New sustainable specialty chemicals for the Pulp & Paper Industry

Important results from the project

The hypothesis that an already known synthetic route could be used for preparation of a sugar-based ester with surface-active properties was verified on a small scale. We encountered difficulties in that the first intended raw material did not produce sufficiently efficient products and that the material proved to be more difficult to handle than was first assumed. We are well on our way, but not quite at the final goal, of developing a new generation of surface-active products for the pulp and paper industry that are based solely on renewable raw materials.

Expected long term effects

Surfactants solely based on renewable raw materials were successfully synthesized on a small scale and functional tests of these substances showed promising results. However, it was found that the intended choice of raw material was not optimal for our application and the focus was shifted to another raw material. There were difficulties with the synthesis in medium scale as the material was more difficult to handle than initially assumed and we lacked appropriate equipment for handling it. Much knowledge about the raw materials and the synthetic route was acquired during the project.

Approach and implementation

The procedure described in the initial report has been followed and completed. Syntheses in small scale have been performed at Chalmers and in medium scale at BIM Kemi and the synthesized substances have been evaluated as organic deposition control agents. However, the shift in raw material focus and difficulties in handling the material on a medium scale meant that the results did not fully meet the high expectations set in advance. The project has resulted in several ideas on how we at BIM Kemi should take this further in the continued product development.