CMPC: Low Water, Blue Stain-Free Wood Challenge
CMPC was looking for solutions to help fight the blue staining in wood caused by the Ceratocystis Pilífera fungus.
Challenge Launch: July 2023
Reducing Water Use Intensity in Wood Processing Operations
CMPC, one of the biggest worldwide pulp and paper companies, sought innovative solutions to reduce water use (or eliminate it completely) in a critical stage of its operations.
CMPC wanted cleantech solutions to help reduce blue staining in wood caused by the Ceratocystis Pilífera fungus.
Unlike traditional reduction methods that have high water use, the winning solutions have enabled CMPC to reduce water use, emissions, and landfill waste in this process.
Learn more about this Challenge below.
Challenge Statement & Opportunity
Challenge Statement: The Low Water, Blue Stain-Free Wood Challenge focused on innovative solutions to reduce the growth and appearance of blue-stain wood caused by Ceratocysti Pilifera fungus.
As a global leader in the shift from a linear to a circular economy, CMPC recognized the importance of optimizing this processes. One of the primary goals of CMPC's 2030 strategy was to reduce water consumption in its operations. The prize was the opportunity to co-create a pilot proposal with CMPC to potentially implement the winning technology in their yards. If the technology had not been tested with this fungus, CMPC would conduct tests in their labs, and if successful, co-create a pilot proposal with the team.
Solutions & Winners
Inhibit Coatings: Inhibit Coatings develops high-performing antimicrobial additives and coatings to protect your assets against attack from microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi. The patented technology delivers an environmentally friendly coating that can be integrated into the desired stage of the pulp manufacturing process and applied through a range of practical methods.
NexGen Ecoatings: NexGen is the only non-toxic, eco-friendly, low-water single-coat liquid application proven to prevent Ceratocystis Pilifera (as well as rot, mold, insect damage, and fire protection) on all wood substrates and wood species. NexGen has been used effectively on wood products and wood structures around the world since 2003.
WaterPuris: The ozone nanobubble technology is a sustainable and novel solution designed to address challenges in wood preservation, including preventing the growth of Ceratocystis Pilífera fungus responsible for blue staining in radiata pine logs. Utilizing the unique properties of nanobubbles, this solution infuses water with ozone, a powerful oxidizing agent, to create nanosized bubbles that can absorb onto wood surfaces and penetrate into wood structures.
This challenge has opened a door into a new industry (pulp and paper) for Inhibit Coatings.
The opportunity to work collaboratively with CMPC will allow us to work through some unique challenges in this industry. We look forward to overcoming these challenges to make an environmentally friendly, practical and cost-effective solution, accelerating the launch of our antifungal coatings into the real world.
The Partner
CMPC produces and commercializes products based on pulp, paper, wood, and tissue. The company was born in 1920 with the production of papers and cardboards, and today commercializes its products through its three main businesses: pulp, biopackaging and softys, reaching more than 26,700 direct clients around the world.
CMPC has 49 industrial plants in nine countries in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay. Its worldwide presence reaches 12 countries, including three commercial offices in the USA, Germany, and China; and an innovation office in Finland.
Their corporate purpose—We create the natural fibre for a better future—is integral to the company's way of doing business and guides its actions and operations towards a sustainable future on a day-to-day basis.
We are delighted that the challenge identified technologies that can reduce our water usage while maintaining the high quality of our products.
Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to all the applicants who took the time to present their interesting solutions. We are looking forward to testing the winners' technologies and potentially co-creating a pilot opportunity with them.
Challenge Background & Considerations
Sustainability is core to CMPC's operations and business. They have ambitious goals for reducing water use, emissions, and landfill waste. CMPC was looking for new technologies, processes, and businesses that can help prevent the appearance of the blue stain fungus and produce an exportable pulp product while reducing the amount of water required.
A successful solutions would:
1
Prevent the appearance of the blue stain fungus
2
Reduce or eliminates water use
3
Come with a competitive price point
4
Be compatible with CMPC's pulp mill operations
Evaluation & Eligibility:
Key assessment and eligibility criteria include:
- Feasibility
- Scalability
- Cost-effectiveness
- Compatibility with CMPC's current facilities
- Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4+
CMPC is open to solutions that will be tested in their labs.
Updates
September 2024: Moving Forward, Despite Obstacles
CMPC is expecting to begin a project with Inhibit Coatings in the near future.
WaterPuris’ solution is on standby, pending result of the pilot CMPC is conducting with Inhibit Coatings.
NexGen Ecoatings was unable to progress in the challenge due to product clearance issues at Chile’s border agency, highlighting the need for further international collaboration to ensure suitable solutions are not overlooked.
February 2024: Next Steps
CMPC was very pleased with the challenge results. Two out of the three winners, Inhibit Coatings Ltd and NexGen Ecoatings, presented their proof of concept proposals to them.
CMPC is working with the Department of Agriculture in Chile to get approval to import the chemical coating technologies for piloting. The agricultural sector is heavily regulated, and the approval process could take a couple of years, depending on the nature of the coatings.
October 2023: Winners Announced
Inhibit Coatings, NexGen Ecoatings, and WaterPuris were selected as the Challenge Winners.
July 2023: Challenge Launches
Water is by far our planet’s most precious resource. If we are going to meet global sustainability targets and create a liveable future for generations to come, we must protect it.
We are extremely proud to have supported CMPC to find solutions that reduce water usage and accelerate them towards their ambitious climate goals — we can’t wait to see the impact of these impressive solutions.
Our Partners
This Challenge is presented as a part of Foresight's bioNEXT program, powered by CMPC and Genome BC.
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