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With support from the UW-Stevens Point College of Natural Resources & College of Letters and Science
Sustainability News
March 2013
In This Issue
New art paper on market
Value in paper mill waste
Student research
Plan to attend WIST courses
Giving to WIST
Research, Education, and Laboratory Services
 

pilot paper machine 

 

 

 

WIST provides laboratory services, research and education to create sustainability solutions for businesses and organizations. Technology and ideas developed by WIST and its partners will spur economic growth in Wisconsin and the region and help all of us preserve a healthy environment for future generations.


Follow-up Links

 

Annual Report October 2012 

 

 
TopGreetings!

I'm typically focused on science and technology, so I enjoyed a bit of a change of a pace in the past few weeks: art.

 

Or, more specifically -- art paper. WIST has been working closely with faculty and students in the Department of Art & Design to introduce this new product, which you can read about below. Of course, the art paper discussion included another WIST emphasis, developing economic opportunities, especially through collaborative work.

 

You can jump to any of the stories in this issue using the index links at left, or simply scroll down to read them.

 

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

 

Paul Fowler

Executive Director

WIST introducing new
art paper to market
Art students gather paper from trial run on pilot machine.
Art students gather paper from a trial run on the pilot paper machine.
 A little over a year ago, we wrote about a unique collaboration underway at UW-Stevens Point to develop an economical, archival-quality art paper for use by the university's Department of Art & Design. The paper had to be versatile enough for use in a range of printmaking and drawing applications.
  

WIST and the Department of Paper Science & Engineering made a series of trial runs on the university's pilot paper machine and in May 2012 produced a 100 percent cotton paper with the qualities sought by art & design. Since then, students and faculty in visual arts have used the paper in all sorts of projects and have been very happy with its performance.

 

In fact, the collaboration has been so successful we've decided to introduce the paper to the market. We're calling it RiverPoint art paper - a name coined by the Design Center in the Department of Art and Design, which also put together marketing packets for the new paper. Paper sales will support research and education at UW-Stevens Point.

RiverPoint On March 22, students from PS&E and Art & Design will host a booth at the 2013 Southern Graphics Council International Conference in Milwaukee. They'll be giving away RiverPoint paper samples and displaying art work created on the paper by UW-Stevens Point students and faculty.

 

To learn more about RiverPoint paper and to access an order form click here.

  
Paper mill waste being
analyzed for economic opportunities

A paper mill in the western U.S. has contracted with WIST to analyze its waste streams to determine potential to create fermentable sugars to make biofuels or valuable industrial chemicals such as isoprene or bioplastics.

 

The work is a natural next step in WIST's biofuels research, which has focused on cellulosic sources for renewable fuels.

 

"Mills are currently throwing away significant value and one of the solutions at WIST is to find that value and recover it," said Eric Singsaas, WIST director of research. WIST's goal is to help a paper mill to engineer a biofuel production unit to co-locate in its mill.

 

Singsaas and Justin Hall, WIST instrumentation specialist, will evaluate the mill's waste flows and their composition, particularly the amount of recoverable cellulose that can be converted to sugar.

 

WIST scientists can work with paper and pulp mills seeking to gain new revenue and reduce disposal costs through recovery of waste-stream products. For more information on WIST's biofuels work, including its patented process for biomass separation, see our website, or contact Dr. Eric Singsaas at [email protected].

  
Student research benefits
from WIST funding
Heath Brandner transplants American hazelnut.
UW-Stevens Point forestry major Heath Brandner transplants American hazelnut seedlings.

Working in a fourth-floor lab in the Dan Trainer College of Natural Resources Building, Heath Brandner deftly plucks a tiny American hazelnut plant from its growth medium. The robust little seedling, three weeks old, is ready for division and transplanting. Brandner carefully records information about the plant's condition and marks and dates the transplant.

 

Brandner, a UW-Stevens Point forestry major, is working with Prof. Mike Demchik on a research project that ultimately aims to develop American hazelnut strains for commercial production. The plants show promise as an oilseed crop - the nuts are more than 50 percent oil and similar to olive oil in health advantages. They also have potential as a biodiesel crop, but their value is much higher as a foodstuff, Demchik says. One research aspect is developing the protocol for propagating the plants. Heath's part of the project is helping to determine the optimum interval for division and transplanting.

 

Brandner is a third-year student from Marshfield, WI, and hopes to work in agroforestry after graduation. One of his goals in college was to gain laboratory experience as an undergraduate and he's happy that the CNR provides such opportunities. "I've always wanted to do student research," Brandner says, adding that he plans to present his work at the college's annual research symposium on April 5.

 

Demchik's research is supported in part by WIST under its WIST Scholars program, which has provided funding for nearly a dozen projects since 2011. The program aims to foster creative ideas and solutions through collaborative work, targeting opportunities that promise environmental and economic gains.

 

  
Plan now to attend WIST
short courses in 2013

Kelly Klaas, right, explains machine settings. WIST is again offering courses in papermaking and sustainability topics in the coming year. All courses are held on the UWSP campus

For more information on any of these courses, including course fees, registration and other details, see our online prospectus.
  
Courses scheduled include:
* Bioplastics: An Introductory Short Course: March 26
* Hands-on Papermaking: April 4-5
* Business Modeling: April 19
* Hands-on Pulping and Bleaching: April 25-26
* Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment: April 12
* Sustainable Energy: June 6
* Green Chemistry: June 20

Giving to WIST 


Give Now buttonSupporting WIST financially is now as easy as clicking a button. To make a gift to the institute, click on the Give Now logo, which links to the UWSP Foundation. Please select 'Other' for your Gift Designation and in the Special Instructions field indicate your gift is for WIST. Thank you for your support! 

 

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