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Paper sludge biomass represents an underutilized feedstock rich in pulped and processed cellulose which is currently a waste stream with significant disposal cost to industry for landfilling services. Effective fractionation of the cellulose from paper sludge presents an opportunity to yield cellulose as feedstock for value-added processes. A novel approach to cellulose fractionation is the sidehill screening system, herein studied at the pilot-plant scale. Composition analysis determined ash removal and carbohydrate retention of both sidehill and high-performance benchtop screening systems. Sidehill screening resulted in greater carbohydrates retention relative to benchtop screening (90% vs 66%) and similar ash removal (95% vs 98%). Techno-economic analysis for production of sugar syrup yielded a minimum selling price of $331/metric ton of sugar syrup including disposal savings, significantly less than a commercial sugar syrup without fractionation. Sensitivity analysis showed that screening conditions played a significant role in economic feasibility for cellulosic yield and downstream processes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The forest products industries play a vital role in the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the Lake States in the United States. While various economic contribution analyses of forest products industries have been conducted to highlight the importance of such industries to regional economies, little effort has yet been made to parse out the contribution of activities in the value chain. The value chain is a series of steps involved in producing goods or services. This study used a matrix decomposition approach to estimate the economic contribution along the value chain through multiple pathways of four forest resource-based industries using wood as inputs: biomass power generation, sawmills, paper mills, and the construction of new single-family residential structures in the Lake States. The direct and indirect economic output values in 2017 resulting from the construction of new single-family residential structures were $19.1 billion, sawmills were $2.5 billion, paper mills were $17.6 billion, and the biomass power generation industry was $759 million. Of the direct and indirect economic output contributed by each industry, the highest percentage of output attributable to the logging industry was observed from the sawmills industry (12%), followed by biomass power generation (9%), paper mills (1.4%), and the construction of new single-family residential structures (<1%), respectively. The percentage of total economic output attributable to the stumpage industry in the region followed a similar trend as commercial logging for all value-chain industries. The relative economic contribution of the value-chain industries to the total economic contribution of the final industry varied based on whether the industry was a primary or secondary forest products industry and the pathways used for sourcing wood inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest products industries play a vital role in the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the Lake States in the United States. While various economic contribution analyses of forest products industries have been conducted to highlight the importance of such industries to regional economies, little effort has yet been made to parse out the contribution of activities in the value chain. The value chain is a series of steps involved in producing goods or services. This study used a matrix decomposition approach to estimate the economic contribution along the value chain through multiple pathways of four forest resource-based industries using wood as inputs: biomass power generation, sawmills, paper mills, and the construction of new single-family residential structures in the Lake States. The direct and indirect economic output values in 2017 resulting from the construction of new single-family residential structures were $19.1 billion, sawmills were $2.5 billion, paper mills were $17.6 billion, and the biomass power generation industry was $759 million. Of the direct and indirect economic output contributed by each industry, the highest percentage of output attributable to the logging industry was observed from the sawmills industry (12%), followed by biomass power generation (9%), paper mills (1.4%), and the construction of new single-family residential structures (

Objective: To determine the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin production in six Cenchrus purpureus cultivars, with and without fertilization, harvested every 21 days during 168 days. Design/methodology/approach: The evaluated cultivars were CT-115, elephant grass, king grass, Maralfalfa, Roxo, and Taiwan, with and without fertilization. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with a split-plot arrangement and four replications. The fertilization dose was 141-43-20 of NPK. Forage was harvested every 21 days during six months in the rainy season. We tested the samples for dry matter (DM), ash, NDF, ADF, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin. We performed a nonlinear regression analysis. We determined biomass production with the estimated values and the percentage of each component. The goodness-of-fit indicators were: R², the coefficient of determination (R), and the model selection criterion (MSC). The parameters and goodness-of-fit coefficients were analyzed in ANOVA with the SAS software using the GLM procedure. Means were compared with Tukey's test. Results: The Maralfalfa cultivar presented a higher cellulose production (3,786 kg ha-1), similar (p>0.05) to the elephant grass and Taiwan cultivars, which presented values of 3,451 kg ha-1 and 3,329 kg ha-1, respectively, and different (p<0.05) from CT-115 and king grass, which produced more than 1 t ha-1 of cellulose. Limitations/implications: Cellulose production increased by the effect of fertilization. Findings/conclusions: The fertilized Maralfalfa, elephant grass, and Taiwan cultivars produced more than 4,000 kg ha-1 of cellulose, 3,000 kg ha-1 of hemicellulose, and 1,000 kg ha-1 of lignin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycled paper fiber rejects have shown potential as a source of waste-to-resource carbohydrates for renewable chemicals production. This study examined three classes of recycled paper fines (old corrugated containers, old newspaper, and mixed office waste) and two industrial papermaking rejects streams from different recycling mills (one mill processes linerboard and the other old corrugated cardboard). The effect of chemical pretreatment using dilute sodium hydroxide, hot water and dilute sulfuric acid on enzymatic glucose and xylose yields was evaluated. Enzymatic hydrolysis results indicated that recycled fiber streams with more old corrugated cardboard have higher potential to produce carbohydrates. The recycled cardboard rejects produced more glucose and xylose per kilogram of rejects than the linerboard rejects under all untreated and pretreated conditions. The highest producing rejects sample was sodium hydroxide pretreated cardboard rejects with 373 g glucose and 61 g xylose produced per kilogram of rejects. However, a simple hot water pretreatment showed similar results, with 335 g glucose and 58 g xylose produced per kilogram of rejects. The hot water pretreatment is recommended due to its comparable yield and lower chemical addition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycled paper fiber rejects have shown potential as a source of waste-to-resource carbohydrates for renewable chemicals production. This study examined three classes of recycled paper fines (old corrugated containers, old newspaper, and mixed office waste) and two industrial papermaking rejects streams from different recycling mills (one mill processes linerboard and the other old corrugated cardboard). The effect of chemical pretreatment using dilute sodium hydroxide, hot water and dilute sulfuric acid on enzymatic glucose and xylose yields was evaluated. Enzymatic hydrolysis results indicated that recycled fiber streams with more old corrugated cardboard have higher potential to produce carbohydrates. The recycled cardboard rejects produced more glucose and xylose per kilogram of rejects than the linerboard rejects under all untreated and pretreated conditions. The highest producing rejects sample was sodium hydroxide pretreated cardboard rejects with 373 g glucose and 61 g xylose produced per kilogram of rejects. However, a simple hot water pretreatment showed similar results, with 335 g glucose and 58 g xylose produced per kilogram of rejects. The hot water pretreatment is recommended due to its comparable yield and lower chemical addition.

[Display omitted] • Pine needles lignocellulosic active paper incorporated with nanozeolite was fabricated. • The lignocellulosic paper showed improved water vapor transmission rate. • The lignocellulosic paper showed high ethylene scavenging properties. • Active pine needle based paper suitable for fresh produce active packaging. • Studies indicated valorization of pine needles biomass into paper fabrication. The pines needle falls approximately 2–3 ha−1 year−1 on the forest floors resulting in a considerable amount of lignocellulosic biowaste. The present study aimed to develop pine needles based lignocellulosic active paper and investigate the effect of 5, 20, and 30% (v/w) nano zeolite addition on the physical, mechanical, and microstructural property of the papers. The developed papers were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction. As the zeolite concentration was increased from 5% to 30% in the paper, enhanced water permeability was seen from 5.18 ± 0.34 - 3.88 ± 0.33 g/cm2/day (PN/ZL 30% paper). The addition of 5% zeolite increased the tensile and burst strength from 19.53 ± 3.53 Nm/g and 3.63 ± 0.23 kg/cm2, respectively. The porosity was increased from 340 ± 20 to 1170 ± 60, and Cobb value increased from 338.3 ± 1.5- 406.7 ± 1.5 g/m2. The alterations in terms of surface microstructure in the paper with 20, 30% zeolite were noticed whereas XRD illustrated the high compatibility among the lignocellulosic network of pines and zeolite. The pine needle paper with 30% zeolite possessed remarkable ethylene scavenging properties (62%), opening a way to valorize pine needle waste for food packaging application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]