Research - Limerick P&P Centre

Dr. Jack McKenzie Limerick
Pulp and Paper Research and Education Centre

Our Research and Development areas include:

1. Pulp Bleaching
- ClO2 generation and bleaching
- Oxygen Delignification
- Chemical Pulp Bleach Plant Operation
- Mechanical Pulp Brightening

2. Pulping
- Sulfite Process
- Kraft Process

3. High Yield Pulps: Processes and Applications

4. Forest Bio-refinery

5. Fiber Engineering

6. Functional Micro and/or Nano-Partical Systems
- Organo-modified zeolites
- Cationic silica nano-particles

7. Nano-Composites and Novel Wood Products
- Monomer/Polymer Systems ( for better wood impregnation)
- Nano-Particle/Polymer/Wood Fiber Overlay Films ( for better mechanical properties)

8. Polymeric Water Retention Agents for Paper Coatings
- Effect of Polymeric Water Retention Agents on Rheological Behavior and Distribution of Pigments

9. Fiber Surface Chemistry
- Lignin and hemicellulose concentration and their distribution, their relationship to interfiber bonding
- Determination of fiber surface structure by AFM, fluorescence confocal laser scanning microscopy et al. Impact on printing and coating

10. Pulp Refining
- Effect of new pulping and bleaching techniques on pulp beatability
- Development of novel refining techniques and their characterization using CLSM and ESEM

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