Further development of sulphite-based dissolving pulp production

The requested Mitacs-Accelerate Internship application will support Dr. Yishan Liu (as an intern) and Dr. Yonghao Ni (as supervisor) of the University of New Brunswick and Neucel Specialty Cellulose. The overall objectives of the project are: 1) to improve the quality of dissolving pulps; 2) to decrease the manufacturing costs by using low-cost wood material. The improvements in pulp quality will be achieved based on enzymatic/ mechanical treatments that can be readily implemented at the existing mill configurations. The Canadian dissolving pulp production capacity has been expanded significantly in recent years. The results from the project will be beneficial to this growing sector, in particular, the industrial partner, Neucel Specialty Cellulose, by producing dissolving pulps with superior properties, hence, enhancing the value and competitiveness of their dissolving pulp products in the international market. Therefore, the proposed program is of direct relevance to Canada. Dr. Liu will be trained from the proposed program, and he will gain pertinent knowledge related to enzymatic/ mechanical/ chemical treatments, and dissolving pulp manufacturing processes and its quality control/ improvement. Upon completion, he will be prepared for employment in the pulp and paper industry

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Yonghao Ni

Student:

Yishan Liu

Partner:

Neucel Specialty Cellulose

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Forestry

University:

University of New Brunswick