FPL-RWU-4709

Phone: (608) 231-9480

This unit’s mission is to (1) develop environmentally benign and resource-conserving processes for the production and utilization of wood pulp fibers and chemical byproducts of wood and pulp processing and (2) improve the understanding of the molecular and physical characteristics of wood and wood pulp. This research is aimed at achieving a sustainable basis for the production of pulp and paper products to meet the needs of the American people. This is accomplished by developing new, environmentally friendly ways to delignify wood for the production of pulp; by developing the chemical information needed to improve the papermaking properties of high yield pulps so they can be substituted for low yield pulps; and by developing an understanding of biogenesis and molecular architecture of wood cell walls and their response to processing and environmental stresses for the purpose of using uneven-age mixed species for pulping and of increasing the efficiency of converting this material to pulp.