www.ptspaper.com

02/11

X Editorial: “Sustainability is more than a buzzword for HiPP“ X What innovative packaging does the market need? X Terahertz technology: Taking a deep look into thin layers X Systematic design and development of innovative products

I N N O V AT I O N F O R T H E V A LU E C H A I N O F P A P E R

A RESEARCH AREA WITH A FUTURE: METHODOLOGY DESIGN AND SIMULATIONAN INTERVIEW WITH DR-ING JAN MATHEAS

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER2 Y PTS NEWS 02/2011

“Sustainability” is of paramount importance today. The concept is embraced by many, but the pres­

ent economic course is far from being adequate to meet the demands of sus­tainable development because it fails to provide for the interests of future genera­tions. We are faced with serious climatic and energy problems today ­ experts pre­dict that the world’s oil supply will soon be exhausted, and too many people con­tinue to live in poverty. Companies are therefore increasingly required to rethink and radically change their strategies. The industry as a whole, but especially food producers will increasingly be judged on the sustainability of their actions.

Bio as a vision

Both in Germany and abroad, more and more people are asking themselves what companies can do to act sustainably, how they can save resources and produce valu­able foods. For more than five decades, HiPP has been standing for a highly con­

siderate and sensitive attitude towards na­ture, man and the industry. Sustainability has a long tradition at HiPP – we are im­plementing numerous measures to ensure healthy eating, protect the climate and environment, and improve the welfare of our employees. A recent survey of 2000 consumers has confirmed that HiPP is seen as the most sustainable company today. The consu­mers had been asked to compare 67 com­panies in terms of fairness, responsibil­ity and environmental compatibility. We were pleased to learn that many people appreciate our longstanding commitment in this area. When my father Georg Hipp began to grow fruits and vegetables on natural farmland and without chemicals in 1956, many people smiled at this first attempt to produce wholesome, organic baby food on an industrial scale. Convinced by the idea of organic farming originally devel­oped by Dr Hans Müller from Switzer­land, I converted our family farm to or­ganic farming. Often called the “pioneer

of organic farming“, I went from farm to farm to painstakingly convince the own­ers of the benefits of organic farming. Little by little, I managed to win them over to our idea and establish a network of organic contract farmers ­ a course that turned out to be consistent and viable. “Bio“ became the hallmark of HiPP long before it began to develop into a key mar­keting factor. The secret of our success is the high quality and safety standards I can personally vouch for. An important step in this direction was the consistent use of organically farmed raw materials – at a time when issues like healthy diet and the risks of contaminated foodstuffs were by far not as hot as they are today. HiPP has established a continuously audited procurement system for bio raw materi­als to ensure the compliance with its strict and clearly defined standards. Our qual­ity awareness is reflected by our precise farming and processing regulations. Quite often, our internal limit values are even stricter than the applicable statutory re­quirements.

EDITORIAL

“SUSTAINABILITY IS MORE THAN A BUZZWORD FOR HIPP“

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER PTS NEWS 02/2011 Y 3

Sustainability in the packaging sector

Sustainability is a big issue also in pack­aging, the most important aspect being the reduction of packaging materials to what is absolutely necessary. Pulp and paper producers must sanitise their pub­lic image because many people continue to have a rather bad idea of the sector: deforestation is seen as the first step of value creation there, the industry is asso­ciated with excessive water use and high energy consumption. Pulp and paper pro­ducers should remember their excellent traditions in the field of forestry, where it was customary more than 300 years ago to cut down only as many trees as could be grown again to ensure the wood supply of future generations. This could make the pulp and paper sector a model industry again because its products sa­tisfy all sustainability requirements – they are fibre­based, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. To make these changes, the sector must face many tasks and challenges, in particular reduce the wa­ter consumption and pollutant emission and improve the energy efficiency of its processes, and use renewable sources of energy.

Saving resources

Sustainability is no buzzword for HiPP – it has been one of our corporate aims for many years. Last year we made consid­erable headway with our sustainability management system – by systematizing it and launching many new projects. We are integrating sustainable principles into our management processes and overall value chain. This includes implementing quality, environmental and social man­agement systems at all levels of our own company as well as with our suppliers and growers. Moreover, we minimize the use of natur­al resources at our company, improve our energy efficiency continuously, and supply our electricity demand entirely by means of renewables. By changing over to renewable energy sources, HiPP achieved total annual savings of more than 12,000 tons CO2 in the past eight years. In the field of administration, we are saving resources as well: To protect the tropical rain forests, our administra­tion departments use eco­friendly recyc­ling and FSC papers only. For reasons of hygiene, we cannot use recycling paper for direct food contact, but we print all our product labels on FSC and recycling papers.

Sustainability is an important criterion for many consumers today. Hardly any­one was interested in issues like product origin, manufacturing method and pack­aging in the past, whereas ecologically and ethically “clean” goods are high in demand today. Developing a sustainable, environment­friendly industry is one of the causes any company willing to suc­ceed in future markets should champion. Corporate success and active protection of the environment are by no means in­compatible or mutually exclusive – on the contrary: they can spur each other on.

Starting on 1 January 2012 only those companies will be taken into consideration that can give evi­

dence of resource­intensive certification, either according to EMAS or the inter­national standard, DIN EN 16001 or ISO 50001. Complying with the deadline by 31 December 2011 will allow the Equali­zation Provisions to be used without this certification at least for the year 2012. This means that action has to be taken immediately.PTS provides support for companies with­in the framework of the VDP project by developing suitable approaches for deter­mining their heat requirements. In order to benefit from the “Special Equalization

Provisions”, it is absolutely necessary to obtain certification according to DIN EN 16001 or EMAS. This alone poses daunt­ing challenges for companies and incurs considerable costs. One of the key require­ments for certification is to determine and document previous and current en­ergy consumption (gas, electricity, steam) based on measurements/other data.. Even after the project has reached com­pletion, PTS shall continue to support companies in the paper industry within the scope of certifications in compiling their current energy consumption, in evaluating the possibilities for improv­ing energy efficiency, in generating the required list of potentials for economies

of scale and in monitoring their imple­mentation.

INTERIM AGREEMENT FOR POWER-INTENSIVE COMPANIES ENDS DECEMBER 2011

Daniela RömerProject Manager Ressources ManagementEnergy and Water 0049 89 12146-224 daniela.roemer@ptspaper.de

Prof. Dr. Claus Hipp is often re­ferred to as “Germany’s most re­markable entrepreneur“. He is a jurist and managing partner of the company HiPP GmbH & Co. Vertrieb KG, was appointed honorary consul of Georgia in 2008, and served as president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Munich and Upper Bavaria from 1998­2004. He served as vice president of the Federation of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce from 2001­2004 and has been honorary senator at IMADEC University in Vienna since 2004. Since 2001, he has been a full profes­sor at the National Arts Academy in Tbilisi, Georgia.

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER4 Y PTS NEWS 02/2011

Paper has been Europe’s most im­portant data medium since the Renaissance – as is evidenced by

the enormous variety of copies that can be found in libraries, archives and other collections. Besides the messages obvi­ously and deliberately conveyed by the texts and images, the paper itself also provides information about the nature of this material – an important source for scientists. Today’s paper markets are at least as highly competitive as during the Renaissance: The industry needs innova­tions in the fields of pulp and paper to offer entirely new or greatly improved product properties enabling it to succeed in the fierce competition with other ma­terials. However, there are many areas where scientists have not yet found suit­able starting points to achieve the desired end product characteristics by systematic raw material treatment and manufactur­ing. This is where simulation and model­ling come into play.

A highly committed scientist with concrete aims

Dr.­Ing. Jan Matheas, a civil engineer with a major in mechanics, joined PTS Heidenau in 2010 as a scientist working in the field of computational mechanics. He knows the advantages of this method­ology: “We simulate processes, material characteristics and product behaviour with the help of maximally consistent theories from the fields of continuum mechanics and physics, respectively, and increasingly in connection with natur­al fibre­microstructure models. This is a very broad, exciting and highly inno­vative field and a challenge I am facing every day” says Jan Matheas, who was born in Dresden 37 years ago. Informa­tion about certain end product charac­teristics was usually obtained by experi­ments, trying out new constellations and procedural steps in real systems. “There can be various reasons why such an ex­periment turns out to be too expensive or time­consuming or fails to bring the

desired success. One of them is that the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood in its complexity“, ex­plains Dr. Matheas. This task could be solved by realistic simulations based on a model which represents especially the material characteristics in a fully three­dimensional way and takes into account state­of­the­art technical conditions. “Simulations are also needed in cases where the process occurs so fast that measurements are hardly possible.” An extensively parameterised model would be highly suitable for experiments. It could save expensive instruments and trial time, and help to avoid the effects of disturbance variables encountered when experimenting in real systems. Another advantage was the possibility to describe the characteristics of materials originally developed for other purposes in such a way that they can be used for new ap­plications – without having to build and test product prototypes. “This approach has numerous advantages and I am true­ly fascinated by it“, the PTS scientist ad­mits. Jan Matheas is a multi­talented scientist with material­scientific background and a great addition to the PTS team. After finishing his comprehensive education and graduating from Dresden’s Nexö grammar school specialising in mathe­matics, sciences and technology, he took his A­levels at the Kreuzschule grammar school in Dresden in 1992 and studied civil engineering with a major in me­chanics at the town’s technical univer­sity. After writing his diploma thesis on a subject from the field of construction engineering and structural mechanics in 1998, he worked as scientific assistant in the mechanical engineering team of the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology, and then in the field of civil engineering at the Institute of Mechanics and Shell Structures. He ob­tained his doctorate in 2006 and worked as lecturer for engineering mechanics at Dresden University of Applied Sciences until 2008. Before joining PTS Heidenau,

he worked as material scientist at the In­stitute for Structural Steel and Wood En­gineering of TU Dresden, and then at the Dresden branch of the Fraunhofer Insti­tute for Non­Destructive Testing. These impressive stages of his scientific career have certainly had a formative influence on his personality, and are highly advan­tageous in his current position. “The most challenging task at PTS is the design of application­oriented simulation tools by means of models that require extensive physical­mathematical charac­terisation and must often be validated by special experiments. This calls for a lot of fundamental research. Our primary intent is not the mere replacement of ex­periments“, says Jan Matheas. By calcu­lating the relationships between load and deformation, they were able to study an ideal experiment in slow motion, if nec­essary, to obtain much more information than by a real experiment – “for example all numerical values or velocity­depen­dent characteristics pertaining to the pa­rameters of so­called homogenised mate­rial models.” This would be unthinkable if they used practical experiments.

Applications and industrial co-operative research

“We are able to quantitatively simulate individual standard tests. This serves primarily to improve the mechanical models of paper microstructures, one of the main aims of our research co­oper­ation with other institutes in the scope of national and European research pro­grammes. The model provides the basis for the calculation of trends describing changes in mechanical paper qualities that result from basic property modifica­tions of fibres and fibre bonds – for ex­ample by changing the fibrous material, fibre length, orientational distribution or by using further additives.” The aim was to develop a micro­technology for mate­rial design making it possible to system­atically obtain products with pre­defined characteristics from paper and natural

A RESEARCH AREA WITH A FUTURE: METHODOLOGY DESIGN AND SIMULATIONAN INTERVIEW WITH DR-ING JAN MATHEAS

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER PTS NEWS 02/2011 Y 5

fibres. “Our investigations focus on the optimisation of elasto­mechanic proper­ties, the strength improvement of papers to be used as load­bearing structures, the control of swelling strains during printing or moistening, and the control of printing ink penetration through capillary flow simulation.” The measurement of single fibre properties was of elementary impor­tance to physical modelling – “and the importance of this task is equalled by the difficulties it involves“, says the scientist. Effective measurement technologies have yet to be developed in most cases. Deter­mining the geometry of fibre networks, especially in sections of the end product, is another challenging task that can be solved by means of various approaches. “These two issues are at the forefront of national and European interdisciplinary research projects PTS is involved in“. Most of these projects are carried out un­der the umbrella of the German Federa­tion of Industrial Co­operative Research Associations with the help of a project support committee. The latter meets twice a year to discuss fundamental re­search results relevant to the industry as a whole. This is one of the reasons why Jan Matheas sets great store by keeping in touch with his fellow scientists.

Willing to embark on new ventures

His family allows Jan Matheas to find a balance with his professional research work: Being a proud father of the three­year old Selma, he loves spending time with his daughter. “My wife Nicole is a graduate hydrologist who works for the Saxon State Administration in Dres­den. She really understands my work as a scientist”, he answers the question about his wife. They both like travelling, sports, are passionate dancers (“Latin­

American and standard dances, if we can find the time“). Natural fibres are a topic that fascinates Jan Matheas also in his spare time. “I am a passionate botanist who likes his garden in its natural state; I have already grafted cherry trees, grown grapes for wine and pressed my own cider“, he adds.

Students from the fields of mechanics, mechanical engineer­ing, civil engineering and physics are invited to write their diploma or master’s theses in the field of methodology design and simulation at PTS Heidenau. Possible tasks include the development of algorithms for digital geometrisation, identi­fying the parameters required for this, and linking them ­ by

means of models ­ with the fibre, suspension, structural or product characteristics that are commonly used and mea sured in the paper industry. The envisaged duration is between three and six months, starting dates can be agreed on. Please contact Dr Matheas if you are interested in writing your thesis at PTS.

Dr. Jan Matheas 0049 3529 693 jan.matheas@ptspaper.de

Diploma and master’s theses

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER6 Y PTS NEWS 02/2011

The computer­assisted prediction of material properties opens up new possibilities for quickly, accurately

and economically designing paper­based products. Simulating the behaviour of natural fibre materials under mechani­cal load requires an in­depth knowledge concerning the characteristics of the indi­vidual fibres. This applies in particular to the morphology, location in the network, strength and stiffness values and the prop­erties at the inter­fibre contact sites. This geometrical information can be used, first of all, to faithfully reproduce the material structure of the paper by paper­controlled numerical generation. Fig. 1a shows such a numerically created paper fibre net­work. It facilitates modelling in various physical fields, e.g. optics and continuum mechanics, including fluid mechanics.Depending on the objectives desired from the simulation, idealisations have to be made that lead to abstracted models in a second step. Fig. 1b illustrates such

a mechanical model that results from the fibre network shown in Fig. 1a and the information regarding stiffness and strength values. The centre line of the fibre is brown and the inter­fibre bonds are shown in blue. This model of the ma­terial takes in particular the viscoplastic behaviour and failure of the material into consideration.The stress­strain relationships of this rep­resentative voxel, for instance, can be determined numerically in a third step under normal and thrust loads in all spa­tial directions based on several stochastic realisations in each case. The resultant material characteristics can then be used to describe an entirely three­dimensional orthotropic material law which in turn can be employed directly to simulate the mechanical behaviour of products.As an example of the large number of simulations required, reference is made here to the normal tensile loading in the x direction (machine direction) at a

stretching rate of 0.01/s and an achieved elongation of 2.0%, i.e. immediately prior to complete failure, as only one of many required stochastic realisations. Fig. 1c) shows the distribution of the forces oc­curring in the longitudinal direction of the fibres with high longitudinal tensile forces (orange to red) in fibres that form an acute angle with the x axis and high longitudinal pressure forces (light blue to blue) in fibres which form an obtuse angle with the x axis. Fig. 1d) shows the distribution of tensile and pressure forces occurring in the fibre bonds. It should be noted that the forces calculated for the fi­bre bonds cannot be interpreted directly as contact forces. Conclusions about the bonding forces can only be drawn by making an in­depth two­fibre contact model, preferably with cross­linking of the fibre walls by shell elements. The geometrical and mechanical models are being further developed in a variety of research projects at PTS in Heidenau.

TENSILE TESTING: NUMERICAL SIMULATION PROVIDES MORE THAN THE LAB DOESMATHEAS, J.; ERDT, M.; ALTMANN, S.

Fig 1 a) Numerically created paper fibre network on a surface of 1 mm² with a height of 0.09 mm and a consistency of 0.6 g/cm³; b) Mechanical model of the same fibre network; brown: centre line of the fibres; blue: idealised fibre bonds; c) Longitudinal fibre forces in N when the network is stretched by 2% along the X axis corresponding to the tensile test; red: tension; blue: pressure d) Bonding forces of the idealised fibre bonds in N when the network is stretched by 2% along the X axis corresponding to c.

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER PTS NEWS 02/2011 Y 7

RESEARCH FORUM “MODELLING AND PROGNOSIS OF PROPERTIES OF FIBRE-BASED PRODUCTS”This Research Forum has taken place half­yearly in Heidenau since the autumn of 2008. The thematic focus is on the meth odical principles for modelling fibre structures. Special interest is devoted to a mastery of the multi­scale transition of the description of single fibres and fibre structures at the microscopic level to the resulting macroscopic product properties. This thematic priority, however, is also accompanied by a discussion of concepts and tools which can serve to scale up the methods to industrial application.Forum members are representatives of leading research institutions and the in­dustry that deal with the modelling and simulation in the areas of paper, paper­board, wood and (composite) fibre pulps. The Forum offers science and industry a discussion platform for an open, cross­sector exchange of experience derived from the results of research and for discus­sions on the need for research. This shall serve as the basis on which to solve mod­elling and simulation tasks in joint R&D projects. In addition, the Forum also lays the foundations for transferring the results of basic research to industrial scale­up via industry­oriented research.At the most recent meeting in April 2011, there was a discussion in particular of ideas for joint projects on the theme of “Generic description of microstructure”. The objective is to develop a central de­scription of the structure of fibre­based materials on the basis of which modelling tools, both existing ones and new ones to be developed, can be utilised and made available for potential applications. The research theme is to be managed in co­operation projects. At present, agreement is being reached on the future project partners in order to be able to submit joint project applications if possible by end of year. We would be pleased to welcome the in­terest of additional research institutions and companies to promote the exchange of experience.

Research Forum members:Stora Enso Research, Voith Papier GmbH, Ruhr Universität Bochum, Fraunhofer ITWM Kaiserslautern, Fraunhofer Wil­

helm­Klauditz­Institut (WKI) Braun­schweig, Heimbach GmbH & Co. KG, Hochschule Niederrhein Krefeld ­ IMH, IHD Dresden, Lorentzen & Wettre, MANN+HUMMEL, Siemens AG, TU Darmstadt, TU Dortmund, TU Dresden, TU Graz, TU Magdeburg, TU Wien, Uni Freiberg, University of Hamburg, Univer­sity of Ulm, PTS

Opinions about the Forum:„In the past few years, much progress has been achieved in the computer­assisted modelling of paper and paperboard, e.g. in the modelling of the optical proper­ties of paper, the mechanics of paper and flow behaviour. The approaches that are used normally differ so much that models created for one area cannot necessarily be used in another area. Complex require­ment situations in which several of these areas interact with one another cannot be managed using these models. Another factor that plays an important role is the fact that, depending on the approach and field of application, the smallest elements used in the model can exhibit entirely dif­ferent dimensions.Thanks to the scientific and industrial cross­sector composition of the Research Forum Modelling, it was possible to ad­dress completely different points of view and applications of modeling and to test a number of areas of work as to their feas ibility. The resulting Forum empha­ses “Combination of models” and “Multi­scale Transition” are scientifically sophis­ticated and industrially relevant areas of work.Robust modelling methods for complex

paper and board use are an essential tool in the development of innovative and cus­tomer­oriented products and the resource­efficient and cost­effective production as­sociated with them. Stora Enso hope that the Forum Modelling will provide crucial impulses in the development and use of such methods.“

„Microstructure­based modelling and sim­ulation of paper and related fibre materi­als is the key to making better products with reduced use of material and at lower production costs. Of great benefit for this issue is the discussion podium between all involved stakeholders from research and development such as the one the Research Forum offers. The Forum assists us as a research institute particularly in develop­ing our simulation tools by enabling us to prepare and take into consideration much more quickly the most recent results of basic research as well as the goal­oriented requirements from industry.“

Dr. rer. nat. Frank W. a CampoResearch Advisor, Stora Enso Research Mönchengladbach

Dr. Heiko AndräOutside lecturer, Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM)

Sven AltmannHead of forum 0049 3529 551-634 sven.altmann@ptspaper.de

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER8 Y PTS NEWS 02/2011

What makes a good PhD stu­dent? Apart from intelligence and talent, it takes close

contacts with a renowned research insti­tute, experienced tutors and colleagues, organizational skills and ability to work in a team, strong motivation, discipline and – above all – enough time. Especial­ly time is something she would like to have more of, says the 27 year­old PhD student: “You need a lot of patience and perseverance to accomplish the relatively complex tasks assigned to PhD students“. The participation in national and Europe­an projects involving partners from many countries enables PhD students to gain vast experience and establish useful con­tacts. “Moreover, I really enjoy working in a team with experienced colleagues“. Having passed her final exams as an en­gineering graduate in graphic technology at the University of Zagreb with distinc­tion in July 2009, she feels that she has gained a lot from her study, “I really liked the well­balanced mixture of technology and design“. While being still a student, she had applied for a traineeship at the Croatian Graphical Institute and won a scholarship from the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports in 2006. In 2008 she gained yet another scholarship for a summer language course in Regens­burg, where she learned German as her second foreign language besides English. “This prompted me to apply for a diploma thesis abroad. The diploma thesis I was assigned at PTS in Heidenau fulfilled two of my wishes – a great subject and ample opportunity to improve my German“, she says with a smile. Supervised by Dr. Rainer Klein, her tutor, she wrote about “Optical topography measurements and their suit­ability for assessing the surface structure of paper“. She still gets enthusiastic about the technical facilities and great scientific competence she has found at PTS, and real ly enjoys the lively exchanges with her young colleagues. They were a really good team and got together sometimes even af­ter office hours, she adds.

The young woman is really fascinated by the topic of surface analysis, and has found excellent working conditions at PTS. While writing her diploma thesis, she thought about doing her doctorate with Professor Harald Großmann of the Chair of Paper Technology and at PTS. I´m glad of the opportunity to do my research on both TU Dresden and PTS. She began to work as scientific assistant at PTS in August 2009; since November 2009 she is also member of the scientific staff of Dresden Technical University (Fac­ulty of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Wood and Paper Technology). Further­more, she gives lectures on “printing and reproduction technology” at Professor Großmann’s Chair of Paper Technology. “I love working with students and do my very best to get them interested in printing and media technologies“. In her doctoral thesis she investigates the paper influence on dot gain in offset print­ing. Print products are becoming increas­ingly important as information carriers – an excellent reproduction of the original is therefore crucial especially in the case

of high­quality print products. Printing processes have been continuously opti­mized in recent years, but demands on the printability of paper have increased as well during that time. “The aim of each printing process is to manufacture print products that are true to the original in an economically efficient way. The influence of paper on the product quality and pro­cess efficiency of printing is considerable. The dot gain or tone value increase, i.e. ratio between the tone values of the final product and original, are playing a major role here“, says Martina Miletić. Part of her doctoral thesis is the development of a method to distinguish between mechani­cal and optical dot gains. By means of this method, it will be possible to identify the paper characteristics relevant to dot gain, which can then be used to predict the phenomenon. She plans to finish her doc­toral thesis in 2013, but knows that “there is still plenty of work to do“, which she is going to tackle with great commitment and enthusiasm.

”IT’S THE MIXTURE THAT MATTERS!“PHD STUDENT MARTINA MILETIĆĆDOES RESEARCH AT PTS HEIDENAU AND DRESDEN

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

PhD student Martina Miletić with Dr. Rainer Klein from PTS

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER PTS NEWS 02/2011 Y 9

I n the spring of 2011 and on behalf of PTS, Maass Consult conducted opinion polls of advertising and de­

sign agencies regarding developments, expectations and wishes in the field of in­novative packaging. This survey focused on the top agencies for packaging design and advertising in Germany.In its capacity as the research and develop­ment centre of the paper and packaging industry, PTS develops customised solu­tions for innovative packaging, among other things, and continuously monitors the pulse of market requirements and technology trends by means of selective interviews in order to incorporate these factors into the develop ment process.One aspect of the survey dealt with find­ing out the extent to which agencies have any interest in developing, recommend­ing and using new sustainable materials and packaging with additional functions for their customers. The agencies were also asked which functions products should have to make novel, innovative packaging even more attractive for the ultimate consumer.The responders deemed the ten packag­ing requirements listed below to be par­ticularly important:• Sustainability due to the use of regen­

erative materials• Easy handling from storage of the

packaging, to opening it and then to ultimate disposal

• “Vanish into thin air”, easy composta­bility and recycling

• High­quality handfeel of the packag­

ing (premium, wellness, trust) and optical durability

• Catching the eye, perception and rec­ognition of the packaging with all senses

• Standard functions of packaging such as protection of contents, for example, due to strength and stability

• Additional functions of packaging such as special effects, e.g. cool touch or indicator functions for product palatability and cooling or warming of contents depending on conditions (e.g. a bar of chocolate cooled by the packaging)

• Smart functions that make it possible for the packaging to adapt to regional or environmental requirements such as glowing or blinking if the shelf is dark

• Selectively controllable perception due to design and material such as premium, sustainable, authentic, in­novative

• Easy upgradability and good printabil­ity

• Flexible and individual design optionsDevelopments are based on sustainable raw materials provided by special pro­cessing procedures with additional func­tions such as cool touch, antiseptic bar­riers, special effects, indicators or special surface properties.Another focus is the use of novel materi­als such as ceramic or metal­like papers or even the use of residual substances such as those that are left over from food manufacture, for instance.

WHAT INNOVATIVE PACKAGING DOES THE MARKET NEED?

John SchulzDivision Manager Surfaces 0049 89 12146-181 john.schulz@ptspaper.de

In the course of globalisation and chang­ing consumer behaviour in the southern regions, the self­induced cooling of food and beverages has true added value: the products last longer and taste better. As protection against drinking beverages that only develop their full aroma and flavour at a certain temperature, PTS is currently working on solutions which indicate to the consumer whether or not the beverages are fit to drink. In the long term, this will bring about greater satis­faction on the part of consumers and will induce them to purchase these items again.PTS sees itself in these developments as the co­operation partner of paper and packaging manufacturers, whilst at the same time acting as a contact for agen­cies and firms requiring special solutions based on sustainable raw materials for their product packaging needs.

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER10 Y PTS NEWS 02/2011

successfully being used within the scope of various research and industrial pro­jects aimed at characterising raw materi­als and products as well as the barrier effect of films and coatings.It is planned in future to incorporate standardised procedures for measur­ing critical substances such as phtha­lates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), disopropylnaphthalene (DIPN), benzo­phenones and volatile organic com­pounds (VOCs) into the analytical port­folio.

Since the discovery that mineral oils from secondary fibre packaging pa­per and board can be transferred

to food, this issue has been discussed in detail among experts, particularly since health hazards have been attributed to some components contained in mineral oil. It is likely that limits for the content of mineral oil in foods will soon be laid down in the revision of the German Foods and Commodities Ordinance planned by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). The determination of the content of mineral oils in packaging materials and especially their migration capability will thus gain special importance.To be ready to meet future demands, PTS has expanded its analytical poten­tial by purchasing a gas chromatograph equipped with a gas chromatography­mass spectroscopy (GC­MS) thanks to the generous funding by the Federal Min­istry of Economics and Technology.Currently, there is no standardised proce­dure for measuring mineral oil content. PTS is following the online method de­veloped by the Zurich Canton Laboratory that is designed to detect the aliphatic and

MINERAL OIL ANALYSIS – WHAT SERVICES CAN PTS OFFER?

aromatic components (MOSH, MOAH). Work is in progress on standardising the methodology in co­operation with other analytical laboratories in the sector.In addition to the mineral oil content in raw materials and products, the assess­ment of the migration of mineral oils out of the packaging is particularly im­portant. Corresponding methods for de­termining the barrier properties of films, coatings and pigment coating layers us­ing model substances and measuring technical products are currently in the optimisation phase. Both methods are to be submitted for accreditation.At the moment, the PTS analytical ser­vices spectrum includes the following determinations:• the mineral oil content in paper and

board• the migration of mineral oils out of

paper and board into food simulants (Tenax)

• the barrier properties of films and pig­ment coatings (both for mineral oil model substances as well as for min­eral oils from technical products).

At present, these methods are already

Dr. Rainer SpörlProject Manager - Environmentally compatible & sustainable product design 0049 3529 551-642 rainer.spoerl@ptspaper.de

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER PTS NEWS 02/2011 Y 11

The fact that terahertz wavelengths penetrate dry materials such as textiles effortlessly and can ren­

der underlying metal parts and some chemicals visible has only recently been put into practice in security technol­ogy. The moment a terahertz impulse moves through a fabric, paper or plastic film suffices to derive the thickness of the entire material as well as the thick­ness of individual layers in composites. What is measured and evaluated is simply the fact that the terahertz pulse passes through paper more slowly than through air and, while doing so, is also reflected by the boundary layers so that tiny echoes are produced. Since these de­lays can be measured with a high degree of accuracy and the evaluation is based solely on the speed of light, the material thickness of paper and similar materials can be determined in absolute terms and with an accuracy of a few micrometres. The thickness of the material may vary between approx. 30 microns and 2 mm. If it is possible to do without an absolute thickness determination in favour of a relative measurement, it is even possible

to obtain findings above and below the range mentioned. Generally speaking, this technology can be used to determine thicknesses of ma­terial layers whose index of refraction differs significantly from that of the envi­ronment (air, other layers). This applies especially to interfaces such as paper/air, coating/paper and plastic/air. At a wave­length of 0.1 to 1mm, the dimensions of individual fibres do not play a major part and in the case of measurement areas only a few millimetres in diameter, even felts and tissue products lend them­selves well to analysis. A variety of non­destructive tasks have been successfully examined on a laboratory scale in this way, tasks that would otherwise have been impossible to carry out or could only have been conducted in a very re­stricted manner. Some examples include the measurement of overall layers and in­dividual layers in composites which may also be located inside the composite (e.g. coatings and adhesives layers) as well as material defects such as air inclusions due to delamination.At present, this technology is being devel­

oped as an on­line application. The terahertz technology of­fers important prerequisites for this purpose. One of them is the rapidity of measurement. The objects to be measured are exposed to the terahertz impulses only for a few pico­seconds, for ex­ample. Put simp­ly, the world around the measurement setup stands still. Even the fastest paper

machine only moves the paper a few mil­lionths of a millimetre in a picosecond. Thousandfold measurement repetition and other device properties as well as mathematical processing and evaluation make it possible to determine accurate measurement values on a sub­second scale using modern systems. If the dis­tance between transmitter and receiver can be successfully held constant for a longer period of time, a terahertz meas­uring unit could carry out thickness measure ments virtually without a refer­ence measurement and practically with­out calibration standards. Even the high humidity so typical of paper mills does not appear to be a disadvantage for the short paths that amount to only a few centimetres. On the other hand, the tech­nology is extremely sensitive to water in a paper web so that it is likely that thick­ness measurements of the paper webs will not be possible until after the drying section.PTS has the possibility to cooperate with the University of Marburg in a research project to explore both the opportuni­ties and the limitations of the terahertz technology regarding time­dependent measurements in applications with web­shaped materials. The findings are to be exploited in future studies as new pos­sibilities for the quality control of com­posite materials in the production pro­cess and subsequently put into practice on the application­oriented scale, e.g. on the PTS pilot paper machine or on the VESTRA pilot coater.

TERAHERTZ TECHNOLOGY: TAKING A DEEP LOOK INTO THIN LAYERSA NEW PROCEDURE MAKES NON-CONTACT THICKNESS DETERMINATION POSSIBLE ON

SINGLE- AND MULTI-LAYER SYSTEMS

60

62

64

66

68

70

72

74

76

78

Thickness [µm]

Measuringzone

Dr. Patrick PlewProject Manager Methodology · Sensorics 0049 3529 551-666 patrick.plew@ptspaper.de

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER12 Y PTS NEWS 02/2011

Environmental management sys­tems, eco­labels and environmen­tal indicators are today an integral

part and an indispensible feature of sus­tainable system management and pro­duction. Nowadays, it is hard to imagine customer and consumer communication without it. Such indicators are normally very high­profile public relations efforts, although the underlying relationships are rather complex and are usually quite impenetrable for the layman. The Water Footprint (WF) is likely to establish itself sooner or later as the latest brainchild in this series of indicators. The steady rise in the number of partners in the Water Footprint Network (WFN) can be regard­ed as an indication of the acceptance it is enjoying. The WFN can currently boast 153 firms, institutes, associations, etc. in­cluding six members from the pulp and paper sector.Similar to life cycle assessment, the WF is designed to follow the entire lifetime of a product. It is also possible to restrict it to one process stage, e.g. papermak­ing. When calculating the WF, one must stipulate whether the preliminary stages are being factored into the equation in the form of indirect WF or whether only the direct WF itself is being calculated. Irrespective of whether the direct or in­direct WF is being calculated, the respec­tive green (rain/precipitation), blue (sur­face and ground water) and grey (waste water) percentages must be calculated separ ately (refer to the diagram).A second draft of ISO 14046 “Water Foot­print – Requirements and Guidelines” has existed since the end of last year and could well be finalised in the third quarter of 2011. As far as the WF of prod­ucts, processes and organisations is con­cerned, ISO 14046 will probably reflect

ISO 14044 “Life cycle assessment”. In addition, elements taken from ISO 14064 “Greenhouse gas emissions” will also be incorporated into it.In the meantime, the WFN has adjusted the methods for calculating the WF of paper and pulp products to the boundary conditions of our sector. However, they are based on a number of simplifications and assumptions that first have to be ex­amined critically. In particular the grey WF percentage in the direct WF of paper­making apparently ruins the efforts the German paper industry has made regard­

Dr. Hans-Jürgen ÖllerProject Manager - Environmentally compatible & sustainable product design 0049 89 12146-465 hans-juergen.oeller@ptspaper.de

Treegrowth

Pulpproduction

Paperproduction

directWF

directWF

indirectWF*

indirectWF*

directWF

* Other input values are to be taken into account, e.g. chemical additives�** Height of columns merely for illustrative purposes, they represent no real figures

**

ing the effluent qualities already achieved.PTS is thoroughly familiar both with the WF concept as well as with the calcula­tion basis and is pleased to provide sup­port during the initial attempts in calcu­lating the Water Footprints of paper and paperboard products. We are of the opin­ion that, despite all the still unresolved is­sues, the WF calculation basis is currently perfected enough to allow for location­re­lated comparisons of different paper and paperboard products for the purposes of an “internal” benchmarking.

WATER FOOTPRINT -

CURRENT STATE-OF-THE-

ART AND OUTLOOK

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER PTS NEWS 02/2011 Y 13

Open Innovation means opening up the innovative process of or­ganisations and thus the active

strategic utilisation of the outside world to boost innovation potential – that is the way the German Wikipedia defines the strategic approach to generating in­novation. The goal of Open Innovation is to optimise the innovation process. Gassmann and Enkel (2006) suggested that a company must have the ability to internalise external knowledge and/or to externalise internal knowledge.For the past two years, PTS has been ac­tively and successfully participating as a solution provider in the NineSigma Open Innovation Platform. By virtue of its in­dependence and the excellent network in the entire paper value added, PTS is sought­after liaison for paper technology. Interdisciplinary applications of paper composite materials, e.g. in combination with innovative materials, necessitate ex­haustive development work prior to tech­nical realisation and industrial scale­up. With its laboratory­ and pilot­scale pilot plants, PTS is in a position to offer impor­tant perspectives. The following example explains how this interesting platform actually works:1. An anonymous company or insti­

tute defines a need for research or knowledge and is thus looking for a solution, a development partner or a development provider. This search begins with a “request for proposal” (RFP).

2. An innovation platform such as Nine Sigma, for instance, distributes this RFP globally in the network (e.g. 10,000 potential solution providers from a network of two million solu­tion providers).

3. Potential solution providers describe possible approaches to solutions (non­confidential contents) including a provisional budget in the form of a two­page proposal.

4. During the application phase, a de­cision is taken as to which solution provider(s) will be awarded the con­tract. This is followed by scheduling dates, confidentiality agreements, co­operation contracts and usually mile­stone­related work packages.

PTS sees a number of advantages in using such platforms:• A concrete demand exists in the in­

dustry• Completely new and unusual ideas,

innovations or projects can be put into practice with little acquisition ex­penditure

• It is possible to reach new and in some cases international customers normal­ly at the end of the value added chain

• Raise the level of awareness• The financial budget has already been

allocated• Long­term and in­depth co­operation

with interesting companies• Strengthening of PTS as the link be­

tween users, papermakers and con­verters

Christoph SorgProject Manager Functionalized Products 0049 89 12146-175 christoph.sorg@ptspaper.de

In its capacity as a solution provider in Open Innovation, PTS has successfully prevailed over global competition in five instances. For example, an innovative pa­per was developed with resistance to very high temperatures that has already been industrially manufactured and converted. Another more recent project deals with re­sidual material utilisation in the context of “sustainable packaging materials”.

OPEN INNOVATION FOR THE “PAPER” ADDED VALUE CHAIN: SUCCESSFUL SINCE 2009

Dr. Andreas HofenauerHead of Depart. Functionalized Products 0049 89 12146-531 andreas.hofenauer@ptspaper.de

INNOVATION FOR THE VALUE CHAIN OF PAPER14 Y PTS NEWS 02/2011

Graphic mass­produced grades are experiencing ever greater price pressure as a result of overcapa­

cities and competition from the electronic media. In order to be economically suc­cessful in this market in the long term, there is a continuous need for new pa­per products, especially specialty paper. Product innovation is therefore a core ac­tivity of research and development.

The paper principle – the advantages of a composite material

One approach to innovation can be to take a closer look at what is already known. The principle of papermaking has long been known. However, regarding paper as a high­performance material from the materials science way of looking at things is the new frontier that PTS is hoping to breach. From the materials science point of view, papermaking is regarded as an efficient wet laid process. Web­shaped in­termediate products are produced thanks to the enormous bonding forces that form between the pulp fibres during the drying process. The wet laid process provides an ideal possibility for continuously manu­facturing flat composites from natural fibre materials, synthetic fibres, fillers, binders and resins. The special advantage is that the properties of the individual components can be synergetically com­bined to thus complement one another. It is thus possible for a composite to feature a combination of properties that the pure substances themselves cannot achieve. The properties can be selectively com­

bined together in the composite much like a system of building blocks. Paper tech­nology features multiply structure, anoth­er very efficient possibility of structuring material properties.

User-oriented product development

The development of new products utilising paper technology provides an opportunity to press ahead with innovations based on a user­oriented approach, ranging from the improvement and modification of existing paper products to the genera­tion of entirely new fields of application for paper as a material. A few examples of such innovations include sinter metal­lurgy, technical ceramics, foundry tech­nology or air conditioning engineering. PTS works together with potential users in this context, leading the user through the different stages of product develop­ment from the laboratory to the pilot scale and ultimately to scale­up for industrial production according to a step­by­step plan (refer to the figure). If the success of a product development can be seen to be emerging, PTS will act as a mediator in finding a suitable paper manufacturer ca­pable of scaling up the development to the industrial scale. The requisite knowledge base for new product developments can be made economically attractive by using public research projects within the scope of industrial co­operative research (IGF). Concrete product developments then build on this precompetitive knowledge base. In this connection, small and medi­um sized enterprises also have an oppor­

tunity to obtain financial funding within the framework of the Central Innovation Programme for Small­ and Medium­sized Companies (ZIM) sponsored by the Feder­al Ministry of Economics and Technology.PTS is scheduling a workshop on this interesting theme entitled “Strategies for New Products” on 8th December 2011. For further information, please refer to our website www.ptspaper.de/seminars.html.

SYSTEMATIC DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS

Dr. Andreas HofenauerHead of Depart. Functionalized Products 0049 89 12146-531 andreas.hofenauer@ptspaper.de

Concept phase Development phase Implementation

Step D:Transfer toindustrial

scale

Step E:Productlaunch

Basic structure of product development

Customer PTS Customer + PTS

Concrete product idea

customerobjective

Step A:Pre-tests onfeasibility

Step B:Basic develop-

ment paperlaboratory

Step C:Transfer topilot scale

Christoph SorgProject Manager Functionalized Products 0049 89 12146-175 christoph.sorg@ptspaper.de

www.ptspaper.dePapiertechnische StiftungHess-Strasse 134 · 80797 München · Phone +49 (0)89-12146-0 · Telefax +49 (0)89-12146-36 Pirnaer Strasse 37 · 01809 Heidenau · Phone +49 (0)3529-551-60 · Telefax +49 (0)3529-551-899PTS-News is published by Papiertechnischen Stiftung · ISSN 1434-7172Editorial staff: Erwin Polmann (erwin.polmann@ptspaper.de) · Petra Preis (petra.preis@t-online.de)