Pulp and Paper Industry Seeks Green Innovators

The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) invites BSc and BEng final year students and graduates to join its Master’s in Engineering bursary and research programme.

Successful applicants will obtain a bursary of R320 000 to cover two years of full-time study for a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering (MEng or MScEng) research degree at one of four participating universities. The bursary will go toward the costs of tuition, accommodation, study materials and a monthly stipend.

“The industry is actively looking for the brightest and best young chemical engineering talent who are equipped with the right skills for the circular economy,” says PAMSA communications manager Samantha Choles.

Choles adds that the master’s research projects are typically focused on process research, including but not limited to resource efficiency, data science, the beneficiation of process waste into products of value, and the development of biofuels.

Established 14 years ago, the programme is seen as a meaningful investment by the pulp and paper industry and has been platform for the development of chemical engineers that have contributed towards the industry’s sustainability goals. “Several of the programme’s alumni still work for PAMSA’s member companies,” notes Choles.

The four participating universities include North-West University (NWU), the University of Pretoria (UP), Stellenbosch University (SU) and the University of Witwatersrand (Wits).

Many of the students who participated in the programme acknowledge that it has opened new doors while furthering their academic ambitions and offering exposure to a diverse industry.

“Successful graduates from the programme will also be considered for employment as engineers-in-training and gain practical experience working in participating industry companies,” adds Choles.

The application process is now open on PAMSA’s website thepaperstory.co.za. The application deadline is 28 June 2024. Terms, conditions and criteria apply.

STUDENT PROFILES

Students share how the programme has opened doors and minds to green innovation

Kelly Campbell has a BEng degree in Chemical Engineering and is currently working towards her MEng at SU. Her project is based on the conversion of food waste, paper sludge and packaging into ethanol.

According to the United Nations, around 13% of the world’s food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted in households, in the food service and in retail all together. “Destined for landfill, this waste contributes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in particular methane which is more than 20 times more potent that carbon dioxide. This ‘waste’ could be diverted from landfill and instead converted into ethanol via a process of fermentation,” Campbell says.

PAMSA recently launched a demonstration plant that is being used to test the process of converting paper sludge and at a later stage, food waste and textile waste into ethanol. Campbell explains that this diversion of organic waste from landfill will help to lower associated GHG emissions, and produce a high value product from waste that has potential in both the energy and transportation sectors.

Madimetja Dimpho Mashakoe holds a BSc degree in chemical engineering and is currently completing his Master’s degree at Wits. “My project is about the development of soft sensors used to create predictive models for process monitoring, control optimisation, fault detection and analysis. Raw historical pulp and paper data can provide insights that enables informed decisions by process.”

He applied to join the programme because it offers opportunities not only in data science, but also provides the opportunity to engage with professionals in the pulp and paper industry.

UP Master’s student Lerato Tau is currently is engaged in a project that uses thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to determine the make-up of materials used in the paper-making process – from feedstock right through to the final product. TGA is a technique that measures thermal stability of materials including polymers.

Passionate about research and development, she is thrilled at the opportunity to explore new concepts.

“For me, this programme represents an incredible opportunity to learn, grow and make meaningful contributions to the paper manufacturing industry. PAMSA’s assistance extends beyond the bursary and  also offers a support system for kick-starting a career in the industry,” says Tau.

Ryan Vermeulen, a UP graduate, is now working towards his Master’s in chemical engineering at SU. With a life-long passion for physics, chemistry and environmental protection, he was thrilled when PAMSA introduced its bursary scheme to his undergraduate class.

His research project concerns the use of lignin, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry. Lignin can be used as a substitute for non-renewable crude oil-based bitumen, which is mixed with aggregate (gravel and sand) to create asphalt in road-building projects.

Backed by the funding and support from PAMSA, Vermeulen is keen to move his project from the laboratory stage to practical applications.

Christopher du Toit was studying at UP when he first heard about the PAMSA bursary scheme. He saw it as a stepping stone towards his PhD, a goal he has had since he was in high school.

Du Toit is passionate about developing a circular economy and is engaged in a project that concerns the reuse of materials from waste streams in the paper-making process that  cannot be recycled because of their chemical properties.

“My project is focused on the use of three recovered ingredients: titanium dioxide, very small cellulose fibres and lignosulphonate to create a plaster-like film that has the effect of making wounds heal faster,” explains du Toit, who is currently studying for his Master’s in SU’s Bioresource Engineering group at the Department of Chemical Engineering.

The moment Gabriela Carzola learned about PAMSA’s passion for sponsoring projects focused on sustainability, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by. A chemical engineering graduate from UP, her project could be regarded as a classic example of developing a sustainable, circular economy.

Carzola is researching the feasibility of creating a novel and useful product from reject materials of the papermaking process. She is looking to develop a fertiliser that releases nutrients over time and matches a crop’s growth cycle. This not only reduces the loss of nutrients, but returns material made from trees back to the earth, thus completing the cycle.

Carzola derives great satisfaction from her studies and solving some of the Earth’s problems. “As the recipient of a PAMSA bursary, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to pursue my Master’s in bioresource engineering and can’t wait to see what I accomplish over the next two years,” notes Carzola.

In addition to these innovative projects, other bursars are hard at work researching such diverse opportunities as using  wood constituent lignin as an alternative to bitumen for use in road-building, the recovery of waste process materials for use in medical applications and advanced methods of substance analysis.