Potential applications for the new fibers include hygiene products, transparent films, thermal or sound-insulating products, as well as water or air filters.
For the award Yuanyuan Li plans to investigate the nanostructure of the pulp fibers and optimize the production process to integrate it into existing pulp mills.
“I will use the prize money to continue my research and create links to the industry so that this material can be of use to them. It is a completely new material, and further research is needed. The Competence Development Prize creates both the freedom to continue researching and the conditions for doing so,” says Yuanyuan in a press release at skogsindustrierna.se (in Swedish).
The Gunnar Sundblad Foundation’s annual Competence Development Award has been presented since 2007 to promote the development of the Swedish pulp and paper industry’s transformation towards improved and new products and services.
The prize was awarded by HMK Carl XVI Gustaf on April 18, 2023, at the Framtidsmötet, organized by the Swedish Forest Industries Federation.
Read more at sundbladsfonden.se
