Canda International

Stilbene-based optical brightening agents (OBAs) are used widely in the manufacture of coated and uncoated white paper and board with with around 125,000 tons being produced in countries such as China, Europe, India, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

Chemically, this type of OBAs is based on a diamino-stilbene structure (abbreviated to DAST or DASDA) which derives from toluene through various intermediates.…

BASF has declared Force Majeure due to technical problems with its ethylene oxide (EO) production.

The statement from BASF is as follows:

‘BASF’s European production sites for ethylene oxide have experienced significant technical problems leading to a Force Majeure declaration on ethylene oxide on May 19, 2015. Due to the ethylene oxide (EO) shortage BASF has subsequently to declare Force Majeure…

If you fall in line with all the advice and pressure to comply with the environmental, legal and confidentiality guidelines, it is often the case that your e mail footer is far longer than your concise e mail.

Those demands to save tress – most of which are grown as a sustainable crop – and those please do not print statements need to be challenged. It is worth considering what is being demanded…

Leeds City Region LEP looking for SMEs to join the Management Boards of the Employer Ownership Pilot project

Looks like a good opportunity for SMEs to get involved and contribute to the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – they are looking for seven small and medium sized businesses to join the Management Boards of the Employer Ownership Pilot.

Click here for details.

For more details regarding the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, please click here.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has ruled in favour of Archroma (Clariant) regarding an opposition filed by Blankophor against a patent filed for a mixed salt of an optical brightening agent. The patent in dispute is EP 2 260 145 B1 and the Archroma press release provide interesting detail: click here.

It is clear from the comments credited to Dr Bernd Hauschel that Blankophor are not happy with…

Kimberly-Clark [KC] Professional has launched a range of products based on ‘rapidly renewable’ plant fibres such as wheat straw and bamboo. The range of ‘GreenHarvest’ products will be used in Kleenex and Scott brand towel and tissue products.

KC Professional is the first major towel and tissue manufacturer in North America to introduce products made with 20 percent plant fibre in place of tree…

As we approach the time of the Chelsea Flower Show the exhibitors are starting to get their show flowers and gardens into top shape for the judges and public.  Just before the show, the exhibits are looked over and attention given detail, especially by those experts responsible for the fine pruning, and giving what was referred to on BBC Radio 2 the other day as the ‘Chelsea Snip’.

Why not take a…

The Social Progress Index – an alternative way to look at the best places to live

There is a growing number of indexes which compare the different places we live in the world and rank them using various criteria – the the Economist’s Big Mac Index, the Legatum Prosperity Index and there are others if one only compares the suspect GDP figures issued by countries throughout the world.

TED is often a good place to go for ideas on most things, and they too have published an…

Agri-papers: Social Print Paper offers Wheat Sheet paper based on straw residue

Social Print Paper based in New Westminster, BC, Canada, is offering a range of ‘tree-free’ AgriPapers based on agricultural residues such as wheat straw or sugar cane (bagasse) residues.  In  a recent tie-up with a paper company based in North India, Social Print Paper is producing a Wheat Sheet office paper containing 60% wheat straw residue from a wheat farming process, 35% recycled FSC…

Benecol – a success story for the forestry and pulp industries

As the forestry, pulp and paper industries start to find a new place in the options for a sustainable future, it is worth reflecting on one of the success stories. The key ingredient of Benecol comes from pulp mills – the pulping of trees. With full credit to the following web address, here is a full transcript of the Benecol story:

‘Dr. Ingmar Wester, the Finnish chemist was stumped by a…

To commemorate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, Earth Day Network (EDN), the non-profit organization founded by organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970, is announcing a series of events and programs to drive forward the movement. More than 1 billion people in 192 countries will participate in Earth Day activities and events, making it the largest civic observance in the world.…

SURFEX 2016, 24th – 25th May, 2016, NEC Birmingham, UK

SURFEX 2016 is being held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham, United Kingdom on 24th and 25th May in conjunction with the European Technical Coatings Congress (ETCC) on 25th + 26th May 2016. ‘Proudly supported by the British Coatings Federation (BCF) and Vincentz Network, it is set to become the UK’s must attend coatings event of the year and will gather more than 2000 coatings…

Mobilegeddon: Websites not mobile-friendly will drop down the Google rankings

Google has made a major update to its search algorithm and if your website is not ‘mobile friendly’ it will drop down the search rankings, dramatically reducing the number of visitors to your site.

Some search engine ranking experts have called the potential fallout from the changes, “mobilegeddon”.

If you would like to check whether your website is considered ‘mobile friendly’, please click here

This week, Atlanta will host PaperCon 2015 and TAPPI’s Centennial Celebration – congratulations to the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

In February 1915, thirty-five visionary industrialists met andformed the Technical Session of the American Paper and Pulp Association for the purpose of exchanging views and mutual knowledge and to advance the art of papermaking. By…