@article{vera_vivas_urdaneta_franco_sun_forfora_frazier_gongora_saloni_fenn_et al._2023, title={Transforming non-wood feedstocks into dissolving pulp via organosolv pulping: An alternative strategy to boost the share of natural fibers in the textile industry.}, volume={429}, ISSN={["1879-1786"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139394}, DOI={10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139394}, abstractNote={This work evaluates wheat straw, switchgrass, and hemp hurd as potential alternatives for producing dissolving pulp using sulfur dioxide (SO2)-ethanol-water (SEW) pulping. The SEW process is described in detail for wheat straw, and the best pulping conditions for this feedstock were 130 °C, 4 h, and 10% SO2 concentration, comprised in a sulfur-ethanol-water ratio of 10-45-45. This resulted in a viscose-grade pulp with 93% α-cellulose, 2.0% hemicelluloses, <0.1% lignin, 0.2% ash content, and a viscosity of 4.7 cP. The best pulping conditions for wheat straw were applied to switchgrass and hemp hurd. Wheat straw and switchgrass had similar pulp quality, while hemp hurd pulp had a higher hemicellulose content and lower viscosity. This work suggests that non-wood feedstocks such as wheat straw and switchgrass can be promising alternatives for dissolving pulp production, which can help reduce the pressure on the textile industry to increase the use of natural fibers and mitigate the environmental impact of non-biodegradable synthetic fibers.}, journal={JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION}, author={Vera, Ramon E. and Vivas, Keren A. and Urdaneta, Fernando and Franco, Jorge and Sun, Runkun and Forfora, Naycari and Frazier, Ryen and Gongora, Stephanie and Saloni, Daniel and Fenn, Larissa and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Dec} }
 @article{frazier_zambrano_pawlak_gonzalez_2022, title={Methods to assess and control dusting and linting in the paper industry: a review}, volume={1}, ISSN={["1433-3015"]}, DOI={10.1007/s00170-021-08482-5}, journal={INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY}, author={Frazier, Ryen and Zambrano, Franklin and Pawlak, Joel J. and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2022}, month={Jan} }
 @article{kwon_zambrano_venditti_frazier_zambrano_gonzalez_pawlak_2022, title={Microfiber shedding from nonwoven materials including wipes and meltblown nonwovens in air and water environments}, volume={4}, ISSN={["1614-7499"]}, DOI={10.1007/s11356-022-20053-z}, abstractNote={Nonwoven products are widely used in disposable products, such as wipes, diapers, and masks. Microfibers shed from these products in the aquatic and air environment have not been fully described. In the present study, 15 commercial single-use nonwoven products (wipes) and 16 meltblown nonwoven materials produced in a pilot plant were investigated regarding their microfiber generation in aquatic and air environments and compared to selected textile materials and paper tissue materials. Microfibers shed in water were studied using a Launder Ometer equipment (1-65 mg of microfibers per gram material), and microfibers shed in air were evaluated using a dusting testing machine that shakes a piece of the nonwoven back and forth (~ 4 mg of microfibers per gram material). The raw materials and bonding technologies affected the microfiber generation both in water and air conditions. When the commercial nonwovens contained less natural cellulosic fibers, less microfibers were generated. Bonding with hydroentangling and/or double bonding by two different bonding methods could improve the resistance to microfiber generation. Meltblown nonwoven fabrics generated fewer microfibers compared to the other commercial nonwovens studied here, and the manufacturing factors, such as DCD (die-to-collector distance) and air flow rate, affected the tendency of microfiber generation. The results suggest that it is possible to control the tendency of microfiber shedding through the choice of operating parameters during nonwoven manufacturing processes.}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH}, author={Kwon, Soojin and Zambrano, Marielis C. and Venditti, Richard A. and Frazier, Ryen and Zambrano, Franklin and Gonzalez, Ronalds W. and Pawlak, Joel J.}, year={2022}, month={Apr} }
 @misc{pawlak_frazier_vera_wang_gonzalez_2022, title={Review: The Softness of Hygiene Tissue}, volume={17}, ISSN={["1930-2126"]}, DOI={10.15376/biores.17.2.Pawlak}, abstractNote={The hygiene tissue industry has an extensive global market that is quickly growing. Market research has indicated that softness is one of consumers’ most highly desired properties. For certain hygiene tissue products (specifically bath tissue), this property can influence prices. A better understanding of the science of softness would allow companies to engineer soft tissue more economically and efficiently. Softness is a subjective perception related to physical aspects that make it challenging to express and measure. Human handfeel panel testing, which ranks the specimens through physical tests, has been recognized as the most reliable method to measure tissue softness. Much effort has been expanded in correlating the panel test results with some measurable properties. In this regard, equipment has been recently developed by combining several different mechanical, surface, and acoustic properties to characterize softness. In comparison with panel tests, these instruments (e.g., tissue softness analyzer) have been found to give equivalent softness metrics. A combination of materials selection and manufacturing operations are used to create softer tissue sheets. This paper reviews the sensation of softness as perceived by the human touch, techniques for measuring softness, the influence of fiber on softness, manufacturing techniques, and additives used for softness enhancement.}, number={2}, journal={BIORESOURCES}, author={Pawlak, Joel J. and Frazier, Ryen and Vera, Ramon E. and Wang, Yuhan and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2022}, month={May}, pages={3509–3550} }
 @article{frazier_zambrano_pawlak_peszlen_welsford_gonzalez_2022, title={The tissue dust analysis system: a new device and methodology to quantify dusting and linting propensity in hygiene tissue papers}, volume={8}, ISSN={["1572-882X"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04779-0}, DOI={10.1007/s10570-022-04779-0}, abstractNote={Paper dusting, which occurs when a tissue web releases unbound and loosely bound fibers or filler particles during tissue-making or product manufacturing, has an overall negative impact, causing safety hazards, machine runnability difficulties, and product quality issues. To date, there are no well-established industry standards to quantify dusting/linting propensities in finished tissue products, thus evaluating the effectiveness of dust/lint control programs is challenging yet intriguing. This research aims to fill this gap by developing a methodology to characterize dusting in tissue papers. We have developed a device prototype (named the Tissue Dust Collector) and a methodology that together have been named the Tissue Dust Analysis System (TDAS), which aims at quantifying the propensity for tissue-grade paper products to generate dust/lint in a controlled and reproducible manner. Two samples, corresponding to commercial products with a low and high linting propensity, were tested using the proposed device and methodology, and the released particles were quantified and characterized. The device and methodology provided reproducible results for simulated consumer handling and product manufacturing scenarios. By changing the instrument's motor frequency, the force of agitation changes, mimicking/simulating consumer (60 strokes per min, spm) and producer/manufacturing (180 spm) handling scenarios (though manufacturing processes are much faster in practice). Particle counts at each level for each product showed reproducible values differentiable at different agitation levels. Adopting the proposed Tissue Dust Analysis System may help to characterize and understand the mechanisms behind dusting to create dust-control strategies that can alleviate this issue at its various sources or simply allow tissue paper manufacturers to compare and advertise their products based on dusting propensity.}, journal={CELLULOSE}, author={Frazier, Ryen and Zambrano, Franklin and Pawlak, Joel J. and Peszlen, Ilona and Welsford, David and Gonzalez, Ronalds}, year={2022}, month={Aug} }