Fungal Flora Isolated from Deteriorating Card Board and Corrugated Box Samples in Thane and Bhiwandi, India

Many cellulose based articles have found their way into human requirements and have become articles of necessity, paper being one such article. Card board and corrugated boxes are used as packing materials universally and alike paper, these are vulnerable to invasion by cellulose degrading fungi. The study in regions of Thane and Bhiwandi cities on the outskirts of Mumbai city in Western coastal part of Maharashtra, India focused on the invasion of cardboard and corrugated paper boxes by fungi. Twenty four species of fungi belonging to 11 genera were found on the deteriorating card board and corrugated paper samples during the study, prominent amongst them being the genus Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Curvularia, Trichoderma, Penicillium, Alternaria and five other cellulolytic fungal genera. Growth of fungi resulted in crumbling of the cardboard at places due to loss of strength. Many of the fungal forms isolated were potential health hazards which was cause for concern.

A Quality Function Deployment Approach Through Management and Technology Development

Corrugated paper industry is an indispensable industry and it has been developed for more than fifty years. Hence, it is important for a firm to find its core competence, study effective business strategies, and form a long-term competitive advantage. However, few researchers focus on the harmonizing between the operational problems and solutions from customers’ and suppliers’ angles. The purposes of this research are to analyze frequently encountered problems and to find appropriate solutions to upgrade production efficiency and business performance for the corrugated paper industry in Taiwan. This study mixes Quality Function Deployment and Analytic Hierarchy Process approach to find some operational problems and provide the solutions based on experts' experience. The findings are projected to deliver some significant contributions; academically, by professionally conducting further theoretical validation and by adopting suitable strategies to fit the needs of customers.

A Quality Function Deployment Approach Through Management and Technology Development

Corrugated paper industry is an indispensable industry and it has been developed for more than fifty years. Hence, it is important for a firm to find its core competence, study effective business strategies, and form a long-term competitive advantage. However, few researchers focus on the harmonizing between the operational problems and solutions from customers’ and suppliers’ angles. The purposes of this research are to analyze frequently encountered problems and to find appropriate solutions to upgrade production efficiency and business performance for the corrugated paper industry in Taiwan. This study mixes Quality Function Deployment and Analytic Hierarchy Process approach to find some operational problems and provide the solutions based on experts' experience. The findings are projected to deliver some significant contributions; academically, by professionally conducting further theoretical validation and by adopting suitable strategies to fit the needs of customers.

Shock Absorption Characteristics and Optimal Design of Corrugated Fiberboard Using Drop Testing

The application of corrugated paper to buffer packaging has increased with the rise of the circular economy. The dynamic buffer curve is the key to designing the buffer packaging structure but requires multiple testing by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) without resources. In this study, we propose drop testing to perform a fractional factorial experiment and establish a regression model of impact strength through experimental data. The analysis results show that static stress, falling height, and buffer material thickness are the key variables of impact strength, and an impact strength prediction model (R2 = 94.1%) was obtained. Model verification using the buffer package design of a personal computer showed that the measured values of impact strength fell within the estimated 95% confidence interval. These results indicate that SMEs can use the proposed analysis procedure to improve the design of corrugated paper using minimal resources.

Pulp properties and spent pretreatment solution resulting from reed pulping with a low alkali loading

Using reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud) as raw material, straw pulp was prepared by low alkali (less than 6%) pretreatment combined with mechanical grinding. The effects of pretreatment times and alkali dosages on pulp properties and pretreatment solution were investigated. The results demonstrated that alkali pretreatment affected FPI beating efficiency, and the beating energy consumption was lowest when pretreated with alkali dosage of 4%. With 5% NaOH pretreatment, the produced handsheets showed excellent properties that exceeded the requirements of food packaging paper and C-class corrugated paper. Moreover, low silicon content (≤1.12 g/L) in the pretreatment liquor had an almost negligible effect relative to alkali recovery. Therefore, this study is important for researchers and industrial representatives seeking to use reed straw as material for pulping.

Research on packaging optimization in customized panel furniture enterprises

Various information systems have been implemented in most of the customized panel furniture companies in China, resulting in increased production difficulty and informational isolation. Enterprises need to adopt more systematic, scientific, and information-based methods to guide the production on the shop floor. Packaging optimization is important because it promotes sustainable development in furniture enterprise. Through the examination of the packaging process in customized panel furniture companies, this study investigated the bottleneck problems of the packaging process, which are predominantly focused on the calculation of the optimal packaging scheme and the upgrade of information systems. After exploring the theories and methods to solve the existing bottleneck problems, the heuristic algorithm was applied to obtain the optimal packaging schemes and complete the upgrade of packaging process information system. Based on the intelligent packaging software in company A, the Taguchi method was applied to find the best optimization parameters, which was proven effective in comparison with the original packaging solution. The number of packaging was decreased by 3.0%, and the amount of packaging corrugated paper decreased by 12.4. The packaging efficiency represented by the total packaging time showed a significant improvement despite the unit packaging time having increased by 2.0%.

Evaluation of properties of graded density fiberboard produced from wood residues (sawdust and corrugated paper)

Reuse of materials from waste streams is pertinent to achieving sustainable forest production. The enormous wood residues generated at sawmill and the disposal of wood based products poses threat not only to sustenance of the forest resources but also has negative adverse effect on the environment. Limitation exists in the utilization of wood residues as raw material for panel board production in developing countries. This study examined the physical and mechanical properties of graded density fiberboards produced from varying mixture of sawdust and corrugated paper (pulp) at Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) in 2019. A 2x9 factorial experiment in one way analysis of variance was used to test for significant difference between the factors (density and mixing ratio) considered. The result shows that densities of all boards produced varied with mixing proportions. The densities increased with increasing content of corrugated paper. Boards produced at 0.45 g/cm3 showed higher density (0.648 g/cm3), bending strength (MOR) (1.47 N/mm2) and less water absorption (118.69 %) than those produced at 0.65 g/cm3 having values of 0.58 g/cm3, 1.32 N/mm2 and 153.67 % respectively. However boards produced at 0.65 g/cm3 had higher elasticity in bending (MOE) (209.19 N/mm2) and less thickness swelling (6.29 %) than those produced at 0.45 g/cm3 having values of 74.87 N/mm2 and 10.88% respectively. Panel G (20:60:20), E (30:50:20) and I (10:70:20) of sawdust: corrugated paper: urea formaldehyde respectively showed superior features in physical and mechanical properties with panel I been the best mixture. Conclusively, wood residues (sawdust and corrugated paper) are suitable raw material for fiberboard production.

Bending and compression of glass fabric-corrugated paper–epoxy sandwich composites

The manufacturing procedures of sandwich composites containing corrugated paper (CP) as a core layer and covered with glass fabrics are discussed herein. The core layer of the sandwich composite was fabricated with CP-reinforced epoxy (E) resin and then stacked with glass fabric on the top and bottom surfaces to fabricate the sandwich composites. Three composites [a CP-reinforced E (CP/E) composite, glass fiber nonwoven mat (GN) sandwich composite with a CP core layer (GN/E/CP) and glass mesh fabric (GM) sandwich composite with a CP core layer (GM/E/CP)] were developed in this study. The bending and compression properties of these sandwich composites were measured on a materials test system. Experimental results revealed that the bending strength of the GN/E/CP sandwich composite was approximately 45% and 150% higher than those of the GM/E/CP and CP/E sandwich composites, respectively.

Tension and compression of jute fabric/corrugated paper/reinforced polylactic acid resin sandwich composites

The tensile and compressive properties of jute fabric and corrugated paper (CP)-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) resin sandwich composites are discussed. A core layer was fabricated with CP-reinforced PLA resin. The core later was then stacked with jute fabric and PLA films on the top and bottom surfaces to fabricate the sandwich composites. Two composites, a CP-reinforced PLA composite (CP/PLA composite) and a jute fabric/PLA sandwich composite with CP as a core layer (J/PLA/CP composite) were developed in this study. A dipping bath was developed for impregnating the paper with a molten PLA solution to make the CP/PLA composite core layer. The resin film method was used to fabricate the jute fabric/PLA/CP sandwich composite on a hot press machine. A material test system (MTS810) was used to evaluate the tensile, flatwise compression, and longitudinal compressive characteristics of the composites.

Flame-retardant corrugated paper/epoxy composite materials

The waterproof and flame-retardant properties of corrugated paper (CP) reinforced epoxy resin sandwich composites are discussed. Two composites, a CP-reinforced epoxy composite (CP/E composite) and a CP-reinforced flame-retardant epoxy composite (CP/FRE composite), were developed in this study. A dipping bath was developed for impregnating the paper with epoxy and a flame-retardant epoxy solution to make the CP/P and CP/FRE composite panels. A room-temperature-cured epoxy resin was blended with various contents (10%, 20%, and 30%) of phosphorus-based flame-retardant compounds and then was used as a matrix to make CP/FRE-10, CP/FRE-20, and CP/FRE-30 composite materials. Water absorption tests of these composites were used to estimate the waterproof properties. In addition, vertical and horizontal burning tests were used to evaluate the flame-retardant properties of the composites.