Expert Insights from Innofibre

What to do with the growing amounts of municipal, industrial, and commercial waste?

For over a decade, Innofibre has been exploring the phosphorylation process of cellulose to impart various desirable properties such as flame resistance, super absorbency, and strong cation exchange capacity.

They are there, but we ignore them.  We walk past them without a care in the world.  Yet hydrocyclones are an integral part of most papermaking processes.

Wood and its components, including cellulose fibers, are major assets in the ecological transitions taking place at this moment.

Decarbonizing various industrial sectors poses numerous challenges. In the packaging industry, replacing plastic with bio-sourced products can encounter obstacles when specific barrier properties are required, notably against oxygen and water vapor.

Cellulose packaging is booming. In recent years, we've seen the arrival - on the Quebec market - of cellulose packaging from other regions of the world.

The textile industry generates large amounts of wastes, especially in the steps involved in the clothing manufacturing process, which leads to large quantities of unwanted textile remnants (scraps and offcut).

Packages made of corrugated cardboard occupy a very large part of our everyday lives, accounting for almost 40% of the industry’s cellulosic fibre packaging. Although this type of packaging is mainly used for moving or transporting heavy items, it’s now possible to create light and highly functional packaging structures that allow to greatly increase its scope of applications.

What do we mean by eco-friendly packaging? There is no simple answer to this question.

Is it possible to imagine a future for biocoal in the iron and steel industry? Over the past 15 years, the popularity of biocoal (commonly called charcoal) has been increasing at a rapid pace, with ten times more scientific articles being published about its production than ever before.

Despite its potential as an added-value product for pulp and paper mills, each year several thousand tons of lignin end up in the mills’ black liquor, which is a mixture containing cooking chemicals and residual wood material that remains after pulping.

Milkweed has gained in popularity in Quebec (Canada) ever since people have begun to recognize of the value of its silk.

The lumber industry is a key player in Canada’s economy owing to its large wood production, which accounts for several millions of dry tons of residual bark each year.

In several regions of the world, the pulp and paper industry has always been closely associated with wood, forests and sawmills. However, there are many other sources of fiber and these could play an increasingly important role in the future.

In the current context, where the future of many mills is uncertain, innovation is essential to develop products in demand.  These mills will require modifications of different scales, which will involve significant costs.  

Innofibre - Centre d'innovation des produits cellulosiques of Cégep de Trois‑Rivières maintains its position at the top of the list of Canadian colleges according to "Canada's Top 50 Research Colleges 2021". https://researchinfosource.com/top-50-research-colleges/2021/list

Corrugated cardboard packaging is an important part of our daily lives, accounting for nearly 40% of the entire cellulosic fiber-based packaging sector. Although this type of cardboard is first and foremost associated with moving and transporting heavy goods, it is now possible to create light and functional packaging structures that greatly extend its field of application.

The forest constitutes one of the most beautiful and great wealth of Quebec, with a forest cover representing 2.3% of the world's forest

Sustainability is increasingly a priority for consumers, this trend demands to develop new recyclable or compostable packaging. In addition, from an environmental perspective, paper is an excellent substitute for plastic packaging, but some challenges remain.