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Purpose: The aim of this research work is to analyze and compare profitability performance of selected paper companies in India. Approach/Methodology/Design: An analytical study method is employed in this research work by relying on secondary data. In this research work 12 paper companies are selected as a sample based on their higher net sales and the study period are last10 financial years from 2012-13 to 2021-22. Ratio Analysis is used as an accounting tool in which six profitability ratios are employed. One-way ANOVA technique of parametric test is used as a statistical tool to identify the difference among sample means. Findings: The major finding of the research work indicates that in all the selected paper companies the profitability performance of shows fluctuating trend during the study period of 10 years. The overall performance was good and satisfactory in Satia Industries Ltd., JK paper Ltd., Seshasayee Paper and Board Ltd. and NR Agarwal Industries Ltd. and it was low and dissatisfactory in Orient Paper & Industries Ltd. and Astron Paper & Board Mill Ltd. for all the selected profitability ratio during the study period. The results of statistical test revealed that in gross profit ratio, operating profit ratio and return on assets ratio formulated null hypotheses are rejected and in net profit ratio, return on net worth ratio and return on capital employed ratio formulated null hypotheses are accepted. Originality/value: In this research work profitability analysis is carried out which is helpful to know the profitability performance of selected paper companies. The result would help investors to make right choice of investment in selected companies. It would also identify that how efficiently a business can generates profit and value for its shareholders from its sales or operations, shareholders' fund or balance sheet’s assets.

Four organic solid wastes (coffee grounds, ground nut shell, paper money sewage sludge and cork powder) have been investigated as bloating inducing agents in lightweight aggregate (LWA) manufacturing when mixed in small proportions (2.5 wt.%) with three types of clays. The pellets obtained were fired in a rotary kiln at the maximum feasible temperature for 4 min. A similar impact was observed both in the working conditions and in the properties of the LWAs, showing that the differences between said residues are not as decisive as those of the clays to which they are added. The organic wastes have played a crucial role in achieving reducing conditions inside the aggregate. Thus, their addition has led to substantial improvements both from an operational point of view, lowering the working temperature, and from a technological perspective, favoring bloating and the development of a highly porous and lightweight structure. Leachate studies have shown that the LWAs meet the regulatory limits. The outcomes of this investigation show that, in line with the precepts of the Circular Economy, the recovery of organic wastes of different nature can have a place in the production of environmentally friendly LWAs

Cognitive bias, especially confirmation bias and motivated reasoning, poses a significant challenge to argumentative writing genres, including the persuasive essay. To address this challenge, I introduce the complexity paper. Rather than attempting to convince the reader of a particular position on an issue as with a persuasive essay, the goal of a complexity paper is to convince the reader that the issue under discussion is difficult to resolve. This altered motivational structure encourages the writer to engage in perspective taking, thereby addressing confirmation bias and motivated reasoning. I outline a three-part structure of the complexity paper using the example of physician-assisted suicide with the goal to help university instructors implement this genre into their courses. I recommend incorporating a complexity paper into a writing scaffold structure that precedes an argumentative paper.

Mitigation of global warming, energy security and industrial competitiveness urge the energy-intensive pulp and paper industry (PPI) to transform energy use practices. This study investigates how the PPI has responded to the need for the energy transition in the 2000s. Finland and Sweden as forerunners of energy-efficient operation and decarbonization of the PPI are used as target countries. Understanding of changes in energy consumption is complemented using decomposition analysis (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Method) and the energy efficiency index approach. Analysis of companies’ investments in energy technologies is used for explaining changes in energy production. Evidence of significant development towards the more sustainable operation of the PPI was found. Energy consumption per produced unit has decreased, i.e., energy efficiency has improved. Fossil fuels have been partially replaced with bio-based alternatives. Thus, the CO2 intensity has decreased substantially. The generation of renewable electricity has increased in both countries. Examples of Finland and Sweden indicate that the PPI has great potential to contribute to CO2 emission reduction worldwide in the future as energy efficiency can be further improved, and the share of fossil fuels can be decreased increasing the use of biofuels and self-generated green electricity at least in kraft pulp mills.

Rice paper is a rice-based food product that is currently popular in various Asian countries. Brown rice has various advantages over white rice, it contains flavonoid (anthocyanins) as antioxidants and also brown rice has a high fiber. Porang flour is an alternative food that is low in fat and high in fiber. This research is a descriptive experimental research design that aims to analyze the organoleptic characteristics, acceptability, content of macronutrients and fiber of the innovative product of making red rice rice paper with porang flour substitution. This study uses 3 formulas, namely the addition of brown rice, (tapioca flour and porang flour with different levels). The experiment was repeated twice on the same 30 panelists. The three samples were tested proximately (carbohydrate, protein, fat, ash content, fiber content, and water content). The data were analyzed using the Friedman Test on the four indicators including color, aroma, taste, and texture the results is significance value (p = 0.0001) < (0.05) which can be interpreted as all indicators (color, aroma, texture, and taste) has a real difference. The conclusion of this study is that rice paper F3 has the highest average value (the most preferred formula for the general public panelists).

Purpose The purpose of this study was to design a paper strip-based non-invasive urine analysis system for the qualitative detection of biomarker aquaporin-1 (AQP1) in renal cancer (RC). RC accounts for 3% of all cancers and 85% of all kidney tumors and mainly originates from the kidney cortex. In recent times, higher urine concentration of AQP1 in patients with RC was confirmed as a specific biomarker of the disease. Hence, the noninvasive, user-friendly and self-diagnostic method is required for the detection of aquaporin biomarkers in RC. Design/methodology/approach The present research work was focused on the development and characterization of a dye conjugated cyclodextrin-based miniaturized system for impregnation on Whatman filter paper to identify RC using AQP1 biomarker present in urine samples. Findings It was observed that the test strip dipped into the urine sample, and the yellow color intensity increased with a decrease in AQP1 concentration due to the transformation of the dye system of free basic form into bound acidic form. The Hue-Saturation-Value profiling was used to observe the effect of color change using a smartphone application. The paper strip-based urine analysis system is highly sensitive for the detection of AQP1 in the range of 10 to 1,000 ng. Originality/value The successful validation indicated that this biosensor is likely to contribute to the development of point-of-care, novel, personalized diagnostics and ensure prolonged survival of RC patients in the near future.

Purpose In flexible electronics applications, organic inks are mostly used for inkjet printing. Three-dimensional (3 D) printing technology has the advantages of low cost, high speed and good precision in modern electronic printing. The purpose of this study is to solve the high cost of traditional printing and the pollution emissions of organic ink. It is necessary to develop a water-based conductive ink that is easily degradable and can be 3 D printed. A nano-silver ink printed circuit pattern with high precision, high conductivity and good mechanical properties is a promising strategy. Design/methodology/approach The researched nano-silver conductive ink is mainly composed of silver nanoparticles and resin. The effect of adding methyl cellulose on the ink was also explored. A simple 3 D circuit pattern was printed on photographic paper. The line width, line length, line thickness and conductivity of the printed circuit were tested. The influence of sintering temperature and sintering time on pattern resistivity was studied. The relationship between circuit pattern bending performance and electrical conductivity is analyzed. Findings The experimental results show that the ink has the characteristics of low silver content and good environmental protection effect. The printing feasibility of 3 D printing circuit patterns on paper substrates was confirmed. The best printing temperature is 160°C–180°C, and the best sintering time is 30 min. The circuit pattern can be folded 120°, and the cycle is folded more than 60 times. The minimum resistivity of the circuit pattern is 6.07 µΩ·cm. Methyl cellulose can control the viscosity of the ink. The mechanical properties of the pattern have been improved. The printing method of 3 D printing can significantly reduce the sintering time and temperature of the conductive ink. These findings may provide innovation for the flexible electronics industry and pave the way for alternatives to cost-effective solutions. Originality/value In this study, direct ink writing technology was used to print circuit patterns on paper substrates. This process is simple and convenient and can control the thickness of the ink layer. The ink material is nonpolluting to the environment. Nano-silver ink has suitable viscosity and pH value. It can meet the requirements of pneumatic 3 D printers. The method has the characteristics of simple process, fast forming, low cost and high environmental friendliness.

Paper based lateral flow systems are widely used biosensor platforms to detect biomolecules in a liquid sample. Proteins, bacteria, oligonucleotides, and nanoparticles were investigated in the literature. In this work we designed a magnetic platform including dual magnets and tested the flow of micron size immunomagnetic particles alone and when loaded with cells on two different types of papers. The wetting conditions of the paper and the applied external magnetic field are the two dominant factors affecting the particle and cell transport in paper. The images recorded with a cell phone, or with a bright field optical microscope were analyzed to measure the flow of particles and cells. The effect of wetting conditions and magnetic force were measured, and it was shown that in the worst case 90% of the introduced cells reached to the edge of the paper. The paper based magnetophoretic lateral flow systems can be used for cell assays.

Industrija ambalaže je jedan od sektora svetske privrede sa najbržim trendom rasta. Već dugi niz godina, ambalaža je predmet pažnje političkih i potrošačkih kampanja za rešavanje ekoloških problema. Cilj ovog rada jeste osvrt na trenutno ekološko stanje u svetu i značaj grafičke ambalaže u ovom pogledu, upotreba alternativnih, ekološki održivih materijala za izradu grafičke ambalaže kao i mogućnost upotrebe tehnologije modelovanja deponovanjem topljenog materijala za izradu alata za formiranje oblika ambalaže.

Transforming Pulp and Paper (P&P) mills into Integrated Forest Biorefineries (IFBR) is a prominent solution to save Canadian P&P industry that has been facing decline of conventional paper demand. ...

Sulfite is a common food additive that prevents oxidation from damaging food nutrients, and it has long been used in the food industry as a bleaching agent. It can harm the human body if taken wrongly or excessively. In this study, three dyes (cresol red, chlorophenol red, and bromocresol green) were explored to analyze the presence of sodium sulfite (SS) in an inexpensive, disposable paper sensor with a lower visible detection limit of 0.05 M. This visual paper sensor detects sodium sulfite with high selectivity and sensitivity at room temperature. An IoT-based sensor was also developed to practically apply the developed method, which is rapid and low-cost and can replace heavy-duty instruments. Both these sensors can substantially impact scenarios such as food quality monitoring and detecting sodium sulfite in medicinal items. Graphical Abstract

In order to study the feasibility of kraft paper as watercolor paper, the wetting properties, mechanical properties and friction properties of kraft paper and watercolor paper were compared before and after aging. The aging test was carried out on kraft paper and the watercolor paper by aging chamber, the wetting properties of distilled water and three watercolor solutions before and after aging of kraft paper and watercolor paper were compared, tensile tear test of paper on the tensile testing machine, the fracture changes of paper were analyzed by scanning electron microscope, the friction tester performs the paper friction test. The results show that both kinds of paper are amorphous, watercolor paper was showed hydrophobicity before and after the aging, the contact angle was maintained at about 119,09° ± 5° in four different solutions, unaged kraft paper exhibited hydrophilicity, the aged kraft paper showed hydrophobicity with a contact angle of 92,52° ± 1°，the aged kraft paper shows better performance in both tensile and tearing aspects and tensile strength is 20 MPa higher than watercolor paper, the surface roughness of kraft paper is higher than watercolor paper. The experiment is helpful for the market to consider whether the cheaper kraft paper replaces the more expensive watercolor paper in some aspects and provides some scientific reference value for future research.

A simple electrochemical approach has been strategically developed for in situ generations of ZnO nanoparticles using Zn rods as electrodes and hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant without the formation of any by-product. These ZnO nanoparticles were extended for remediation of pollutants present in paper mill effluents, and separation efficiency was found to be above 90% for hydrocarbons, 92% for lignin, 99% for phenol, and 93% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), as confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and COD analysis. It was also observed that the experimental setup could successfully remove 99% of the color from the sample. These ZnO nanoparticles have been proven in the past to be antibacterial and were explored for its ability to inhibit the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in the effluent samples after the removal of toxic pollutants. Therefore, we proposed an electrochemical reaction for the in situ synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for remediation of paper mill effluent as well as inhibit the bacterial growth in the treated effluent sample.

Industrial waste with high salinity cannot be drained into waterways due to tightened environmental regulations. Bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPED) is getting more attraction not only to treat water flows but also to produce valuable commodities. The BPED technique has various advantages in terms of product purity, control over product concentration, having no by-products, low environmental impact, and low energy consumption. In this short paper, we emphasize a comparative study in two different configurations for the treatment of green liquor (a waste solution of NaOH, Na2S and Na2CO3 from pulp mills) with BPED to produce NaOH. The best results are obtained in a five-compartment setup where the capture of H2S formed from green liquor is possible, followed by the capture of CO2. This work also indicates that BPED technology is a sustainable solution to treat carbonate-rich waste, which will facilitate the current need to control greenhouse emissions.

The impact of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odor on indoor environment and people has attracted much attention. To reduce this problem of odorous compounds contained in wood panel, this study focused on identifying odorant compounds and exploring the influence of moisture content factors on VOCs and odor emissions. Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera (L.)Vent.) was investigated using the technology of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactory (GC–MS/O). Total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and characteristic odor-active compounds were studied, and the emission of heartwood and sapwood of paper mulberry was compared at the same time. It was found that the main components from heartwood and sapwood were aromatics, alkanes, alkenes, aldehydes ketones, alcohols and esters. Totally, 23 kinds of odor-active compounds were identified from heartwood and sapwood of paper mulberry, among which, aromatics and aldehydes ketones were the main odorant compounds. Seven kinds of key odorant compounds were identified in this process. With the decrease in moisture content, the TVOC and total odor intensity of heartwood and sapwood generally decreased. The moisture content had a great effect on VOC release when the moisture content decreased from 70 to 50% and reduced from fiber saturation point (30%) to air saturation point (10%). The main odor impressions of paper mulberry were aromatic, fresh fruit fragrance, sweet scent and special pungent. In the whole process of moisture content decrease, the TVOC, concentration of odorant and odor intensity of sapwood were higher than that of heartwood.

We report 3D-printed, configurable, paper-based organ-on-paper platforms where autonomous and continuous delivery of media to engineered microtissue models is readily achieved without requiring external electrical power during device operations.

This paper reports on a fabrication method to obtain multiple thermal sensors by employing an array of graphite thermocouple patterns on commonly available Xerox paper. The graphite thermocouples are patterned using two different grade graphite pencils, which show a stable and reproducible thermal sensitivity. The fabricated paper devices with multiple thermocouple arrays are capable of producing temperature mapping of the desired area. Different thermal conditions were applied to test and confirm the working of these devices. The present work shows that simple graphite trace patterns can convert a piece of paper into a thermal mapping device.

In this research, simultaneous quantification of cysteine (Cys) and histidine (His) using a paper-based sensor was investigated for the first time. A microfluidic paper-based sensor is a promising amino acid determination tool due to its low cost, low sample consumption, and fast analysis and is easy to make. We used SBA-15 as porous materials that are crystalline compounds formed with surfactants and TEOS as a silica source. The SBA-15 sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and scanning electron microscope techniques. The microfluidic paper-based sensors were fabricated using a wax pen, and the mesoporous SBA-15 modified filter paper. The fabricated sensors for Cys and His determination are operated based on an indicator-displacement assay. A comparative determination study of Cys and His on the sensors was carried out. The results illustrated that the addition of silica nanoporous material led to an immediate and uniform color change. The sensors were successfully exploited in the simultaneous determination of urinary Cys and His levels, thus providing the potential opportunity for clinical diagnosis. The linear range of 1.0 to 90.0 μM and 1.0 to 100 μM for His and Cys was obtained from the calibration data. The detection limits were also calculated (S/N = 3) for His and Cys of 0.5 μM and 1.5 μM, respectively. The proposed method showed a good agreement with the results achieved by a standard method.

Cloud manufacturing is a service-oriented networked manufacturing model that aims to provide manufacturing resources as services in an on-demand manner. Scheduling is one of the key techniques for cloud manufacturing to achieve the aim. Multi-task scheduling with dynamical task arrivals is a critical problem in cloud manufacturing. Many traditional algorithms such as the genetic algorithm (GA) and ant colony optimization algorithm (ACO) have been used to address the issue, which, however, either are incapable of or perform poorly in tackling the problem. Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) as the combination of deep learning (DL) and reinforcement learning (RL) provides an effective technique in this regard. In view of this, we employ a typical DRL algorithm—Deep Q-network (DQN)—and propose a DQN-based approach for multitask scheduling in cloud manufacturing. Three different task arrival modes—arriving at the same time, arriving in random batches, and arriving one by one sequentially—are considered. Four baseline methods including random scheduling, round-robin scheduling, earliest scheduling, and minimum execution time (min-time) scheduling are investigated. A comparison of results indicates that the DQN-based scheduling approach is effective and performs best among all approaches in addressing the multitask scheduling problem in cloud manufacturing.

It is significant to identify and evaluate sources in a research study to ensure their credibility to be used in an academic research paper. Each source should be evaluated in terms of being related to the research question and covering research objectives. However, despite the importance of source selection as one of the initial steps in conducting a research study, it may seem challenging for researchers to find relevant sources based on the topic of their study and evaluate them appropriately. The main aim of this chapter is to clarify the process of choosing sources for a research project. For this purpose, the process of source selection is divided into several steps including recognizing the types of available sources, their ranks, requirements of the study project, searching and searching tools, and finally the process of evaluating sources.

This paper is aimed to develop a hybrid model (PCA-ANN) to predict the extractive content in eucalyptus wood clones. The input variables to the virtual analyzer are planting parameters available from the forest inventory, therefore the prediction does not rely on laboratory analysis of the wood samples, affording a quick estimate of the extractive contents. This study further bridges the literature gap on the investigation of the cause of variability of extractive content in eucalyptus wood. The PCA-ANN was identified from experimental data to predict and monitor the extractive content, since laboratory measurements can take several days and become available only after wood processing. The experimental data contained information on ten species of eucalyptus clones from five regions in the extreme south of Bahia, Brazil. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) firstly assessed the impact of planting variables on the extractives content. The variability of the data was represented by eight principal components and the variables that mostly contribute to the extractive content are: potential acidity, iron, saturation of aluminum, magnesium, pH, base saturation, remaining phosphorus, zinc, manganese and copper. The artificial neural network (ANN) with the 8 principal components in the input layer showed that the PCA could effectively reduce the dimensionality of the data. For practical purposes, though, the ANN with 10 input variables and 16 neurons in the hidden layer, presenting an average relative deviation of 1.5%, is recommended. The prediction of the extractive content is essential to allow preventive management practices toward the improvement of yield and quality of the cellulosic pulp.

The present study illustrates the electrocoagulation remediation of paper mill wastewater for multiple response optimization. Multiple response optimization can be combined into one desirability function. All variables and responses varied for a unique global solution. The effect of basic electrocoagulation process variables pH (3–10), conductivity (3.15–10 mS/cm), electrode distance (1–2.5 cm) and current density (5–20 mA/cm2) on four response parameters such as chemical oxygen demand, color, total dissolved solids and total organic carbon has been analyzed experimentally and statistically. The global solution for these variables and responses obtained by software over a hundred design points. For unit desirability function variables conditions were pH 7.49, Conductivity 8.34 mS/cm, electrode distance 2.06 cm and current density 9.32 mA/cm2. In these global variable conditions, responses were observed to be COD 70.19%, Color 75.03%, TDS 70.69% and TOC 71.93%, respectively.

The pulp and paper industry has significant sustainability implications and necessarily requires a careful consideration of direct and lower-tier suppliers for effective sustainable supply chain ma...

Nearly two years ago, when Compounds was founded, the journal was introduced as an interdisciplinary tool for the scientific community to present their scientific results in an open access format so that their findings are disseminated quickly and efficiently [...]

Bu çalışmada, modifiye kalsitin fluting kağıdı üretiminde dolgu maddesi olarak kullanımı araştırılmış ve kağıtların tutunuma ve bazı mekanik özelliklerine etkisi araştırılmıştır. Modifikasyon için öğütülmüş kalsiyum karbonat (GCC/kalsit) ve katyonik nişasta kullanılmıştır. CPAM'ın şap etkisi ile dolgu modifikasyonu, nişasta-kalsit kapsüllenmesi ile sonuçlanmıştır. Üretilen modifiye kalsit (MC), fluting kağıt üretiminde belirli dozajlarda kullanılmıştır. Aynı zamanda, modifiye edilmemiş kalsit (UC) ile kağıt yapılmış ve modifiye kalsitin kağıt özellikleri ve dolgu retansiyonu üzerindeki etkileri araştırılmıştır. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre %10 MC kullanımı dolgu retansiyonunu iyileştirmiş ve %10 UC kullanımına göre yaklaşık %23 daha fazla tutunma sağlamıştır. Ayrıca MC dolgulu kağıtların mekanik özellikleri ve hava geçirgenlik değerleri UC dolgulu kağıtlardan daha yüksek çıkmıştır. Fluting kağıtlarında MC kullanımı ile daha iyi dolgu tutunumu elde edilirken, genel olarak dolgu ilavesinin neden olduğu mekanik özelliklerdeki azalma en aza indirilebilir. Ayrıca kağıt üretimi sırasında verilen dolgu dozajı azaltılarak beyaz sudaki kirlilikler en aza indirilebilir., In this study, the use of modified calcite as a filler in fluting paper production was investigated and its effect on retention and some mechanical properties of papers was investigated. Ground calcium carbonate (GCC/calcite) and cationic starch were used for modification. Filler modification with alum effect of CPAM resulted in starch-calcite encapsulation. Produced modified calcite (MC) was used in fluting paper production at certain dosages. Simultaneously, paper was made with unmodified calcite (UC), and the effects of modified calcite on paper properties and filler retention were studied. According to the study's findings, the use of 10% MC improved filler retention and provided approximately 23% more retention than the use of 10% UC. In addition, mechanical properties and air permeability values of MC-filled papers were higher than UC-filled papers. With the use of MC in fluting papers, better filler retention was achieved, while the reduction in mechanical properties caused by the addition of filler in general can be minimized. Besides, impurities in white water can be minimized by reducing the filler dosage given during paper production.

The filter paper of automobile engine air filter is easy to temper and causes combustion. Flame retardant is usually added to the reinforced resin styrene-acrylic emulsion (SAE) to improve the flame-retardant performance of the air filter paper. Ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was used as material in this research, and multi-layer coated APP was prepared by microcapsule coating. A layer of nano-scale SiO2 was coated and then introduced organosiloxane structure of the allyl polyoxypropylene ether side chain and boron. The chemical groups and structural composition were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. TGA characterized the modified particles' high-temperature stability. By scanning electron microscopy and TEM, the morphologies of modified particles were analyzed to reveal the evolution of modified APP in SAE. Finally, nanoparticles with core-shell structures were formed. Applying the blended resin to the air filter paper, the flame-retardant performance was greatly improved. Total heat release (THR), heat release rate (HRR), peak heat release rate (pkHRR), mass loss rate (MLR), and effective heat of combustion (EHC) were reduced, respectively, by 30.8%, 30.7%, 42.0%, 16.7%, and 14.4%. The time to ignition (TTI) was doubled, so the fire spread could be effectively suppressed. Meanwhile, nano latex particles were attached to the interwoven fibers points and formed a “sea-island structure,” which significantly improved the paper’s mechanical properties, with bursting strength, tensile strength, stiffness, fracture work, and elongation increased by 18.60%, 5.72%, 10.64%, 17.00%, and 81.80%, respectively. It solved the problem that the inorganic flame-retardant particles often lead to the deterioration of the mechanical properties of paper.