News Paper Pulp Research & Innovation
Swedish pulp company to establish demo-scale plant for hemicellulose copolymers

Swedish pulp producer Domsjö Fabriker AB has partnered with Ecohelix AB, a scale-up company, to establish a demo-scale plant for production of the hemicellulose copolymers developed and patented by Ecohelix.

The companies are already operating a pilot-scale plant located at the Domsjö Fabriker mill. This pilot plant has been used to verify the raw material, the process, the products and to produce sample material for potential customers, who have given enough feedback to warrant a larger demo plant.

Ecohelix will construct the demo plant, deliver it to and erect it at the Domsjö Fabriker mill, manage the operation of the demo plant to verify the raw material, process and products in larger scale, and gather data for the next development step, an industrial scale production unit.

Domsjö Fabriker will supply the raw material stream to the demo plant, provide space in an existing building, and supply utilities, services and support.

The Ecohelix products are hemicellulose copolymers with high amount of functional groups, excellent barrier properties and low viscosity. Typical applications include various pulp and paper chemical and cosmetics applications where the polymer’s unique properties can be used. Also, the polymers are highly efficient ingredients in formulations for gas and grease barriers. In many applications, the Ecohelix polymers will replace fossil-based products. Additional applications are under development.

The Domsjö Fabriker raw material is available in large quantities. The wood used in the Domsjö Fabriker mill comes from sustainable forestry only and is FSC and PEFC certified. The Domsjö Fabriker mill is TCF (totally chlorine free) and the main products are certified for supply as ingredients for food contact and pharmaceuticals.