MTRAC Award supports NatSci researcher’s work to transform $165 billion pulp and paper industry
Article Highlights
- The United States is a major player in the pulp and paper industry, which is valued at $165B.
- The current process for creating these materials is energy-intensive, generates a lot of waste, and burns a valuable renewable source called lignin.
- MSU biochemist Eric Hegg aims to make this process more efficient for the industry and better for the environment.
Michigan State University biochemist Eric Hegg has shown promising results for a more environmentally friendly and more efficient process for creating pulp and paper. Now, the MSU Innovation Center has chosen his project for a Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Award to move this research forward.
The grants are given across the state of Michigan to projects that advance new technologies and support translational research, entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth.
“Congratulations to Professor Hegg and his team for this important award that will enable them to develop new processes to help move the pulp and paper industry toward a more sustainable future while being economically advantageous,” said Phillip Duxbury, dean of the College of Natural Science. “Translating innovative fundamental research to impactful new technologies like this is critical to economic competitiveness in Michigan and across the United States.
Hegg, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB), is one of seven MSU researchers to receive grant awards from the MSU Innovation Center so far this year. The $125,000 award will help fund his research project, “Adapting a Novel, Patented Process to Deconstruct Woody Biomasses to Add Value to Pulp Production.”
“Translating fundamental basic research to a point where it can be utilized in an industrial setting is very challenging, and it requires a team of people with a variety of skill sets,” said Hegg, who is also NatSci associate dean for budget, planning, research, and administration. “Receiving the MTRAC is very exciting because I do a lot of fundamental basic research, but at the end of the day, I want to ensure that my research helps make the world a better place.”
The United States is a major player in the pulp—an important raw material for making paper and paper goods—and paper industry, which is valued at $165 billion. The current process for creating these materials is energy-intensive, generates a lot of waste, and burns a valuable renewable source called lignin. Hegg aims to make this process more efficient for the industry and better for the environment.
The sulfur-free pre-treatment technology to treat wood chips that Hegg and his team have discovered also produces a higher-quality lignin biproduct. Originally developed for sustainable biofuel applications, this research is now being expanded to the pulp and paper industry. With the funding from MTRAC, Hegg plans to improve their patented process for treating wood chips, assess the pulp for specific uses, evaluate the economic performance, and eventually scale up the process for commercialization.
Established in 2012 and funded by the Michigan Strategic Fund via the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the MTRAC Program helps move research of new technologies from colleges or universities into the business sector throughout the state of Michigan.
MSU is home to one of Michigan’s five MTRAC Innovation Hubs—AgBio, which focuses on agricultural biotechnology, a field that uses a variety of methods and tools to study, alter, or expand opportunities for commercialization of plants, animals, and microorganisms beyond the laboratory. A group of representatives from diverse business and academic backgrounds make up the AgBio MTRAC Oversight Committee and determine which projects to fund.
“Not only will the MTRAC award provide us with the monetary resources needed to translate our discoveries to the commercial market,” Hegg said, “but it also surrounds us with a team of individuals who understand the commercialization process and can provide us with critical know-how and connections to effectively engage the private sector.”Banner image: Lignin (L) and pulp (R) from the Hegg lab's new Cu-AHP process. Credit (left image): Aditya Bhalla, Credit (right image): Shireesh Srivastava
