Tag Archives: FiberComp project

Microscopy, Paper and Fibre Research Institute (Norway), and nanocellulose

In keeping with a longstanding interest here in nanocellulose (aka, cellulose nanomaterials) the Norwegian Paper and Fibre Research Institute’s (PFI) ??,??, 2015 announcement about new ion milling equipment and a new scanning electron microscope suitable for research into cellulose at the nanoscale caught my eye,

In order to advance the microscopy capabilities of cellulose-based materials and thanks to a grant from the Norwegian Pulp and Paper Research Institute foundation, PFI has invested in a modern ion milling equipment and a new Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

Unusually, the entire news release is being stored at Nanowerk as a July 3, 2015 news item (Note: Links have been removed),

“There are several microscopy techniques that can be used for characterizing cellulose materials, but the scanning electron microscope is one of the most preferable ones as the microscope is easy to use, versatile and provides a multi-scale assessment”, explains Gary Chinga-Carrasco, lead scientist at the PFI Biocomposite area.

“However, good microscopy depends to a large extent on an adequate and optimized preparation of the samples”, adds Per Olav Johnsen, senior engineer and microscopy expert at PFI.

“We are always trying to be in front in the development of new characterization methods, facilitating research and giving support to our industrial partners”, says Chinga-Carrasco, who has been active in developing new methods for characterization of paper, biocomposites and nanocellulose and cannot hide his enthusiasm when he talks about PFI’s new equipment. “In the first period after the installation it is important to work with the equipment with several material samples and techniques to really become confident with its use and reveal its potential”.

The team at PFI is now offering new methods for assessing cellulose materials in great detail. They point out that they have various activities and projects where they already see a big potential with the new equipment.

Examples for these efforts are the assessment of porous nanocellulose structures for biomedical applications (for instance in the NanoHeal program) and the assessment of surface modified wood fibres for use in biocomposites (for instance in the FiberComp project).

Also unusual is the lack of detail about the microscope’s and ion milling machine’s technical specifications and capabilities.

The NanoHeal program was last mentioned here in an April 14, 2014 post and first mentioned here in an Aug. 23, 2012 posting.

Final comment, I wonder if Nanowerk is embarking on a new initiative where the company agrees to store news releases for various agencies such as PFI and others who would prefer not to  archive their own materials. Just a thought.