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The challenge

Paper is everywhere – in packaging, newspapers, as one-way cups, in the form of files. With over 400 million tonnes of paper produced worldwide every year, paper production even exceeds the plastics industry. Paper waste is often reusable or recyclable and therefore well adapted for sustainable applications. There is a long tradition of research into paper as a material in Darmstadt. Back in 1905, the Institute of Paper Manufacturing was founded at TH Darmstadt, soon followed by the Institute of Cellulose Chemistry. The complex and porous structure of paper as a woven fibre fleece demands an interdisciplinary approach to the material and its possible applications.

From the lecture

The possible uses of paper are numerous and range from packaging materials and coated specialist papers to paper-based ultra-lightweight structures. For instance, the LOEWE-funded project ‘Building with Paper’ (BAMP!) investigated the potential of using paper in the construction industry, whose central focus was not only the experimental and simulation-based examination of the mechanical properties of paper on different size scales, but also the modification of these mechanical – and other chemical – properties in order to create customised functionalities.

Perspectives

As a sustainable material that can be derived from renewable raw materials, paper offers a variety of possibilities for innovative applications in the construction sector as well as in terms of special applications for analytics and diagnostics. The programmable 4D characteristics that can be achieved through fibre selection or surface modification offer the prospect of further possible applications, such as so-called paperbots. For the paper industry, in addition to energy consumption, there is also the current and future challenge of more easily available, alternative raw material sources. New paper raw material sources could include fast-growing C4 plants, which include many grasses, for example. More research is also needed to gain a comprehensive and, in particular, comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of paper as a material.