Abstract: The present invention deals with examination of the alterability of part, or whole, of the surfaces of beta sheet-based protein structures, focusing especially on enzymes. The alteration is done by supplanting/transplanting a part, or whole, of the surface of one protein onto the surface of a homologous protein of superimposable polypeptide backbone, by exploiting the structural features of beta sheets to alter only the regions of the surface involved in substrate/ligand binding and catalysis. The transplantation involves replacement of a selected set of non-contiguous residues constituting the surface regions desired to be altered in one enzyme/protein, by a set of non-contiguous residues located at analogous positions in the other enzyme/protein, in a manner that is likely to facilitate folding and function of the new protein formed by combining residues from both enzymes/proteins.

Abstract: The invention relates to a document of value, such as e.g. a bank note or the like, which has a security paper. In the security paper at least one tangible marking in the form of a relief structure is produced by a laser.

Abstract: Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful intermediates and products, such as energy, fuels, foods or materials. For example, systems are described that can use feedstock materials, such as cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic materials, to produce an intermediate or product, e.g., by fermentation.

Abstract: A system for collecting ligno-cellulosic biomass over a large area to enable the commercial refining of biomass from 2,500 to in excess of 50,000 tons of biomass per day to produce ethanol or other products. The biomass is collected at a series of collection points and then transported through a network of conduit “loops” interconnecting each of the collection points and the central refining plant. The water used to transport the biomass, as a slurry, is recovered and sequentially recycled in the same pipeline system to push the biomass slurry around the system in a “loop.” The outgoing and return legs of each loop optionally are located adjacent each other.

Abstract: A system for collecting ligno-cellulosic biomass over a large area to enable the commercial refining of biomass from 2,500 to in excess of 50,000 tons of biomass per day to produce ethanol or other products. The biomass is collected at a series of collection points and then transported through a network of conduit “loops” interconnecting each of the collection points and the central refining plant. The water used to transport the biomass, as a slurry, is recovered and sequentially recycled in the same pipeline system to push the biomass slurry around the system in a “loop”.

Abstract: A composite web and process for manufacture from post-industrial scrap wherein the fibers are pre-opened and cut to an average fiber length of about 4 mm. A scrap fiber component and a cellulosic component of such fibers are blended into a fiber furnish. The scrap fiber component includes at least 15% synthetic fibers and may include a blend of natural fibers, high melting point synthetic fibers, and low melting point synthetic fibers. The cellulosic component may include post-industrial cotton fibers which may be refined before blending with the scrap fiber component. The fiber furnish is processed into an intermediate web such as by a drylaid or a wetlaid nonwoven process. The intermediate web is saturated with a latex binding agent and pressed and/or dried to form a composite web capable of further processing into molded or formed consumer or industrial products. The process is capable of producing a high basis weight composite web.

Abstract: This invention provides a process for treating chemical woodpulp, or chemical cellulose including cotton linter, including the step of applying an electron processing technology (EPT) step to chemical woodpulp, or chemical cellulose, as the case may be, on an in-line basis to provide control of pulp viscosity or degree of polymerisation (DP). The invention also provides a method of process control in treating the aforementioned woodpulp or cellulose, including the step of using radiation dose-viscosity relationship curve for applying an EPT step on an in-line basis. The in-line EPT step may, in one form of the invention, replace and hence eliminate a chemical DP reduction step.

Abstract: Discrete particles of cellulosic material are flowable and meterable. They are easily dispersible in an aqueous or a dry medium. The particles comprise singulated cellulose fibers that have been densified. The particles have a density of at least 0.3 g/cc.

Abstract: A papermaking process, and a paper product made from the process, wherein a biodegradable plastic is used with papermaking material. The biodegradeable plastic may be provided as a substrate, with the papermaking material being applied to the substrate. The papermaking material may include recycled paper fibers and/or agricultural crop material. Recycled wood fibers may be applied in a fibrous state or agricultural plant material may be powdered and applied to the substrate. The surface material is affixed to the substrate by the application of heat and pressure or by the use of vegetable slime juice as an adhesive.

Abstract: An organic substrate is manufactured from recycled waste paper, cotton fiber and cotton gin waste, and gypsum. The recycled waste products are combined to form a slurry mixture for processing by conventional paper making machinery into a substrate that may be used in sheet form or comminuted pieces.

Abstract: A treatment sequence includes ozonation under acidic conditions followed by an acidic wash for enhancing the wet strength of a cellulosic fibrous material. Preferably the ozone treatment and the acidic wash are followed by a second ozonation step under acidic conditions. The fibrous cellulosic material obtained by this treatment sequence has a breaking length of at least 100 m. The wet strength of the cellulosic fibrous material is increased without the use of additives, such as wet strength agents. This use of ozone is very simple and efficient, and leads to highly pure products. The use of ozone as the only treatment chemical in particular avoids the introduction of so-called “non-process elements” (NPE) into the treatment system, for instance metal oxides such as MgO, which are frequently used in the oxidative treatment of pulps.

Abstract: A process based on formic acid cooking for producing pulp from herbaceous plants and deciduous trees by using acetic acid as an additional cooking chemical. The obtained pulp can be used in fine paper and board production as short-fibered material, for instance. The invention also relates to a process for adjusting the hemicellulose content of the pulp in connection with the formic acid cooking by using acetic acid as an additional cooking chemical.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for treatment of cellulosic material, as for example, knitted or woven cotton fabric, comprising the steps of preparing an aqueous enzyme solution comprising pectinase, treating the cellulosic material with an effective amount of the aqueous enzyme solution under alkaline scouring conditions; e.g., pH of 9 or above and a temperature of 50° C. or above, in a low calcium or calcium-free environment, yielding a modification of the cellulosic material such that exhibits an enhanced respond to a subsequent chemical treatment.

Abstract: The present invention relates to novel variant EGIII or EGIII-like cellulases which have improved stability. The variant cellulases have performance sensitive residues replaced to a residue having improved stability.

Abstract: The method of the invention involves treating cellulosic vegetable matter (the “Feed Stocks”) for the selective recovery of lignin (when present in the feed-stock), cellulose and hemi-celluloses by: (1) reducing the material to be processed to an appropriate size; (2) adjusting the moisture content of the ligno-cellulosic feed stock to 15 percent to 30 percent water; (3) impregnating the ligno-cellulosic feed stock with an extraction liquor containing a glycol and an organic or Lewis acid; (4) rapid heating of said impregnated feed stock to a temperature of about 118° C. to about 145° C.; (5) maintaining the desired temperature for about 1 minute to about 6 minutes to solubilize the lignin therefrom (a period of about 2 minutes to about 5 minutes is preferred); (6) stopping the reaction immediately by lowering the temperature to <100° C.

Abstract: A process for production of a lignocellulosic material modified by conjugation thereto of a phenolic substance comprising a substituent which, in the conjugated form of the phenolic substance, is, or may become, negatively or positively charged, respectively, comprises: reacting a lignocellulosic fibre material and the phenolic substance with an oxidizing agent in the presence of an enzyme capable of catalyzing the oxidation of phenolic groups by the oxidizing agent; and reacting together the products of the reactions; with the proviso that the phenolic substance is not a phenolic polysaccharide. A strengthened lignocellulose-based product (e.g. a paper product) may be prepared by a procedure wherein a product produced in accordance with the latter process is treated with a strengthening agent having an ionic charge of sign opposite to that which is conferred on the modified lignocellulosic material by the charge-conferring substituent.

Abstract: A soft, bright and strong tissue paper product and a process for preparing such a tissue paper product is provided. The inventive tissue paper product is prepared from raw cotton linter fibers and demonstrates unexpected medical benefits or advantages in addition to a balance of properties.

Abstract: A method for producing paper pulp containing fibers of annual plants or of secondary raw materials produced therefrom, whereby fiber materials are shortened to a length which permits production of a homogeneous, pumpable suspension of the shortened fiber materials. The fiber materials are subsequently bleached and processed into a homogeneous paper pulp.

Abstract: Nonwoven material produced by hydroentanglement of a wet-laid or foam-formed fibre web. The material comprises a mixture of short plant fibres, in particular pulp fibres, and long hydrophillic plant fibres, where the major portion of the fibres presents a fibre length which is at least 10 mm, whereby the portion of long fibres is at least 1 weight-% of the fibre weight. The fibres were mixed with each other in the presence of a dispersing agent which allows a uniform fibre formation, in a wet-laid or foam-formed fibre web which has been hydroentangled with sufficient energy to form a compact absorbing material.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for treatment of cellulosic material, as for example, knitted or woven cotton fabric, comprising the steps of preparing an aqueous enzyme solution comprising pectinase, treating the cellulosic material with an effective amount of the aqueous enzyme solution under alkaline scouring conditions; e.g., pH of 9 or above and a temperature of 50.degree. C. or above, in a low calcium or calcium-free environment, yielding a modification of the cellulosic material such that exhibits an enhanced respond to a subsequent chemical treatment.

Abstract: A water absorbent cross-linked, carboxyalkylated cellulose-containing material is produced by impregnating a cellulose-containing material with an aqueous reaction solution including a carboxyalkylating agent, an alkali metal hydroxide, and a cross-linking agent dissolved in water in an initial content of 50 to 90% by weight, the molar ratio of the carboxylating agent to glucose groups of cellulose being 0.7 to 2.0; adjusting the water content of the aqueous reaction solution impregnated in the cellulose-containing material to 20 to 60% by weight and of at least 5% by weight below the initial water content by evaporating a portion of water; and subjecting the water content-adjusted cellulose-containing material to a simultaneous cross-linking and carboxylating reaction procedure at 50.degree. to 110.degree. C., while maintaining the water content at 20 to 60% and of at least 5% by weight below the initial water content.

Abstract: A process for treating a substrate, e.g., lignocellulosic pulp or cellulosic pulps, with a mixed peracid solution comprising percarboxylic acid and Caro's acid which results in a higher conversion rate of the active oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide in order to provide an inexpensive and effective delignification and/or bleaching solution and the process for making the mixed peracid solution.

Abstract: A process for the production of a cellulose moulded body, particularly cellulose fibres, characterized by the combination of the measures offeeding a cellulose-containing material into an aqueous solution of a tertiary amine-oxide in order to suspend said cellulose-containing material,removing water from the suspension while intensively mixing it and providing elevated temperature and reduced pressure, until a solution of cellulose is produced andmoulding said solution by means of a moulding device, particularly a spinneret, and introducing it into a precipitation bath in order to precipitate the dissolved cellulose,provided that as said cellulose-containing material, basically shredded waste paper, shredded cellulose-containing fibre assemblies and/or shredded, mechanically and/or chemically broken up annual plants are used.

Abstract: In a process for chlorine-free bleaching of cellulose with an .alpha.-cellulose content of more than 90%, preferably from boiled cotton linters, more than 75% whiteness is achieved in a single-stage process using oxygen. The bleaching is conducted using the oxygen obtained by disproportionation of peroxo compounds in the pH range from 6 to 13 and with the bleaching time, depending on the bleaching temperature of 35.degree. C. to 15.degree. C., being between 15 and 150 minutes.

Abstract: An improved process of purifying the product from an alkaline peroxide treatment process for delignifying and bleaching nonwoody lignocellulosic agricultural residues comprising, optionally washing with water, then lowering and maintaining the pH of the substrate at less than about pH 3.0, then washing sufficiently to remove residual chemicals, separating the product from the wash liquid and, optionally, drying the product.

Abstract: An improved process for delignifying and bleaching nonwoody, lignocellulosic material into products digestible by ruminants and ingestible by humans. The process comprises treating the substrate in an alkaline solution for a period of time and adding magnesium ions prior to adding peroxide or, alternatively, adding the magnesium to the peroxide prior to adding the peroxide to the alkaline slurry.

Abstract: Cellulosic fibers are removed from seed hulls such as cottonseed hulls by a process including (a) in the absence of mechanical action sufficient to cause degradation of fiber properties, contacting the seed hulls which comprise both cellulosic fibers (linters and hull fibers) and non-fibrous hull components with an alkaline solution and an oxygen-containing gas until the cellulosic fibers are substantially free of the non-fibrous hull components, and (b) recovering the cellulosic fibers from the non-fibrous hull components so as to produce readily washable cellulosic fibers having substantially unimpaired mechanical properties. The cellulosic fibers may then be washed and separated according to known fiber fractionation procedures. The cellulosic fibers produced according to this improved process have substantially unimpaired mechanical properties and contain substantially no polyphenolic materials or extraneous color components.