Search

Sensitizers are used to prepare photosensitive materials for ink-printing and thermal-recording media. Typical sensitizers contain an aromatic ring and exhibit aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated activity. They can accumulate in aquatic biota, leading to the disruption of ecosystems. Effluent from paper recycling plants has been identified as a source of contamination, and the presence of sensitizers in toilet paper may represent a new source of contamination in aquatic environments. To examine possible sources of contamination by sensitizers, this study investigated the levels of sensitizers in recycled toilet paper. We also studied the prevalence of sensitizers in rivers receiving effluents from sewage treatment plants in Japan, from 2020 to 2022. We detected eight sensitizers and related compounds in both toilet paper and river water samples; their total concentrations ranged from 0.78 to 34 µg/g (mean: 12 µg/g) in toilet paper and 58–1167 µg/L (median: 77 µg/L) in water. In the water samples, sensitizers were partitioned between liquid and suspended solid phases, and in suspended solids, sensitizers accounted for an average of 42% of the total. Correlation analysis showed a high correlation between sensitizer composition in the water from a river receiving sewage treatment plant effluents and toilet paper. Since these compounds were also detected in the river water analyzed in this study, toilet paper should be considered a novel source of sensitizers contamination in sewage treatment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The bleach-boosting capability of xylanases is well-known. The use of xylanase pre-treatment before the application of chemical bleach has multiple advantages including (i) lesser use of polluting chemicals of the traditional bleaching process; (ii) less damage to the cellulosic fbers, therefore better recyclability; and (iii) better brightness of chemical bleach. The major impediment in the application is the availability of commercial enzymes that are active at the elevated temperature and pH that exist during the industrial pulping process. In the present paper, xylanase having suitability for application in deinking is reported. Results The xylanase used showed high deinking potential. Optimal deinking was obtained at the xylanase dosing of 20U/g of the dried pulp at 60°C for a treatment time of 1h. It could bring about a 50% reduction in the usage of chemical bleach that was applied after xylanase pre-treatment. The comparison of FTIR spectra showed changes in intensity without signifcant changes in the functional group signatures implying that there is negligible damage to the fber strength in the xylanase pre-treatment process as compared to the chemical bleach process. Conclusion The xylanase used in this study was efective in deinking paper pulp and can be used for bio-bleaching of recycled paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The mobile device diffusion has increasingly highlighted the opportunity to collect patient-reported outcomes (PROs) through electronic patient-reported outcomes measurements (ePROMs) during the clinical routine. Despite the ePROMs promises and advantages, the equivalence when a PRO measure is moved from the original paper-and-pencil to the electronic version is still little investigated. This study aims at evaluating equivalence between PROMs and ePROMs self-administration in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS); in addition, preference of self-administration type was evaluated. Methods: The Manual Ability Measure-36 (MAM-36) and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) were selected for the equivalence test. The app ABOUTCOME was developed through a user-centered design approach to administer the questionnaires on tablet. Both paper-and-pencil and electronic versions were randomly self-administered. Intrarater reliability between both versions was evaluated through the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC, excellent for values ≥ 0.75). Results: Fifty PwMS (35 females) participated to the study (mean age: 54.7±11.0 years, disease course: 27 relapsing-remitting and 23 progressive; mean EDSS: 4.7±1.9; mean disease duration: 13.3±9.5 years). No statistically significant differences were found for the means total scores of MAM-36 (p = 0.61) and FSS (p = 0.78). The ICC value for MAM-36 and FSS was excellent (0.98 and 0.94, respectively). Most of participants preferred the tablet version (84%). Conclusion: The results of the study provide evidence about the equivalence between the paper-and-pencil and electronic versions of PROs administration. In addition, PwMS prefer electronic methods rather than paper because the information can be provided more efficiently and accurately. The results could be easily extended to other MS PROs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper is a material that is used in many areas of everyday life. The development of paper with special and environmentally friendly properties will contribute to it being used differently than before. In this work, we present a simple, fluorine-free and low-cost method to prepare a multifunctional paper coating with TiO2 nanoparticles modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The effects of the content of precursors such as titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) and PDMS on the wettability, microstructure and durability of the coating were investigated. The result showed that the coated paper exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning properties with a water contact angle (WCA) of 162.7° and a water sliding angle (WSA) of 2.5°. In addition, the coated paper showed excellent oil/water separation with over 98% after 10 test cycles and high mechanical resistance with an abrasion resistance of 0.26% weight loss after 20 abrasion cycles using the Taber abrasion test (ASTM D4060) with wheel type CS-10. The results of this study indicate a possible method for producing fluorine-free multifunctional paper, which has the potential to expand the application versatility of the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative study of the supramolecular structure, physicochemical properties, and morphology of the powder celluloses (PCs) obtained from the waste paper of newsprint and cardboard, plant celluloses, and nonconventional raw materials was conducted using the methods of FT-IR spectroscopy, high-resolution solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). According to the FT-IR and 13C NMR spectroscopy results, the functional composition of the PCs is similar to that of the wood PCs and matches highly purified cellulose samples. The crystallographic structure of the powder samples corresponds to the structure of cellulose I. The crystallinity and the transverse dimensions of the crystallites are 39.4 and 40.2%, and 45 Å [110] and 54 Å [110], for the PCs from newsprint paper and cardboard, respectively. These values considerably exceed those for the initial waste paper samples. A comparative analysis of the SEM results showed a significant similarity among the PC fibers of different origin. The results of the study of the physicochemical properties of the PCs isolated from the waste paper allow predicting their competitive application in comparison with plant PCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, solid-surface fluorescence spectra of Rhodamine B (RhB) and fluorescein (FLU), two extensively used fluorophores, were studied and their concentrations were semi-quantitatively determined using the three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix (3D-EEM) data. In order to measure the solid fluorescence spectra, a trace amount of fluorophores was physically adsorbed on a piece of filter paper as a fluorescent paper, and the fluorescence spectra were recorded from the surface of the fluorescent paper instead of the inner parts of the solution. The spectral measurement was performed utilizing a routine spectrofluorimeter designed to measure the fluorescence of solution only by placing the fluorescent paper in a simple handmade holder at an adjusted incident angle of radiation. The results revealed a significant increase in the fluorescence intensity of the fluorescent paper strip compared to the solution phase. Moreover, in the RhB–FLU paper strip the forster resonance energy transfer was observed between FLU and RhB, similar to the observed phenomenon in the solution phase. For quantifying fluorophores, the EEM data were successfully resolved by applying multivariate partial least squares and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) modeling, and the results were compared with the univariate method. This study may provide a general guideline in further developing the solid fluorescence measurement of concentrated solutions or solid samples that have fluorescence measurement limitations such as high self-absorption and highly scattered spectra by using a conventional spectrofluorimeter, and also of biological samples where a trace amount of the analyte is available and high sensitivity is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stone paper is a relatively sustainable alternative to traditional fibre-based paper. Stone paper is made using resin such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and a mineral such calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Plasticizers, bulking agents, coupling reagents, dispersing agents, and inorganic fillers are added in the stone paper formulation for imparting different properties. However, the HDPE, used in stone paper formulation, is not biodegradable and can be replaced with biodegradable polymers to make stone paper more environment friendly. The biodegradable stone paper can be easily made using relatively cheaper blown film process. The stone paper can also be made from CaCO3 waste of traditional paper industry and recycled polymer waste. This review paper provides overview about the stone paper, the biodegradable polymeric materials which can be used instead of HDPE, information about the converting processes for stone paper; it's applications and comparison to the traditional paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulp and paper industry is critical to global industrial and economic development. Recently, India's pulp and paper industries have been facing severe competitive challenges. The challenges have impaired the environmental performance and resulted in the closure of several operations. Assessment and prediction of the performance of the Indian pulp and paper industry using various parameters is a critical task for researchers. This study proposes a framework for performance assessment and prediction based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Artificial Neural Networks, and Deep Learning (DL) to assist industry administration and decision-making. We presented a case study based on eight industries to demonstrate the methodology's applicability. This study analyses and predicts industry performance based on sample data observations over 30 years. The result suggests the DEA-DL-based efficiency prediction has an overall MSE of 0.08 compared with the actual efficiency. Furthermore, the efficiency rankings are compared between the three techniques. The results suggest that the integrated DEA-DL method is primarily accurate in most scenarios with the actual values. The findings of this study provide a comprehensive analysis of environmental performance for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, cellulose nanofiber (CNF) production has primarily relied on virgin cellulose sources. Yet, the shift to using paper mill sludge (PMS) as a source for CNF underscores the significance of reusing and recycling industrial byproducts. PMS contains significant amounts of cellulose that can be extracted as a raw material. The purpose of present study is to provide a sustainable approach to PMS utilization as a paper coating additive in the cellulose nanofibrils (CNFPMS) form via simply scalable wire-wound rod coating method. The effect of CNFPMS additive amounts at two coating layers on microstructure and surface properties of coatings such as porosity, air permeability surface roughness and optical properties such as brightness, gloss and CIE L*a*b* is studied, which they can also provide insight for the eventual print performance. Results indicated that the obtained CNFPMS in paper coating shows 52% decrease in porosity, presenting significant improvement in the coating microstructure. The marginal increase in permeability coefficient and surface roughness, 54% and 10%, respectively, suggests improving color reproduction and preventing color density losses. Optical analysis showed slight decrease in brightness and gloss, as was expected. Notably, the lightness was improved, which also indicates increasing color gamut volume in printing applications. As a result, the current work offers a sustainable approach to manage PMS for use in paper coatings as a high-value-added material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper-based sensors have good application prospects due to their flexibility and environmental protection. However, paper-based materials are difficult to balance both conductivity and flexibility. This paper mainly reports a high porosity conductive paper based on bamboo wood mixed fiber materials through the wet-manufacture method. The crucial material properties, and long-chain structure of PEDOT:PSS, play an important role in conductivity and flexibility. The relevant experiments show that conductive paper has excellent physical properties and electrical signal transmission capacity. Among them, the conductivity of paper-based electrodes is up to 18.52 S/cm, and there is a low delay in the transmission of the electric signal, when the signal frequency is 300 kHz, the phase frequency angle changes by only 4.9°, not only that, as an electrode, the human pulse signal measured in the capacitive sensor is normal. Under the action of other composite materials, the manufactured electronic paper has a certain mechanical strength, and the thickness is about 90 μm, lower than ordinary paper products. The research shows that the paper-based electrode has the advantages of high conductivity, low hysteresis, light, and thinness, which provides the possibility to be used as a flexible electrode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]