible, extremely strong, and water repellent.

Study Underscores Forest Products’ Role in Climate Change

02 Mar 2016 The Canadian Climate Forum has released an issues paper that documents how forests and products made from tree fiber will play an increasingly critical role in the transition to a low carbon economy.

Is Your Pizza Box Trying to Kill You?

24 Feb 2016 By Jan Bottiglieri, Editorial Director, Paper360° On the last day of 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a notification titled “Update on Perfluorinated Grease-proofing Agents.” The FDA also published a press release with the headline “FDA Revokes Food Additive Approval for the Use of Long-Chain Perfluorinated Compounds as Oil and Water Repellents for Paper Used in Food Packaging.”

Kari Jordan on: Successful Transformation

17 Feb 2016 Metsä Group President and Chief Executive Officer Kari Jordan has recently been named RISI’s European CEO of the Year for 2016. This is the first time Jordan has picked up the prestigious award; he was unanimously chosen by a group of financial analysts and portfolio managers covering the forest products industry.

China’s boxboard exports skyrocket and tap into critical demand growth markets

10 Feb 2016 According to a recent RISI study, global boxboard demand has advanced by 2-3% annually on average since the early years of the last decade, which compares favorably to many other segments of the pulp and paper industry that are stagnant or in decline.

New Study Shows How Consumers Drive Sustainability, Packaging Trends

03 Feb 2016 The ULS (Use Less Stuff) Report has published a comprehensive study on packaging efficiency titled A Study of Packaging Efficiency As It Relates to Waste Prevention. Besides providing contemporary results, the research examines trends in retail packaging since the publication of the original study in 1995 and the follow-up in 2006.

Prospect of New Caribou Plan a Major Concern in Rural Quebec

27 Jan 2016 Some environmentalist groups suggest that forestry activities in Quebec, Canada, should be considerably reduced—a measure that would threaten thousands of jobs in this industry, according to a new short documentary produced by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) in the North Shore region. In November 2015, the VP of the MEI, Jasmin Guénette, met with forest engineers, mill workers, and others on the ground in Baie-Comeau to give a voice to those who make their living from the forest.

Stop Swapping Your Pumps and Start Testing Them Instead

20 Jan 2016 y Jay Shellogg This article appears in the forthcoming January/February 2016 issue of Paper360°. Does anyone out there run two pumps in parallel so that if one fails you can swap to the other pump with little or no consequence to operations?