Valmet Sustainable Pulping Award given to Aleksi Hämäläinen from Tampere University

Olli Tuovinen presented the Valmet Sustainable Pulping Award to Aleksi Hämäläinen on November 21, 2024 in Espoo, Finland. (Photo Jari Härkönen / PI)

Modelling to advance sustainable solutions

Aleksi Hämäläinen’s master’s thesis work was linked to the research project SUSBINCO – Sustainable binders and coatings. The project’s goal was to develop innovations to substitute fossil-based binders and coatings with bio-based solutions which can be used in packaging, paints, adhesives, sealants, and abrasives. The Business Finland founded co-innovation project included several universities and companies working together, one of the companies being Valmet.

Aleksi summarizes his thesis: “My thesis work focused on modelling a new type of MFC production process and the connection of process paraments to end product characteristics and energy consumption. In short, I would say the work I did created a base for more detailed research and for scaling up the production to industrial scale.”

Aleksi continues his work as a doctoral student in the same research team in the COCOBIN - Coatings and Composites from Novel Biobased Dispersions project: “I’m very happy to continue this research area for my doctoral thesis to dive deeper in the area of modelling MFC production. There is a lot of potential for MFC in the future and we are conducting cutting edge research in this area. The MFC research is an important area in moving from fossil to sustainable biobased solutions.”

COCOBIN is a two-year co-innovation project, aiming to develop new multicomponent dispersion and composite technologies for fiber-based barrier packaging, textiles, and abrasive materials. The project is co-funded by Business Finland and involves a consortium of 15 different organizations. The project is one of Valmet’s Beyond Circularity ecosystem projects.

Promoting outstanding work in the forest industry

The EUR 5,000 Valmet Sustainable Pulping Award is given out annually to an outstanding thesis. forest and related industries. The topic of the thesis may be related to chemical or mechanical wood fiber processes, side streams and recovery processes of chemical wood processing, wood-based micro- or nanocellulose processes or the practical applications of the above-mentioned processes.

The award was presented by Olli Tuovinen, Development Manager from Valmet (Photo Jari Härkönen / PI)

Aleksi graduated from the Tampere University from the Automation Technology unit in 2024. During his studies he also spent two semesters studying abroad, First in Mexico in Tecnológico de Monterrey and then in Chile in Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.

“I’m thankful for this recognition and it has been a great pleasure to work in this kind of a research project where research institutes and companies are collaborating. To see that my masters’ thesis work continues further is also rewarding,” Aleksi concludes.