The 2014 Arne Asplund Mechanical Pulping Award has been granted to Professor Per Engstrand, at the Mid Sweden University. Engstrand has been active within the field of mechanical- and chemi-mechanical pulping throughout his professional career.
The Arne Asplund Award promotes the development of new technology for the manufacture of high-yield pulp. It is awarded to a person or persons in recognition of outstanding achievement in research and development of mechanical pulping technology.
Engstrand's early work focused on the influence of chemistry on fiber properties and energy consumption. The effort to reduce the specific energy demand has ever since been a theme in his research, a successful research approached from both academic and industrial viewpoints. Focus of the research has always been increasing understanding of the behavior of fibers in the refiner gap. Interaction with surrounding processes and the potential for system optimization are important parts of this research.
Engstrand graduated at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH Stockholm) in 1980 as a M.Sc. in chemical engineering and received his Licentiate of Engineering Degree in cellulose technology in 1984. He has served in various positions at the Swedish Forest Products Laboratory (currently Innventia), Holmen Braviken mill, Beloit Millpro Nordics/J&L Fiber Services Northern Europe, and Holmen Paper.
The award will be presented June 4 at the Finnish Paper Engineers' Association's (PI) 100th anniversary gala evening in association with the PulpPaper 2014 event and the International Mechanical Pulping Conference in Helsinki, Finland.
TAPPI
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