Search

This research was prepared to obtain an analysis and compare the financial performance of two large issuing companies in the pulp and paper industry, namely PT. Tjiwi Kimia Tbk. and PT. Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk. by using the 2022 and 2023 financial reports as a data source. The method used is financial ratio analysis which includes liquidity, solvency, and profitability ratios. Based on the results of an in-depth study, it can be stated that PT. Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk. has better performance in terms of liquidity with a current ratio of 2.65 in 2023, compared to PT. Tjiwi Kimia which has a current ratio of 1.24. However, in terms of solvency, PT. Tjiwi Kimia has a lower debt-to-equity ratio (DER), namely 0.51 times compared to PT Indah Kiat of 0.69 times, indicating that PT Tjiwi Kimia's financial risk is relatively smaller. In terms of profitability, both companies are seen to have proven positive performance. PT Indah Kiat's net profit margin in 2023 will be 11% with an ROE of 14.6%, while PT Tjiwi Kimia posted a net profit margin of 8.7% with an ROE of 13.6%. However, both PT Indah Kiat and PT Tjiwi Kimia still need to improve operational efficiency and manage financial risks prudently, especially regarding debt management.

Pulp-paper mills (PPMs) are known for consistently generating a wide variety of pollutants, that are often unidentified and highly resistant to environmental degradation. The current study aims to investigate the changes in the indigenous bacterial communities profile grown in the sediment co-contaminated with organic and inorganic pollutants discharged from the PPMs. The two sediment samples, designated PPS-1 and PPS-2, were collected from two different sites. Physico-chemical characterization of PPS-1 and PPS-2 revealed the presence of heavy metals (mg kg−1) like Cu (0.009–0.01), Ni (0.005–0.002), Mn (0.078–0.056), Cr (0.015–0.009), Pb (0.008–0.006), Zn (0.225–0.086), Fe (2.124–0.764), Al (3.477–22.277), and Ti (99.792–45.012) along with high content of chlorophenol, and lignin. The comparative analysis of organic pollutants in sediment samples using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) revealed the presence of major highly refractory compounds, such as stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid; 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol; heptacosane; dimethyl phthalate; hexachlorobenzene; 1-decanol,2-hexyl; furane 2,5-dimethyl, etc in sediment samples which are reported as a potential toxic compounds. Simultaneously, high-throughput sequencing targeting the V3–V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA genes, resulted in the identification of 1,249 and 1,345 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) derived from a total of 115,665 and 119,386 sequences read, in PPS-1 and PPS-2, respectively. Analysis of rarefaction curves indicated a diversity in OTU abundance between PPS-1 (1,249 OTUs) and PPS-2 (1,345 OTUs). Furthermore, taxonomic assignment of metagenomics sequence data showed that Proteobacteria (55.40%; 56.30%), Bacteoidetes (11.30%; 12.20%), and Planctomycetes (5.40%; 4.70%) were the most abundant phyla; Alphproteobacteria (20.50%; 23.50%), Betaproteobacteria (16.00%; 12.30%), and Gammaproteobacteria were the most recorded classes in PPS-1 and PPS-2, respectively. At the genus level, Thiobacillus (7.60%; 4.50%) was the most abundant genera grown in sediment samples. The results indicate significant differences in both the diversity and relative abundance of taxa in the bacterial communities associated with PPS-2 when compared to PPS-1. This study unveils key insights into contaminant characteristics and shifts in bacterial communities within contaminated environments. It highlights the potential for developing efficient bioremediation techniques to restore ecological balance in pulp-paper mill waste-polluted areas, stressing the importance of identifying a significant percentage of unclassified genera and species to explore novel genes.

Bamboo, a member of the grass family, is a fast growing and high yielding renewable resource. The popularity of bamboo has risen in recent times owing to its multifaceted and myriad of practical applications. There are unlimited uses of bamboo, therefore proper utilization of this beneficial resource will be useful to the industrial sector. This review provides a comprehensive summary regarding the potential of bamboo as a vital non-wood fibrous raw material for pulp, paper and other allied industries owing to its ability to conserve forests and foster sustainable economic development. Bamboo's abundance, renewability, mechanical strength, and other functional features make it an appealing and potential building biomaterial in the pursuit of sustainable raw materials needed for industrial development. This review provides an in-depth summary and unique perspective on the application of bamboo at a commercial scale in various sectors, thereby encouraging the utilization of this potential material towards environmental sustainability and economic growth.

Predicting stock prices is contained in the basic approach is fundamental and technical analysis which is needed by entrepreneurs who invest their capital, this analysis is to determine the company's financial performance and must continue to be carried out, to carry out this analysis we use the help of several financial ratios where several types of ratios Return on Assets, Debt to Equity Ratio, Return on Equity, and Book Value per Share are some examples. The authors applied a quantitative descriptive approach to companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in the Pulp & Paper sector for this study. According to the Correlation and Regression tables, all of the variables ROA, ROE, DER, and BVS have an effect on stock prices, but the stock session obtained on the variables ROA, ROE, and DER has a very significant effect on stock prices but has no significant effect on stock prices on the BVS variable. So in the long term the company must implement one of two policies, namely low solvency means using less debt than own capital and a low solvency policy will not cause high interest expenses to be borne by the company so that it will affect growth.

Pulp-paper mills (PPMs) are known for consistently generating a wide variety of pollutants, that are often unidentified and highly resistant to environmental degradation. The current study aims to investigate the changes in the indigenous bacterial communities profile grown in the sediment co-contaminated with organic and inorganic pollutants discharged from the PPMs. The two sediment samples, designated PPS-1 and PPS-2, were collected from two different sites. Physico-chemical characterization of PPS-1 and PPS-2 revealed the presence of heavy metals (mg kg -1 ) like Cu (0.009-0.01), Ni (0.005-0.002), Mn (0.078-0.056), Cr (0.015-0.009), Pb (0.008-0.006), Zn (0.225-0.086), Fe (2.124-0.764), Al (3.477-22.277), and Ti (99.792-45.012) along with high content of chlorophenol, and lignin. The comparative analysis of organic pollutants in sediment samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed the presence of major highly refractory compounds, such as stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid; 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol; heptacosane; dimethyl phthalate; hexachlorobenzene; 1-decanol,2-hexyl; furane 2,5-dimethyl, etc in sediment samples which are reported as a potential toxic compounds. Simultaneously, high-throughput sequencing targeting the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA genes, resulted in the identification of 1,249 and 1,345 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) derived from a total of 115,665 and 119,386 sequences read, in PPS-1 and PPS-2, respectively. Analysis of rarefaction curves indicated a diversity in OTU abundance between PPS-1 (1,249 OTUs) and PPS-2 (1,345 OTUs). Furthermore, taxonomic assignment of metagenomics sequence data showed that Proteobacteria (55.40%; 56.30%), Bacteoidetes (11.30%; 12.20%), and Planctomycetes (5.40%; 4.70%) were the most abundant phyla; Alphproteobacteria (20.50%; 23.50%), Betaproteobacteria (16.00%; 12.30%), and Gammaproteobacteria were the most recorded classes in PPS-1 and PPS-2, respectively. At the genus level, Thiobacillus (7.60%; 4.50%) was the most abundant genera grown in sediment samples. The results indicate significant differences in both the diversity and relative abundance of taxa in the bacterial communities associated with PPS-2 when compared to PPS-1. This study unveils key insights into contaminant characteristics and shifts in bacterial communities within contaminated environments. It highlights the potential for developing efficient bioremediation techniques to restore ecological balance in pulp-paper mill waste-polluted areas, stressing the importance of identifying a significant percentage of unclassified genera and species to explore novel genes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Kumar, Ameen and Verma.)

The results of recent laboratory-scale studies regarding the joint effects of wet strengthening agent polyamide-amine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) and internal alkylketene dimer (AKD) sizing on Nordic bleached softwood pulp (NBSK) handsheets indicate that AKD internal sizing increases the wet strength of PAE wet strengthened handsheets. The boosting effect of the internal AKD sizing was long-lasting. At the molecular level the actual mechanism behind the effect is unclear. The present study examines if the enhanced effect of internal AKD sizing, which is potentially exploitable in practice, also occurs in paper made by VTT’s Suora pilot paper machine. The trials were done using a similar type of NBSK pulp and the same chemicals as in the laboratory-scale studies. The paper was formed at 400 m/min using a hybrid dewatering mode (Fourdrinier + gap). Just as in the laboratory-scale studies, the internal AKD sizing of PAE wet-strengthened NBSK paper resulted in a long-lasting increase of the paper wet strength. In accordance with the laboratory trials, internal AKD sizing had no noticeable effect on the dry tensile strength of the pilot-made paper. The only apparent difference to the earlier observations was an increase of dry tensile strength of the paper treated solely with PAE.