Issue 8/2013 - BASF and Zelfo start a collaboration with microfibrillated cellulose

BASF and Zelfo collaborate on microfibrillated cellulose

BASF and Germany's Zelfo Technology announced that they have reached an agreement
to transfer intellectual property rights for the production of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC).

Under the agreement, Zelfo will transfer to BASF
the intellectual property rights of its latest technology for the efficient and cost-effective production of MFC.
The technology includes the engineering of premium MFC, which can significantly increase the strength of the product while reducing the weight of the product to meet the requirements for
lighter and stronger paper packaging.

BASF said it plans to further improve the fiber technology by adding chemical additives for papermaking, and will also support
the processing of fibrotic, recyclable biodegradable materials using MFC as a raw material.

The partnership will leverage the strengths of both companies, with BASF focusing on applications related to paper, sheet and packaging products, while Zelfo will continue to focus on its non-volatile organic compound luminescent adhesives and bio-based composites applications to promote the technology
.

Uwe Liebelt, President of BASF's Paper Chemicals division, said that the collaboration will leverage BASF's chemical expertise and Zelfo's process know-how to help produce better fiber raw materials
。 Zelfo CEO Richard Hurding also said that by providing reinforced fiber materials such as MFC, the quality of wood pulp, recycled pulp and crop fiber waste will be improved, and better pulp additives can be produced, which can produce better products and more environmentally sustainable packaging materials
.
(Wei Song)