Fluffmassa är ett förnybart material bestående av cellulosafiber som utvinns under massakokning. Dessa fiber används för att tillverka olika absorberande produkter som till exempel servetter. Fluffmassa används även för att tillverka absorptionskärnor i damhygienprodukter, inkontinensprodukter och blöjor. Vissa av dessa absorptionskärnor (speciellt i ultratunna bindor) tillverkas med airlaid. Airlaid är en tillverkingsteknik som ger fiberstrukturer med slumpmässig orientering genom att applicera ett undertryck.  Syftet med detta examensarbete var att utveckla metoder för att tillverka servetter och absorptionskärnor till damhygienprodukter i laboratoriemiljö genom att använda en airlaid maskin i laboratorieskala. Detta utfördes genom att analysera viktiga egenskaper som exempelvis ytvikt, tjocklek, densitet, böjlängd och förmågan att absorbera vätska i kommersiella servetter och absorptionskärnor inom damhygien. Även dragprov och SEM-analys utfördes. Resultatet från dessa analyser användes som ett riktvärde under metodutvecklingen.  Två metoder utvecklades - en för att tillverka en servettstruktur och en för att tillverka en absorptionskärna för damhygien. De olika tillverkningsstegen inkluderar defibrering, formering, pressning, prägling, latexsprayning samt härdning. Båda strukturerna tillverkades, och dess egenskaper analyserades och jämfördes med de kommersiella produkterna. Analyserna visade att de utvecklade metoderna genererade struktuer vars ytvikt stämde väl överrens med de kommersialla produkterna. Strukturerna var dock tjockare och hade en lägre densitet än de kommmersiella produkterna. Den minskade densiteten påverkade förmodligen resultatet från de andra analyserna som utfördes i detta projekt. Servettstrukturen hade en lägre böjlängd än de kommersiella servetterna och damhygienstrukturen hade bättre absorption än de kommersiella produkterna.  Båda strukturerna hade en ytfinish som överensstämmde väl med de kommersiella produkterna. Dock visade SEM-analysen att latex saknades i mitten av de båda tillverkade strukturerna. / Fluff pulp is a renewable material consisting of pure cellulose fibers which are obtained during pulping. These fibers are commonly used to form Airlaid-nonwoven products such as napkins and wipes. Fluff pulp is also used in absorbent cores in femcare products, incontinence products and diapers. Some of these absorbent core structures (especially in ultrathin pads) are produced through airlaid. Airlaid is a manufacturing technique which forms a randomly oriented fiber structure by using an applied suction.  This degree project aimed at developing methods for producing napkins and femcare absorbent cores on a laboratory scale by using an airlaid former. Important properties such as grammage, thickness, density, bending length and absorption capacity were therefore measured on commercial napkins and femcare absorbent cores. Other analyses which were performed include tensile testing and SEM. Findings from these analyses were then used as a target reference during the method development.  Two methods were developed; one for producing a napkin structure and one for producing a femcare absorbent core structure. The different manufacturing steps included fiber defiberization, sample formation, pressing, embossing, latex spraying and curing. Napkin structures and femcare absorbent core structures were produced by using the developed methods, and their properties were analyzed and compared with the commercial products.  Analysis showed that the developed methods generated structures with grammages that corresponded well with the grammages in the commercial products. However, both developed structures were thicker and had lower density than the commercial products. This decreased density probably influenced the results in other analyses performed in this project. The developed napkin structure had a shorter bending length compared to the commercial napkins and the developed femcare structure had a better absorption capacity compared to the commercial femcare absorbent cores. Both developed structures obtained nice surface finish which corresponded well with the surface finish in the commercial products. However, SEM analysis indicated that no latex managed to reach the center in the developed structures.

Delignifiering under sulfat koket innefattar både kemisk nedbrytning och fysisk upplösning av lignin, för vilket närvaron av oorganiska salter, oorganiska anjoner samt oorganiska katjoner (sammantaget benämnda som "Non-process elements", NPEs på engelska) kan ha inverkan på delignifieringens hastighet. Tidigare studier har funnit att ved med högt kalciuminnehåll är svårdelignifierad och att kalcium har potentiell inverkan på ligninlöslighet och kappatal. Att avlägsna kalcium från ved är svårt, men vissa studier har visat att detta kan motverka ovannämnda2(4)inverkan och öka delignifieringen. Denna studie har studerat effekten av kalcium under delignifieringen på fyra prover av Eucalyptus dunnii tagna från olika marktyper, åldrar, kalciumhalt samt geografisk plats (i Uruguay). Målet har varit att undersöka kalciumets inverkan under delignifieringen och dess effekt på massautbytet. Fyra satser av vardera vedmat erial kokades i stålautoklaver med följande parametrar: 18 % effektiv alkali, 35 % sulfiditet, 1 h impregnering vid 110 °C, 2,75 h, 3 h, 3,25 h respektive 3,5 h koktider (för vardera sats) vid 145 °C. Provet med den högsta kalciumhalten om 4668 mg/kg kunde dock inte delignifieras, vare sig vid dessa kokparametrar eller vid en temperaturökning till 155 °C och en resulterande H-faktor på 735 enheter – motsvarande 7 h koktid vid 145 °C – och analyserades inte vidare i studien. Resultaten visar på en negativ effekt från kalcium avseende både delignifieringshastighet och utbyte: Eucalyptus med en lägre kalciumhalt på 705 mg/kg gav massa med kappatal 13 efter kokning, medan eucalyptus med 1500 mg/kg kalcium efter samma kokning gav massa med kappatal 17. Motsvarande utbyte för dessa massor var 48 % för provet med lägre kalciumhalt och 46 % för provet med högre kalciumhalt. Kvantifiering av modifierat kappa och uronsyror bekräftade att ovannämnda effekter inte berodde på inverkan från hexennuronsyra i massan. / Delignification during sulphate cooking involves both chemical degradation and physical solubilization of lignin where the presence of non-process elements (NPEs), inorganic salts, anions or cations in the process could affect the rate of delignification. Previous studies also indicate that wood with higher calcium content is challenging to delignify which would affect the lignin solubility and increase kappa number. Besides, the removal of calcium from Eucalyptus is difficult. However, some study suggests that removal of calcium before the process increases the rate of delignification. This work studies the effect of calcium in four Eucalyptus dunnii samples of different soil type, age, different calcium content and Uruguayan geographical areas during the delignification process. The aim is to study the influence of calcium during the delignification in kraft cooking and its effects on pulp yield in Eucalyptus dunnii. Four batches of each material were cooked in a steel autoclaves with the following parameters: 18% effective alkali, 35% sulphidity, 1 h impregnation at 110 ° C, 2.75 h, 3 h, 3.25 h and 3.5 h cooking times, respectively (for each batch) at 145 ° C. Besides, sample with Ca-4668 mg/kg were not able to defibrate at common cooking conditions and even after altering the cooking conditions to higher temperature 155℃, H-Factor to be 735 (cooking time of 7 hours) and were not analyzed further in the study. Results suggest that there is a detrimental influence of calcium on delignification during the kraft cooking process, and it also affects the pulp yield in Eucalyptus dunnii. Eucalyptus with a lower calcium content of 705 mg / kg gave pulp with kappa number 13 after cooking, while eucalyptus at 1500 mg / kg calcium after the same cooking time gave pulp with kappa number 17. Corresponding yield for these pulps were 48% for the lower calcium sample and 46% for the higher sample calcium content. A slower rate of delignification with higher kappa number and lower overall pulp yield are the results of higher calcium content in Eucalyptus dunnii. Quantification of modified kappa and uronic acids confirm that the effect of calcium on kappa is due to residual lignin and not by the presence of hexenuronic acids.

Användningen av pappersförpackningar ökar drastiskt världen över, vilket gör förmågan att återvinna dessa material mycket viktig. I detta examensarbete testades återvinningen av en ny biobaserad förpackningslösning, där papper är en del av barriären och barriärerna appliceras på utsidan av förpackningen. För att bedöma återvinningsbarheten testades materialen med olika barriärer: baspapper 1, baspapper 1 med vattenbarriär, baspapper 1 med syrebarriär, baspapper 1 med både vatten- och syrebarriärer samt ett tätskikt, samt baspapper 2 med samma barriärer, men inklusive ett extra material bestående av baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer utan förseglings skikt. Alla material slogs upp enligt första steget i CEPI-metoden d.v.s. med 30 000 varv (NoR) och 40 °C, justeringar av dessa parametrar gjordes vid den utökade studien. Efter uppslagning silades materialen och utbytet beräknades. Det observerades att baspapper 1 med eller utan barriärer inte uppnådde det 80% utbyte som krävs enligt CEPI -metoden. Trots justeringar av parametrarna nådde utbytet aldrig 80%, så fokus skiftade till prov med baspapper 2, vilka konsekvent gav ett utbyte över 80%. Baspapper 2 ensam uppnådde ett utbyte på 85%, medan baspapper 2 med barriärer nådde cirka 100%.  Den kompletta CEPI-metoden, med alla dess komponenter, dvs även vidhäftningstest och test för visuella orenheter tillämpades på två material: baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer, samt baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer och försegligsskikt. Vidhäftningstestet och bedömningen av visuella föroreningar var godkänt för båda materialen d.v.s. ingen betydande vidhäftning eller visuella föroreningar i form av polymer- eller fiberklumpar noterades.  Fibertester visade skillnader mellan baspapper 2 ensam och baspapper 2 med barriärer. Fibrerna i baspapper 2 var längre, bredare och rakare än i materialen med barriär.  Den kompletta CEPI-metoden, med alla dess komponenter, tillämpades på två material: baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer, samt baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer och tätskikt. Vid häftningstester och bedömningar av visuella föroreningar visade godkänd vidhäftning för båda materialen och inga betydande visuella föroreningar i form av polymer- eller fiberklumpar. Dragtester genomfördes på baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer, både före och efter uppslagning, och jämförde färdiga ark och labb-tillverkade ark. Resultaten jämfördes för tre färdiga ark: baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer, baspapper 2 ensam och baspapper 2 med syrebarriären. Färdiga ark av baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer jämfördes också med labb-tillverkade ark av samma material. Resultaten visade att när det gäller dragstyrka och styvhet hade baspapper 2 med syrebarriären högst värde, baspapper 2 utan barriär hade högst brottöjningsvärde och baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer hade högst TEA. När färdiga ark jämfördes med labb-tillverkade ark hade de färdiga arken högre värden för dragstyrka och styvhet, medan de labb-tillverkade arken hade högre brottöjningsvärde och TEA. Detta visar som förväntat att tillverkningsprocessen har stor betydelse för de mekaniska egenskaperna hos ett pappersark. Att fibrerna i det ena fallet även är återvunna spelar också in. I detta test var det inte möjligt att separera effekten från de två bidragande faktorerna.  Luftpermeabilitetstester genomfördes också på de färdiga och labb-tillverkade arken av baspapper 2 med vatten- och syrebarriärer för att mäta porositeten hos materialen. De färdiga arken var så täta att de låg utanför instrumentets mätningsområde, vilket indikerade att de var mer ogenomträngliga än de labb-tillverkade arken. / recycle these materials crucial. In this thesis, the recyclability of a new bio-based packaging solution is tested, where paper is part of the barrier, and the barriers are applied on the outside of the packaging. To assess recyclability, two different base papers in combination with oxygen and/or water barriers were tested: base paper 1, base paper 1 with a water barrier, base paper 1 with an oxygen barrier, base paper 1 with both water and oxygen barriers plus a sealing layer, and base paper 2 with the same combinations as base paper 1, but also with water and oxygen barriers without a sealing layer. All materials were subjected to the first step in the CEPI-method i.e. pulped using 30,000 revolutions (NoR) at 40 °C, with adjustments to these parameters in some extended studies. After pulping, the materials were screened, and the yield was calculated. It was observed that base paper 1 with or without the barriers did not achieve the 80% yield required for acceptable recyclability. Despite adjusting the NoR and/or temperature, the yield never reached 80%, so the focus shifted to base paper 2, which consistently yielded above 80%. Base paper 2 alone achieved an 85% yield, while base paper 2 with other barriers reached approximately 100%. The complete CEPI method, with all its components, sheet forming, adhesion test and visual impurity assessments, was applied to two materials: base paper 2 with water and oxygen barriers, and base paper 2 with water and oxygen barriers plus a sealing layer. Adhesion tests and visual impurity assessments showed low to no adhesion for both materials and no significant visual impurities in the form of polymer or fiber clumps.  Fiber tests revealed differences between base paper 2 alone and base paper 2 with barrier coating. The fibers from base paper 2 alone were longer, wider, and straighter than those from the coated paper.  Tensile tests were conducted on base paper 2 with water and oxygen barriers, both before and after pulping, comparing finished sheets and lab-manufactured sheets. The results were compared for three finished sheets: base paper 2 with water and oxygen barriers, base paper 2 alone, and base paper 2 with the oxygen barrier. Finished sheets of base paper 2 with water and oxygen barriers were also compared to lab-manufactured sheets of the same material. Results showed that base paper 2 with the oxygen barrier had the highest tensile strength and stiffness, base paper 2 alone had the highest breaking elongation, and base paper 2 with water and oxygen barriers had the highest TEA. When comparing finished sheets to lab-manufactured sheets, the finished sheets had higher tensile strength and stiffness, while the lab-manufactured sheets had higher breaking elongation and TEA. This shows, as expected, that the manufacturing process together with the use of virgin or recycled fibers has a great effect on the mechanical properties of a paper sheet. From the presented data it was not possible to separate the impact from those two different factors.  Air permeability tests were also conducted on the finished and lab-manufactured sheets of base paper 2 with water and oxygen barriers to measure the porosity of the different samples. The finished sheets were so dense that they were beyond the instrument's measurement range, indicating that they were more impermeable than the lab-manufactured sheets.

An abundance of waste products from the forestry industry (sawdust and paper pulp) lead to the concept of using them as growing media for high value crops on a field scale. However, management of subsequent weed growth posed a problem as the impact of these novel media on the performance and fate of herbicides was unknown. Three aspects of sawdust and paper pulp waste were examined and compared to two cropping soils, viz. their effect on herbicide behaviour with regard to crop selectivity, weed control efficacy and the environmental fate of selected chemicals. Cropping species such as lettuce and onions were more susceptible to alachlor and chlorpropham in sawdust than in paper pulp. The two cropping soils evaluated (Horotiu sandy loam and Mangateretere silt loam) tended to be intermediate although the former was often close to the sawdust and the latter to the paper pulp in terms of herbicide phytotoxicity to the crop plants. For the less water soluble herbicide pendimethalin, the differences in crop selectivity in the different media were not significant. The effect of the media on the efficacy of weed control was evaluated through plant species with a much lower tolerance to the herbicides evaluated in contrast to the above species. For these plants the efficacy of the herbicides was generally lower in both the sawdust and paper pulp than in the two soils. The effect was more pronounced with the more soluble alachlor, where efficacy was reduced by factors of 5 – 10, compared to pendimethalin where efficacy reduction was by factors of 0 – 3. The two high organic media had contrasting effects on the various environmental behaviour indices evaluated. Herbicide adsorption as quantified by distribution coefficient (Kd) was higher in the two novel media compared to both the Horotiu and Mangateretere soils. However, when the Kd was normalised to organic carbon (Koc), there was less variation amongst the media indicating that organic matter is an important factor in controlling sorption in these media. However, despite the high level of adsorption in the sawdust, herbicides were most prone to leaching in this medium. Conversely the paper pulp tended to be more retentive while the two soils were intermediate. The degradation as quantified by half-lives (t½) of the herbicides was generally slower in the two novel media, probably reflecting the higher sorption in these two media but also due to the lower level of microbial activity in the sawdust and paper pulp. The study shows that herbicide behaviour in these carbon based media differs significantly from that expected from soil organic matter, mainly due to the non-humified nature of the organic matter in the media and its poor biological activity.

Thermal insulation materials made from natural fibrous materials, such as cellulose fibers, have advantages over others from a sustainability point of view. However, cellulosic materials are generally prone to mold and absorb moisture, and these have negative effects on the insulation properties, the durability of insulation materials, and interior air quality. In this thesis, cellulose-fiber-based insulation foams were prepared from bleached chemithermomechanical softwood pulp, and these foams showed promising thermal insulation properties and fungal resistance. Hydrophobic extractives were isolated from birch (Betula verrucosa) outer bark and used to improve the water resistance of the foams, which were impregnated in solutions of extractives and then dried. The modified foams showed greater water resistance, and the modification had no negative effects on the thermal insulation, fungal resistance, and compressive strength of the foams. Another potential problem with low density cellulosic thermal insulation materials is their poor reaction-to-fire properties. Cellulose-fiber-based insulation foams were prepared from formulations containing bleached chemithermomechanical softwood pulp and commercial fire retardants to improve the reaction of the foams to fire. Single-flame source test results showed that the foams containing 20% expandable graphite (20% EG) or 25% synergetic (25% SY) fire retardant had significantly improved reaction-to-fire properties and passed class E, which reflected that they can resist a small flame attack without substantial flame spreading for a short period according to EN 13501-1. Compared with the reference without any fire retardant, the peak heat release rate (Peak-HRR) of the 20% EG and 25% SY decreased by 62% and 39% respectively when the samples were subjected to a radiance heat flow of 25 kW m-2 in a Cone Calorimeter. The thesis demonstrates that it is possible to produce cellulose-fiber-based insulation materials with improved properties in terms of fungal, improved water resistance and reaction-to-fire properties. / <p>QC 20170428</p> / Energy-efficient cellulosic insulation products/panels for green building solutions

Paper making today is, to some extent, based on empirical knowledge. It is wellknown that fines, pH, charge and ion strength affect the manufacture of paper. One way of extending knowledge of the mechanisms of paper chemistry is to follow the trajectories of fines and additives in the paper suspension to gather information as to the manner in which they react. Four tracking algorithms adapted to the needs of this particular problem were implemented in order to track particles effciently. The tracking algorithms include two variants of the well-known "Lucas-Kanade algorithm" and template matching techniques based on cross-correlation and least squares matching. Although these techniques are similar in principle, the actual tracking can nevertheless differ; the Lucas-Kanade algorithms were found to be more invariant to noise, whereas the cross-correlation and least squares methods are more rapid to execute in Matlab. The tracking methods have been evaluated using a simulator to generate image sequences of synthetic particles moving according to Brownian motion. Tracking has also been evaluated on microscope images of real latex particles where the results have been compared to manual tracking. Tracking of both the simulated particles and the latex particles resulted in similar results when compared to known position and manual tracking, respectively. / Tillverkning av papper är till en viss del baserad på empirisk kunskap. Välkänt är att finmaterial, pH värde, laddning och jonstyrka påverkar de papperskemiska mekanismerna och därmed flertalet pappersegenskaper vid tillverkning av papper. En möjlighet att utveckla kunskaperna inom papperskemiska mekanismerar att studera finmaterial och additiv i en pappers suspension for att samla in informationom reaktionsmekanismer. Fyra trackningalgoritmer ar vidareutvecklade i syftet att möjliggöra studier kring papperskemiska mekanismer. Trackningalgoritmerna inkluderar två varianter av den välkända "Lucas-Kanade" algoritm och två template-baserade metoder: korskorrelation och minsta kvadratmetoden. Samtliga metoder bygger på samma princip, men trots detta kan resultaten från trackningen skilja mellan metoderna. Lucas-Kanade algoritmerna är mer oberoende av brus medan korskorrelationen och minsta kvadratmetoden exekveras snabbare i Matlab. Trackning metoderna utvärderades med hjälp av en simulator som genererar bildsekvenser av syntetiska partiklar med en Brownsk rörelse. Trackningen har även använts på mikroskopibilder av rörelsebanor på verkliga suspenderade latex partiklar, varvid trackningresultatet har jämförts med manuell trackning. De genererade bildsekvensernapa de simulerade partiklarna har kända rörelsebanor som är jämförbara med rörelsebanor for latex partiklarna.

Dans les procédés classiques d'extraction de la cellulose pour la fabrication de la pâte à papier à partir de bois, les hémicelluloses sont dégradées et sont brûlées pour alimenter l'usine en énergie. En incluant une étape préalable d'extraction de ces polysaccharides, ils pourraient alors être réintroduits en aval du procédé, après cationisation, en tant qu'agent de renfort dans la pâte à papier. Dans ce travail, la cationisation de deux hémicelluloses modèles commerciales de type galactomannane et xylane a été effectuée par éthérification avec un époxyde cationique en solution aqueuse basique, avec des degrés de substitution de 0,1 à 1,3. Les paramètres prépondérants de la réaction sont la concentration des espèces et la quantité d'agent éthérifiant, tandis que la température et le temps de réaction influent principalement sur le rendement massique. Un plan d'expérience a permis de modéliser l'interaction entre les quantités de soude et d'époxyde et d'optimiser les conditions en fonction du DS avec une efficacité de réaction de 50%. La cationisation a également été appliquée à deux hémicelluloses extraites au FCBA. La mise en oeuvre de la réaction en absence de solvant a permis d'atteindre une efficacité de réaction de 70 à 90% et de réduire considérablement les quantités de réactif utilisées et d'effluents à traiter. Parmi la gamme de DS, les dérivés cationiques de DS 0,3 ont donné les meilleures propriétés après ajout dans la pâte à papier, le galactomannane étant plus efficace que le xylane. Enfin, la réticulation des chaînes du xylane extrait a permis d'augmenter les propriétés physiques du papier de 15% supplémentaires / With current paper pulp processes, hemicelluloses are decomposed during the extraction of cellulose fibres. By including a previous step of hemicellulose extraction, these compounds could be reused as additives in the paper pulp, instead of cationic starch. In this work, two model galactomannan and xylan hemicelluloses were cationized in aqueous solution under basic conditions by etherification with a cationic epoxide. Degrees of substitution from 0.1 to 1.3 were obtained. Species concentration and epoxide amount appeared as preponderant parameters of the reaction. With an experimental design, the interaction between sodium hydroxide and epoxide amounts was modelized, and reactional conditions were optimized depending on the desired DS with a reaction efficiency of 50%. Then, cationisation was applied to two hemicelluloses extracted in FCBA. The reaction was also carried out in absence of solvent with a reaction efficiency of 70-90%, by minimising reagents consumption and effluents. Cationic derivatives with DS 0.3 gave the best performance to increase the paper resistance when they were added in paper pulp, galactomannan being more efficient than xylan. Chain reticulation allowed increasing mechanical properties of paper of 15% for the extracted xylan

One of the main interests in commercial methane production is to maximize the gas yield, and it is thus appealing to use material with relative high methane potential. However, such material often results in process instability whereas ammonia inhibition is common. Removal of ammonia through adsorption is a fairly unexplored method in the field of biogas production, and could prove to be cost-effective.The adsorption capacity of pulp fibres from the paper making industry were investigated through batch adsorption experiments. Additionally, the fibres effect on small scale batch digesters in terms of methane production and cellulase activity was explored. Overall, the adsorption capacity of the pulp fibres was low, whereas Kraft hardwood had the highest adsorption capacity in both an aqueous ammonium solution and digester fluid at 11±3 and 60±20 mg g-1, respectively. The initial total ammonium nitrogen concentration had the highest effect on the adsorption capacity with a positive correlation. The pulp fibres seemingly had no effect on the ammonia inhibited anaerobic digestion systems. However, the cellulase activity was higher after day 5 in the anaerobic digestion systems with a high ammonia concentration.In essence, the overall results showed that the adsorption of the fibres was relatively low and most likely not suitable as a material to prevent ammonia inhibition in an AD.

Polysaccharides constitute an important source of raw materials for the packaging industry today. Polysaccharides have good natural barrier properties which are necessary for packaging films. Cellulose is the forerunner among renewable polymers for such applications. Hemicelluloses represent a new interesting breed of barrier materials. We have chosen to work with the hemicellulose O-acetyl-galactoglucomannan (AcGGM). The high water solubility of this particular hemicellulose extracted from process waters is both an advantage and a limiting factor. However, through the right modification, the water sensitivity of AcGGM can be regulated. This thesis presents four ways to modify AcGGM: (i) benzylation, (ii) plasma surface treatment followed by styrene addition, (iii) vapor-phase (VP) surface grafting with styrene, and (iv) lamination of an unmodified film with a benzylated material. The most important methods of analysis of the films produced include contact angle measurement, dynamic mechanical analysis under moisture scan, and oxygen gas permeability measurement. It was found that unmodified AcGGM films have low oxygen permeability at intermediate relative humidity (50 % RH) and good dynamic mechanical properties over a wider humidity range. Films of benzylated material (BnGGM) exhibited a decrease in oxygen permeability at lower humidity but showed better tolerance to higher humidities and indicated better dynamic mechanical behavior than AcGGM films. Lamination proved to be the most promising technique of modification, combining the good gas barrier properties of AcGGM films with the moisture-insensitivity of the BnGGM films. / QC 20101117

The knowledge of kinetics of pyrolysis is important. It is also challenging to find parameters for kinetic which can be applied at different sizes of biomass. Many researchers have been investigating the pyrolysis behavior of wood powders due to heat and mass transfer limitations. They have also been focusing on determining the effects of feedstock characterization, residence time, gas environment, heating rate and the final temperature as well as the arrangement of the pyrolysis reactor and modeling of the kinetics. This project presents a qualitative understanding of the pyrolysis process based on data from slow heating rates. Samples of spruce chips at different masses, namely 4 mg, 200 mg, 500 mg and 800 mg and also 4 mg powder have been used in experiments with thermogravimetric analysis to understand the mass loss behavior. Furthermore, kinetic parameters for biomass are taken from literature and have been used in modeling to understand to which extent these parameters are different for different particle sizes. The kinetic model that is chosen to investigate in this project is where each component of biomass shows different characteristics during the thermal decomposition. The experimental results on wood chips at different sample masses show same behavior for all of them and there is no heat and mass transfer limitations. The results from experiments on powders shows different behavior than for chips at the end of the mass loss curve only. This means less char is produced for powders than it is for the chips. The results from modeling show that kinetic parameters such as activation energy and the prefactor are the same for both powders and chips. The only parameter that is different is the pre-determined char yield for hemicellulose second reaction. The kinetic model and the kinetic parameters used in this report are in good agreement to the experimental results. The model used, where each component show different behavior during its thermal decomposition and the final products are volatiles and char is a reliable model to describe the mass loss behavior of biomass. The difference in the experimental results between powders and chips can be explained by the modeling. It can be stated that the difference is in the char yield from thermal decomposition of hemicellulose. / Kunskap om kinetiken för pyrolysprocessen är viktig. Det är även en utmaning att finna parametrar för kinetiken som kan tillämpas till olika massor och storlekar av biomassa. Många forskare har undersökt pyrolys beteenden på bara träpulver på grund av värme- och massöverföring begränsningar. De har också fokuserat på att undersöka effekterna av råvara karakterisering, uppehållstid, gasmiljö, uppvärmningshastighet och den slutliga temperaturen samt arrangemanget av pyrolysreaktorn och modellering av kinetiken. I detta projekt presenteras en kvalitativ förståelse av pyrolysprocessen baserad på data från långsamma uppvärmningshastigheter. Prover av granflis vid olika massor; 4 mg, 200 mg, 500 mg och 800 mg och även 4 mg pulver har använts i experimenten med thermogravimetric analys för att förstå massförlust uppträdandet. Dessutom har kinetiska parametrar för biomassa tagits från litteratur och har använts i modelleringen för att förstå i vilken utsträckning dessa parametrar skiljer sig åt för pulver och flis. Den kinetiska modellen som har valts att undersökas i detta projekt är den där varje komponent av biomassa visar separata och olika egenskaper under termisk nedbrytning. De experimentella resultat på flis vid olika provmassorna uppvisar samma beteende för dem alla och det finns ingen värme- och massöverföringsbegränsningar. Resultaten från experiment på pulver visar annorluna beteende än för träflis endast i slutet av massförlust kurvan. Detta innebär att mindre kol produceras för pulver än vad det gör för flis. Resultaten från modelleringen visar att kinetiska parametrar såsom aktiveringsenergin och prefactor är densamma för båda pulver och flis. Den enda parameter som skiljer sig är den förutbestämda utbytet av kol för hemicellulosa’s andra reaktion. Den kinetiska modellen och kinetiska parametrar som används i denna rapport är i god överensstämmelse med de experimentella resultaten. Denna modell som används, där varje komponent visar enskilt beteende under dess termisk nedbrytning och slutprodukterna är bara gaser och kol, är en pålitlig modell för att beskriva beteendet för massförlust av biomassa. Skillnaden i de experimentella resultaten mellan pulver och flis kan förklaras av modelleringen. Det kan konstateras att skillnaden är i kol utbytet från sönderdelningen av hemicellulosa.