Editorials

As a global environmental problem, plastic pollution has attracted worldwide attention. Plastic wastes not only disrupt ecosystems and biodiversity, but they also threaten human life and health. Countries around the world have enacted regulations in recent years to limit the use of plastics. Paper products have been proposed as promising substitutes for plastics, which undoubtedly brings unprecedented opportunities to the pulp and paper industry. However, paper products have some deficiencies in replacing certain plastic products. Research and development to improve paper properties and reduce production costs is needed to meet such challenges.

Functional fillers can facilitate the development of novel composite paper products for specific end uses. But using functional components as fillers by direct addition to the fiber suspension may fall short of the desired goals. The functional filler may fail to be efficiently retained. Gels can serve as carriers of functional paper fillers by coupling with them during in-situ synthesis and the gelation process. This strategy is favorable for the effective utilization of functional paper fillers, without hampering the intrinsic properties of paper. Additional merits of this strategy include versatility and compatibility with existing paper-making processes.

Coronavirus has become a very serious global health problem. Since December 2019, a number of new cases of patients with pneumonia caused by the Coronavirus disease have been found in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. With the global spread of the epidemic, other types of cases have been found in other regions of China and abroad. Factory workers play an important and essential role in the production of goods needed by society. Protecting them is essential to maintain the stability of factory productivity. This editorial provides guidance in how to protect factory workers from COVID-19 infection.

Nanocellulose is a collective term for nanoassemblies of macromolecular cellulose in fibrous and crystalline forms, mainly originating from woody bioresources. Fascinating physicochemical properties of nanocellulose, such as high strength, light weight, transparency, and low thermal expansion, have allowed development of nanocellulose-based functional materials, but most of these materials face serious competition from existing products. The inherent nanoarchitectures of nanocellulose cannot be reconstructed by artificial means, and they are expected to contain unknown functions that have not yet been achieved. Nanocellulose can “run its own show” in the forthcoming sustainable society through determining and highlighting its nanostructure-triggered novel material functions that are beyond the ordinary.

Miscanthus is a tall perennial rhizomatous grass with C4 photosynthesis. Because of its high biomass yield, high carbohydrate and low ash content, high calorific value, remarkable environmental adaptability, high water and land use efficiency, and low fertilizer and pesticide requirements, it has become one of the most promising energy crops. Apart from energy uses, it can also be used as raw material for paper-making and for production of a variety of chemicals. Moreover, Miscanthus can also play an important role in environmental remediation and ecological improvement. It has been used to remedy polluted soil, improve the soil quality, and increase the biodiversity by providing habitat for animals and insects. However, its commercialization is still facing great challenge. More study is needed to further decrease its cultivation, harvesting, and processing costs. This editorial discusses opportunities and challenges of Miscanthus as an energy crop and in other applications.

Transforming an innovation into a start-up company can be highly rewarding to the technologist. This editorial considers technology selection for a start-up company. A simple system for screening initial of technologies is given. This editorial is based on years of experience working in translating technologies into start-up companies by the author. These companies have approached their start-up strategies in a variety of different ways. It is important for the technologist to enter into a start-up venture with an understanding of how their technology is positioned both technically and from a business perspective.

The effect of COVID-19 on supply chains is introduced and some parallels are drawn with its effects on education and research. The default option in education seems to be distance education, which is already difficult for colleges and universities, but much more so for K-12. The effect of COVID-19 on research is much more varied. Some areas, like health sciences, are intensified while others, such as academic research, are anticipating declines in activity. It is expected that international graduate students will be more adversely affected than other groups. Some thoughts on the “new normal” are presented.

Conventional rheological tests can be difficult to carry out in the case of suspensions of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC). Such suspensions tend to migrate away from the walls of a rheometer device, leaving a low-viscosity layer. The very high aspect ratio of typical nanofibrillated cellulose particles favors formation of tangled clusters. But application of hydrodynamic shear can cause fragmentation of those clusters. It is proposed in this essay that some focus be placed on the fragments of entangled clusters of NFC and interactions between them at their fractured surfaces. The condition of near-uniform, defect-free structures of nanocellulose spanning the volume within a sheared suspension might be regarded as an unlikely circumstance. Isaac Newton started with a very simple equation to start to understand rheology. It is proposed that a similarly bold and simplified approach may be needed to account for the effects of broken entangled clusters of NFC on flow phenomena, their assessment, and their consequences related to industrial processes.

Nanoparticles have a great prospect for therapeutic applications. They can protect drugs under physiological conditions and act as a matrix for directed delivery of drugs, e.g., to a specific tissue or cell type. Polymer-based nanomaterials are considered as highly effective in this regard. Their properties can be tailored to meet specific demands for given therapeutic purposes. Considering the high-quality standards placed on medical products, the question arises: Which type of polymer material should be employed? One might select synthetic polymer compounds, which are highly diverse in terms of the molecular structures and supramolecular architectures that can be created, or biopolymers such as polysaccharides that are renowned for their native biocompatibility.

Trees provide one of the most versatile biomass resources for many applications, namely wood. The chemical composition of wood determines its properties, being of real significance for its further capitalization, and depending on many factors. In nature, trees’ biomass is subjected to considerable pollution stress with further alteration of their normal growth conditions. Some correlations have been established between wood’s chemical composition and its further exploitation accordingly to particular circumstances of climate changes and pollution. The content of the main structural polymers from wood, cellulose and lignin, as well other components undergoes notable changes under the influence of pollution phenomena.