Sappi North America, Inc., a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper, packaging products and pulp, has been named a 2021 SEAL Sustainable Product Award winner for its Ultracast Viva® casting and release paper. Ultracast Viva was also selected by the International Design Awards Jury for an Honorable Mention for textile design. Ultracast Viva is the new standard for high-fidelity casting and release papers, offering compatibility with solvent-free casting systems, serving as the mold for coated fabrics by transferring texture and gloss to create authentically pleasing synthetic leathers and other coated materials. The textured surfaces are then used for end products people use every day, such as shoes, car seats, handbags, apparel and more. After use, the release paper is stripped away and can be reused multiple times.

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) released Innovative, Sustainable, Resilient: Recommendations from Canada’s Forest Sector to Drive Economic Recovery and a Net-Zero Carbon Future. The report, submitted to the federal government, outlines how Canadian forestry workers, forest management, and forest products can help kickstart a green economic recovery. At today’s launch, FPAC President and CEO, Derek Nighbor, issued the following statement: “In the face of rising COVID numbers in most parts of the country, Canadians continue to stare down the biggest health and economic crisis of our lifetimes. Last week’s announcement that the federal deficit is projected to hit $382 billion by March 2021 is a stark reminder of how daunting the recovery effort will be. We need to come together with solutions that will meet the needs of Canadian workers and their families and deliver jobs to communities that need them, while promoting innovation and our move to a lower-carbon economy."

The bio-methanol treatment plant supplied by ANDRITZ is designed to produce 5,000 tons of bio-methanol per year. The plant is a key part of a new process producing sustainable bio-methanol from renewable raw material. Bio-methanol can be used in shipping, for example, as a stand-alone fuel, as well as for the production of biodiesel (RME), as an additive in petrol, or as a raw material in the chemical industry. The methanol produced is compliant with the IMPCA Reference Specifications for merchantable methanol. Start-up of the plant is scheduled for the third quarter of 2019. The global methanol production is in the order of 80 million tons per year and is generated mostly from fossil raw materials. In the chemical wood pulping process, methanol is formed as a by-product that contains many impurities. This raw methanol is purified to a merchantable bio-methanol, which is chemically identical to fossil-based methanol. The bio-methanol generated contributes towards reducing the amount of fossil greenhouse gas emissions. Click Read More below for additional information.