customer agazne nnventia op the trait database – a … · från märg till bark för ett brett...

Beyond is published by INNVENTIA AB | Legally responsible for the publication: Birgitta Sundblad ([email protected]) Editor: Marianne Lockner ([email protected]) | ISSN: 1652-6503 | Print: SIB-Tryck, Norsborg

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A core effort of the strategic research environment Bio4Energy is the development of genetic markers for properties of Norway spruce, to be used as tools in tree improvement. For this purpose, Innventia has analysed samples from 6,000 trees for a broad spectrum of traits and built a trait database.

Today, the tree breeders have to wait for many years before they can see if one type of plants is better than the others. With such knowledge generated in the Bio4Energy programme, it will become possible to foresee this already by analys-ing the genes of embryos of the breeds. This will accelerate tree improvement tremendously, especially for slow-grow-ing trees as ours, to meet demands of different types: From trees particularly suitable for new or traditional products to trees which are more resilient on cli-mate change.

One of the two fundaments of this work is the characterization of the traits for 6,000 spruce trees, sampled from experiments of Skogforsk. Innventia has characterized these samples on its SilviScan instrument for property vari-ations from pith to bark, evaluated the data for further information, structured and documented it all in a database together with background data on all trees from Skogforsk.

“We have now concluded our work with the building of the Trait Database. The database is unique regarding num-bers of trees and properties included, as well as regarding levels of detail covered and documentation,” says Sven-Olof Lundqvist.

The next step will be to apply associa-tion mapping for identification of co-var-iations among variations in traits and in genetic data. The results may be applied for property oriented early selection in tree improvement.

“During the build-up period of Bio4Energy, most of the effort at Innventia has been dedicated to build up of the collaboration and the extraor-dinary Trait Database. During a con-tinued Bio4Energy, we plan for several research projects based on these unique data, expansion of it with several more important properties and wider use of the joint knowledge and infrastructure now in place within further areas of Bio4Energy,” concludes Sven-Olof.

contact: [email protected]

During the last year, a major expansion of the Trait Database has been prepared as a second phase. Existing samples and data will be utilized to complement it with information about radial variations also in chemical composition of the 6,000 trees, using a new instrument for imaging NIR at Innventia. The data on chemical composition will become important for bioenergy, biorefining and new products originating from wood.

Bio4Energy är ett strategiskt forskningsprogram för nya metoder, processer och produkter baserade på biomassa från skogen. Innventia har inom Bio4Energy byggt en unik egenskapsdatabas med information om tillväxt, ved och fibrer hos 6 000 granar. Proverna har karaktäriserats med Innventias SilviScaninstrument med avseende på variationer från märg till bark för ett brett spektrum av egenskaper. Under senaste året har en större utbyggnad av databasen förberetts. Bl.a. ska det nya instrumentet för avbildande NIR användas för information om radiella variationer även i den kemiska sammansättningen hos trädproven.

Textile-like paper packaging

New commodity requires standardised analysis methods

The Traits Database – a milestone reached in Bio4Energy

On our mind: When paper is more than just paper

Secure packaging – a weapon in the fight against counterfeit medicines

Read more about the strategic research environment Bio4Energy at www.bio4energy.se

The Trait Database – a milestone reached in Bio4Energy The future begins with a

barrel of black liquorPage 2

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2 | Beyond #4/2014 Current awareness from the Innventia Group Beyond #4/2014 | 3Current awareness from the Innventia Group

Innventia har under de senaste åren storsatsat på kolfiber från lignin och bl.a investerat i ny infrastruktur. Nu välkomnas företag att använda resurserna för att utvärdera olika typer av lignin framställda på olika sätt och deras potential som råvara för ligninbaserade kolfiber. Första steget mot en ny affärsmöjlighet kan mycket väl börja med ett screenande försök. Tack vare senaste årets uppdateringar i utrustning erbjuds hela linjen från ligninanalys och smältextrudering till karbonisering och styrkeprov. Den nya infrastrukturen gör det också möjligt att arbeta i olika skalor utifrån behov i såväl mono som multifilament. Inom projektet Testbädd för svensk ligninbaserad kolfiber planeras även för en framtida kontinuerlig pilotanläggning.

Produktspecifikationer är nödvändiga för att lignin ska slå igenom som handelsvara. Men för att kunna sätta upp specifikationer måste man bestämma sig för hur man ska mäta och det är något som studeras inom Innventias Chemical and Material Analysis. I detta ingår att mäta så låga halter av föroreningar som krävs för att kunna ha en renhetsspecifikation på ligninet, vilket är mycket viktigt för att tillverka kolfiber. Andra egenskaper som är intressant att analysera är molekylära strukturer och molekylmassamätningar. Med en onlinemetod kan man redan i svartluten avgöra vilka egenskaper ligninet har och dess lämplighet för en viss applikation.

The time has come to build for the future. In recent years, Innventia has focused sharply on carbon fibre from lignin through knowledgegenerating research, setting up consortia and investing in testing and demonstration resources. These resources are important for continued research and for enabling the mill to take the first step towards new business opportunities.

Industrial use of carbon fibre is expected to increase fourfold by the year 2020. Carbon fibre is strong and light, with many applications. Today, demand is mainly limited by the high cost. As a result, it is currently used primar-ily in products where performance is more important than price. By intro-ducing cost-effective lignin-based car-bon fibre, the market for carbon fibre could become considerably larger. In order to speed up the pace of develop-ment, both knowledge and testing and demonstration resources are needed. Research Manager Biorefinery Processes and Products Marie Bäckström describes Innventia’s current focus:

“Right now, we’re building up an R&D infrastructure for carbon fibre from lignin. The process includes plans for a continuous carbon fibre production line, but we can already achieve a great deal with both monofilament and multi-filament lignin spinning.”

As Marie explains, the infrastructure is also available for use by external par-ties. Companies are welcome to use the

resources to evaluate different types of lignin produced in different ways, and their potential as a raw material for lignin-based carbon fibre. The first step towards a new business opportunity may well begin with a screening study.

“Screening studies can tell whether the mill’s black liquor has the right properties for producing various lignin products.”

She describes the procedure in simple terms as the mill sending black liquor to Innventia. Lignin is obtained from the black liquor using a process such as the LignoBoost process. The properties are then analysed and an assessment is made of whether further processing is needed in order to purify the lignin. Thermal processing is also carried out before melt extrusion can take place. Once the start-ing material is deemed to be ready, it is extruded.

“We can then carry out stabilisa-tion, carbonisation and strength testing. Recent equipment updates mean that we can now offer the entire line!”

The new infrastructure also makes it possible to work on different scales as needed. Marie continues:

“In order to carry out screening stud-ies, we like to work on a small scale with filaments of just 2-3 cm that are pro-duced using Innventia’s monofilament extruder. This takes smaller quantities of lignin than for multifilament spin-ning, and is less labour-intensive. We can also get an understanding of spin-nability. If we want to carry out more realistic testing, we use our larger mul-tispinning unit where up to 80 filaments can be made at the same time. The lignin filaments are then converted into carbon

fibre filaments on a somewhat larger scale, with lengths of around 30 cm.”

The opportunity to step up through a continuous pilot scale is essential in order to devise demonstrators ahead of industrial implementation. And there is no doubt that this is the goal. Marie is responsible for the VINNOVA-funded Test bed for Swedish lignin-based car-bon fibre project, which it is hoped will speed up the development towards lignin becoming an established raw material for carbon fibre production. The scope of the project includes producing data for a continuous pilot facility. Another key factor is building up a consortium.

“The time has come to build for the future. Having players all the way along the value chain, from raw materials sup-pliers to end-users and research insti-tutes, is extremely important.”


Innventia’s infrastructure makes it possible to work on different scales.

The future begins with a barrel of black liquor

Is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to as the research programme gets started?“Being able to use all the new equipment we’ve invested in here at Innventia. I believe the new equipment will enable us to achieve excellent results with a sound foundation. That’ll be a real boost!”

What does that involve?

“One key goal is to develop stronger fibres. I hope that our new infra-structure will enable us to do so.”

What is the biggest challenge?

“One of the biggest challenges is to develop a lignin with the right properties for both spinning and processing into a carbon fibre.”


Hannah Schweinebarth is leading the Structural Carbon Fibres project within the Innventia Research Programme 2015 starting in January. We asked her three questions.

ways of measuring low enough levels to obtain a purity specification for lignin.

Other interesting properties to ana-lyse include molecular structures. The composition of the different groups in relation to each other determines which applications they are suited to, for exam-ple carbon fibre or lignin as a base chemical. Advanced equipment such as NMR is used to study this. Molecular mass measurements are also carried out, using size exclusion chromatography. In extremely simple terms, this involves fractionating the lignin into different sizes.

“It’s all about which information tells us something about processability. For example, it can be compared with the Kappa number for the pulp process. The Kappa number may not mean anything in purely chemical terms, but it’s a well established method that gives the same results regardless of where in the world the measurement is carried out, and it tells us how much bleach will be needed to achieve a given quality. The same is true of molecular size. It’s a case of knowing which of the many molecular size measurements is most relevant in terms of the lignin’s processability.”

Fredrik emphasises the importance of also being able to measure lignin dur-ing the manufacturing process. With an

Although researchers have been work-ing with lignin for some time now, there are still many challenges to overcome in order for lignin to make a breakthrough as a commodity. One of these is the lack of product specifications. However, in order to draw up specifications, it must first be determined how measurements will be carried out. There are currently few standardised methods, which can lead to problems when comparing analy-sis results from different sources.

“We’re planning on achieving more uniformity,” explains Fredrik Aldaeus from Innventia’s Chemical and Material Analysis group. “Most methods are adapted for pulp and paper, and for lignin in wood. So a lot of what we do is about taking existing methods and adapting them so they work for lignin samples.”

The biggest challenge when it comes to lignin analyses is the uncertainty about which parameters should be meas-ured and which levels are required. Extremely pure lignin is needed in order to produce carbon fibre, and this means that it must be possible to measure low levels of impurities such as metals and carbohydrates. No methods currently exist for measuring sufficiently low lev-els to obtain ultra-pure lignin. Fredrik and his colleagues are now looking at

New commodity requires standardised analysis methodsInnventia is adding lignin characterisation methods to its toolbox to support the development of lignin as a new commodity for various applications.

online method involving measurements at several points in the process, it could be determined as early as the black liq-uor stage what properties the lignin has, and if for example there is too much of a particular impurity that will restrict its use.

“Then we can see what type of lignin the black liquor is suitable for, or if for example an extra washing stage is needed for a particular application. That’s better than simply precipitating the lignin and then seeing what we can do with it.”



Smedpack är ett samverkansprojekt som ska bidra i arbetet mot förfalskade läkemedel genom koncept för säkra läkemedelsförpackningar. Koncepten kan bestå av säkerhetsförseglingar, element med unika serienummer, appar eller andra lösningar som gör det lättare för användaren i olika delar av kedjan att kontrollera äktheten hos läkemedelsförpackningar. Ambitionen är att lösningarna ska vara industriellt realiserbara och innebära nya affärsmöjligheter. Projektet har rönt ett stort intresse från samhälle och näringsliv och får nu ytterligare 7 miljoner från Vinnova för ett tredje steg. Det innebär att man nu utökar antalet partners från 20 till 30. Att arbeta brett i värdekedjan är en nyckelfaktor för projektets framgång. Arbetssättet bygger på interaktiva workshops och studiebesök, vilket ökar förståelsen för hur andra arbetar och möjligheten att hitta lösningar.

The Smedpack research collaboration will produce security solutions which prevent counterfeit medicines from entering the legal distribution chain. The new packaging concept will make it easier for consumers to distinguish between genuine products and fake ones, and will create business opportunities for the industry.

Counterfeit medicines are a growing global problem which is putting peo-ple’s lives in danger and compromising their safety. One contributing factor is the lack of cooperation throughout the distribution chain from producer to consumer. The fact that many peo-ple are now choosing to buy medicines online also means that the stage at which checks are carried out is disappearing, leaving the responsibility with the con-sumer. However, even though the major-ity of medicines currently sold online are counterfeit, few people check that the seller is an approved pharmacy. Marie-Claude Béland, a business developer at Innventia, explains:

“In Sweden, around 85 percent of people would consider buying medicines online. It doesn’t then help that pharma-cies and the rest of the distribution chain complies with the EU directive. That’s why it’s important to look at how we can communicate the right information in the right context, so that consumers become more used to checking, especial-ly if they have placed an order online.”

This will be part of the scope of the Smedpack project, which has now received funding for a third stage within VINNOVA’s Challenge-driven Innovation programme. Smedpack is a collaborative project which will contrib-ute towards counteracting counterfeit medicines through concepts for secure pharmaceutical packaging. These con-cepts might consist of secure seals, ele-ments with unique serial numbers, apps or other solutions which make it easier for users in different parts of the chain to check that the pharmaceutical pack-aging is genuine. The ambition is for the solutions to be industrially realisable, and that they will represent new busi-ness opportunities which will produce export revenue.


Since its inception in 2012, Smedpack has looked at around 40 different con-cepts. From these, three security solu-tion demonstrators have been produced in conjunction with designers and manu-facturers of flexible packaging, card-board boxes and plastic containers. The solutions have been tested by different focus groups: hospital and pharmacy staff, and consumers. During testing, it was noted that the security solutions developed could also lead to better ergo-nomics in hospitals.

“Unanticipated results are always exciting,” continues Marie-Claude.

“Thanks to the fact that we took a broad approach to the value chain, including work-ing with hospital staff, we were able to see that relatively simple solutions enable peo-ple to deal with medi-cines in a much better way in a hospital envi-ronment. For exam-ple, security solutions can help make it easier to tell which packag-ing has been opened. If we’d only worked with materials suppli-ers or pharmaceutical manufacturers, we would never have dis-covered this.”

The project has aroused consider-able interest from the public as well as from industry, and is now receiving an addition-al SEK 7 million from VINNOVA to take the step from concept to commercial solu-tions. As a result, the number of partners is now being increased from 20 to 30. These include companies throughout the entire value chain, from materials manufac-turers and logistics to pharmacies, as well as authorities, uni-versities and interest organisations. In the

new third stage, great importance is placed on internationalisation issues, which is why including partners such as the Swedish Customs Service and the Police Authority is crucial to the project.

Working on a broad front within the value chain is a key success factor for the project. This approach is based on interactive workshops and study visits, giving a much deeper understanding of how other people work and the problems that can arise at different stages of the value chain.

“Collaboration throughout the entire value chain is crucial in identifying weak

points and arriving at solutions,” says project manager Erik Blohm.

The fact that Erik is now a member of the committee for the Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ annual con-ference shows just how significant the collaboration with Smedpack is. And there are also commercial benefits.

“The project has already created vari-ous forms of growth. The clearest is that we now have a few examples of com-panies that have formed partnerships in new constellations and carried out new business transactions. We will now look more closely at commercial benefits within the new project, which will be particularly exciting!”

Naturally, costs are a major issue. No one wants solutions that make pharma-ceutical packaging four times as expen-sive as it is today. However, adapting solutions in line with today’s production facilities involves restrictions in terms of both technology and materials. The project is therefore also looking at the potential situation in 10-20 years’ time.

“We’re likely to see many more medi-cines that are adapted to suit the indi-vidual,” concludes Marie-Claude. “If this is the case, we might need packaging that doesn’t simply take a one-size-fits-all approach. When the time comes for companies to invest in new equipment, we want to be at the cutting edge in terms of new opportunities.”


Security solutions can also help to make it easier to tell which packaging has been opened.

Alexandra Denton and Hjalmar Granberg demonstrates the functions of the packaging.

4 | Beyond #4/2014 Current awareness from the Innventia Group

since the packaging can adapt to diverse spaces without damaging its content. Larger packages could be used for rice, pasta, dog food and similar products where you both want to be able to esti-mate portions and see how much is left, says Alexandra Denton who designed the packaging.

The Self Collapsing Packaging is pro-duced from a new biobased material that is still at the research stage. The material, which has the working title Dynamodic, is a paper material that can be patterned with soft and stiff features triggering our visual and tactile senses. Hjalmar Granberg, a material scientist at Innventia explains:

“The material is produced in a paper machine and comprises wood pulp and polylactic fibres. By patterning we can obtain and combine different properties that can be completely contradictory. Dynamodic can be soft and tough, matte and glossy, flexible and stiff, textile-like and carton-like. In a way, one could speak of a new design language for paper.”


Last year, The Sustainable Expanding Bowl, a demonstrator made by Innventia and design firm Tomorrow Machine, met worldwide interest when it was awarded The Dieline Sustainable Packaging Award. Innventia is now introducing The Self Collapsing Packaging Demonstrator, produced in a design project in connection to the Smedpack project.

The Self Collapsing Packaging demon-strates a packaging solution that adapts its size to its content. As the content is reduced, so does the packaging size. By a light press of the hand, the packaging can be collapsed into three sequential steps. This feature has many advantages. It gives a quick estimate of what is left in the packaging and when it is time to buy a refill. The packaging saves space in cupboards and shelves as it does not use more space than necessary. The collaps-ing steps helps estimate portions when e.g. cooking pasta or rice.

The Self Collapsing Packaging is yet another example of successful collabo-ration between materials scientists and designers. Innventia is increasingly work-ing with demonstrators as way of visu-alising research findings and of shorten-ing the time to market. The collapsing demonstrator has been developed in the context of the Smedpack project at Innventia, a project will lead to secure pharmaceutical packaging from renew-able raw materials and reduced costs in the supply chain. The new packaging solution has, however, many potential uses.

“We have had planned three sizes. The smallest size, which would be suit-able for pharmaceutics, is easy to bring in a handbag or in the pocket of a jacket,


The Self Collapsing Packaging Demonstrator visar en förpackningslösning som anpassar sin storlek till innehållet. Genom ett lätt tryck med handen, kan förpackningen kollapsa i tre sekventiella steg. Funktionen har många fördelar som att spara plats och underlätta portionering. Förpackningen är tillverkad i ett nytt textilliknande pappersmaterial som går under arbetsnamnet Dynamodic och ännu befinner sig på forskningsstadiet. Den kollapsande demonstratorn har tagits fram i samband projektet Smedpack och är ännu ett exempel på framgångsrikt samarbete mellan materialforskare och designers.


january

2728 Ekmandagarna

february

25 International Forest Biorefinery Summit 2015

march

2226 American Chemical Society Spring meeting

april

1922 PaperCon 2015

For further information on coming events, see www.innventia.com

coming eventsOn our mind

The forest industry is an old, well-established industry that typically deliv-ers products in large quantities. This often involves such large volumes that they are hard to grasp, such as 10,000 tonnes. Here, it is clear that there is a gap between large-scale production and the small, tailor-made products that we often begin with. How should this gap be bridged? One solution that I have great faith in is to conceal new proper-ties in a material or semimanufactured

product that can be mass produced. These hidden properties can then be activated and patterned by smaller play-ers to meet the specific needs of differ-ent customers.

At Innventia, I have had the benefit of working with a number of examples of biobased materials with hidden proper-ties. How about semiconductive paper as a material for building solar cells or the electronics of the future? Or packaging that opens itself in the oven? Self-collapsing paper packaging that falls

multispectral measurement and analysis of the whole product area in a paper and board production. This includes an advanced interpretation of the measure-ment results that gives more complete information on the product, compared to what is obtained with today´s tech-nology.

The target of the preproject is a road-map, containing a detailed description of how the key elements of the vision can be achieved within 5-10 years.

Processes for highly deformable paperIn January 2015, Innventia, together with Gruppo X di X Gruppo, starts rebuilding its FEX pilot plant with new units for producing highly deformable paper. This will be the start of a new project called PhD-paper.

What restricts the use of paper for 3D packages, i.e. with curved surfaces, is the lack of industrial processes to produce paper material with a high level of stretchability in the cross direction. The PhD-paper project aims to establish a full-scale test bed for processes that create highly deformable paper. These processes will, on one hand, broaden the design window for forest based raw materials and, on the other hand, cre-ate opportunities for verification of new application areas and markets.

research scientist, and today also as lead scientist within the focus area Fiber and Paper at PFI.

In their motivation, the selection committee states that Lars Johansson has established an internationally strong group within mechanical pulping. This group, with Lars Johansson as lead sci-entist, has particularly strong expertise within characterization, refining pro-cesses, chemical and mechanical wood pretreatment, as well as the relation-ships between fibre properties and paper properties. The research has resulted in a considerable knowledge base within new, cost-effective methods for produc-tion of mechanical pulp.

Further, the selection committee states that Lars Johansson has had a cen-tral role in the development of the ATMP-

With roots in the forest industry, it seems natural to start with wood fibers. What makes wood fibre or nanocel-lulose better than other materials? Is it its strength? Is it the shape? Is it the fact that it can adhere to other biobased materials? Or simply the fact that it is biobased? It soon becomes evident just how complex and elusive the subject is. Describing the benefits of a material’s properties without speaking about the context in which it will be used is a real challenge.

From here, it only feels like a small step to then ask designers which prop-erties the market demands. Surprising properties arouse curiosity. For example, paradoxical properties can be combined in a single material, such as soft and hard, metallic and white, or flexible and rigid. Or interactive properties that respond to a simple touch of the hand, heat, moisture or electrical signals in the material’s surroundings. It could also involve a new language of design, in which forms can be created from a mate-rial that were previously impossible. In order to find out what can be done with a material, sooner or later someone has to think about how it should be produced.

By the time of writing, new projects aiming at future paper products have just been granted funding by VINNOVA. More information about each project will be published on www.innventia.com.

Hybrid textilelike material direct from wood fibresInnventia is now launching a project, HybTex, which will lead to the produc-tion of a new hybrid textile-like mate-rial direct from wood fibre in paper machines. It will be possible to produce the material in large volumes for appli-cations such as home textiles and car interiors.

HybTex will use innovative process techniques such as stratified forming, foam moulding and Expancel technology which will enable producing materials with significantly better properties in the form of good flexibility, elasticity, pliability, porosity, etc., than today’s wet-laid nonwovens.

Accurate and fast control of the production processInnventia will bring together experts within paper and board production, measurement technology, analysis tech-niques and QCS in a preproject aim-ing at implementing high-resolution,

The Norwegian pulp and paper prize 2014 (Treforedlingsprisen 2014) has been awarded to Senior Research Scientist Lars Erik Johansson from PFI. He received the prize for his strong contributions as an internationally leading research scientist within mechanical pulping.

The Norwegian pulp and paper prize (Treforedlingsprisen) was established by the Norwegian Pulp and Paper Industry Federation in 1993, and is awarded annually.

Dr. Johansson received a PhD-degree within chemithermomechanical pulping at Chalmers University of Technology in 1998. Since then he has had positions at PFI as scientist, group leader and senior

Surely one would like to live in a future where we do not consume the earth’s finite resources? A sustainable future with biomass that changes its shape and form in different products. This would be fantastic and something I would be happy to leave behind for my children. But what would this future actually look like? What are the products and why would you want to buy biobased, except for the environmental reasons? This is something we have asked ourselves and will be examining, as we believe there are many possible answers.

By Hjalmar Granberg

When paper is more than just paper

New projects aiming at novel papermaking

The Norwegian pulp and paper prize 2014

Hjalmar GranbergSenior Research Associate, New Materials and FunctionsAsk me about: The different faces of celluloseHidden talent: Electric violin player

Varför är träfibern eller nanocellulosan bättre än andra material? Är det att den är stark? Är det dess form? Är det att den kan klistra på andra biobaserade material? Eller är det bara för att den är biobaserad? På Innventia har jag haft förmånen att arbeta med flera exempel på biobaserade material med gömda egenskaper; halvledande papper som material för att bygga solceller eller framtidens elektronik; en förpackning som öppnar sig själv i ugnen; en självkollapsande pappersförpackning som faller ihop när man tömmer innehållet. Inför det nya forskningsprogrammet har flera företag speciellt pekat ut FoU av nya material som en viktig väg för industrins överlevnad. Det ger mig gott hopp om framtiden.

“Surprising properties arouse curiosity”

apart when emptying the contents? Or a sustainable alternative to fast fashion that is made in a paper machine?

Ahead of the new research pro-gramme, a number of companies have singled out research and development of new materials as an important way to ensure the industry’s survival. This gives me great hope for the future.


Simon Kalicinski, KTH, has been awarded Best thesis 2014 by GL (Grafiska Leverantörsföreningen).

His master thesis The Effects of Dot Uniformity on Halftone Mottle in Flexographic Prints on Coated Board was conducted at Innventia and enabled through the cluster pro-jects Tools to Predict Flexographic Print Quality on Packaging (2012-2014) and Packaging Printability and Identification (2009-2011). The aim of this master thesis was to under-stand the underlying mechanisms for the occurrence of mottle in halftones.

According to GL’s motivation, Simon’s work highlights new oppor-tunities to define print quality and thus creates a solid foundation for further research.

Best thesis award

process (Advanced Thermomechanical Pulping), which PFI has developed together with Norske Skog and Andritz, partly funded by the Research Council of Norway. This process makes possible a radical reduction in energy consump-tion in production of mechanical pulp, combined with a brightness gain.


Beyond is published by INNVENTIA AB | Legally responsible for the publication: Birgitta Sundblad ([email protected]) Editor: Marianne Lockner ([email protected]) | ISSN: 1652-6503 | Print: SIB-Tryck, Norsborg

LignoBoost Demo AB www.innventia.com/lignoboost

Subsidiaries:

Innventia UK Ltd.www.innventia.com/edge

PFI ASwww.pfi.no

Member of the INNVENTIA group Boosting business with science

BHave you changed address?Let us know by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

CUSTOMER MAGAZINE INNVENTIA GROUP

INNVENTIA ABBox 5604, SE-114 86 Stockholm, SwedenPhone: +46 8 676 70 00, [email protected]

A core effort of the strategic research environment Bio4Energy is the development of genetic markers for properties of Norway spruce, to be used as tools in tree improvement. For this purpose, Innventia has analysed samples from 6,000 trees for a broad spectrum of traits and built a trait database.

Today, the tree breeders have to wait for many years before they can see if one type of plants is better than the others. With such knowledge generated in the Bio4Energy programme, it will become possible to foresee this already by analys-ing the genes of embryos of the breeds. This will accelerate tree improvement tremendously, especially for slow-grow-ing trees as ours, to meet demands of different types: From trees particularly suitable for new or traditional products to trees which are more resilient on cli-mate change.

One of the two fundaments of this work is the characterization of the traits for 6,000 spruce trees, sampled from experiments of Skogforsk. Innventia has characterized these samples on its SilviScan instrument for property vari-ations from pith to bark, evaluated the data for further information, structured and documented it all in a database together with background data on all trees from Skogforsk.

“We have now concluded our work with the building of the Trait Database. The database is unique regarding num-bers of trees and properties included, as well as regarding levels of detail covered and documentation,” says Sven-Olof Lundqvist.

The next step will be to apply associa-tion mapping for identification of co-var-iations among variations in traits and in genetic data. The results may be applied for property oriented early selection in tree improvement.

“During the build-up period of Bio4Energy, most of the effort at Innventia has been dedicated to build up of the collaboration and the extraor-dinary Trait Database. During a con-tinued Bio4Energy, we plan for several research projects based on these unique data, expansion of it with several more important properties and wider use of the joint knowledge and infrastructure now in place within further areas of Bio4Energy,” concludes Sven-Olof.


During the last year, a major expansion of the Trait Database has been prepared as a second phase. Existing samples and data will be utilized to complement it with information about radial variations also in chemical composition of the 6,000 trees, using a new instrument for imaging NIR at Innventia. The data on chemical composition will become important for bioenergy, biorefining and new products originating from wood.

Bio4Energy är ett strategiskt forskningsprogram för nya metoder, processer och produkter baserade på biomassa från skogen. Innventia har inom Bio4Energy byggt en unik egenskapsdatabas med information om tillväxt, ved och fibrer hos 6 000 granar. Proverna har karaktäriserats med Innventias SilviScaninstrument med avseende på variationer från märg till bark för ett brett spektrum av egenskaper. Under senaste året har en större utbyggnad av databasen förberetts. Bl.a. ska det nya instrumentet för avbildande NIR användas för information om radiella variationer även i den kemiska sammansättningen hos trädproven.


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Read more about the strategic research environment Bio4Energy at www.bio4energy.se

The Trait Database – a milestone reached in Bio4Energy The future begins with a

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