Program

Maine Forest Biomaterials Week

Subject to change

Thermoformed Molded Fiber Symposium

1:00 PM Registration Opens

2:00 PM Tours of the Process Development Center and the Advanced Structures and Composites Center

3:00 PM Tours of the PDC, ASCC

5:00 – 7:00 PM Reception at Buffalo Wild Wings, Wells Conference Center

Thermoformed Molded Fiber Symposium

8:00 – 8:30 AM Registration, Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 8:35 AM Welcome

8:35 – 9:30 AM Keynote Presentation – Allison Thompson, Manager of Product Sustainability, Ahold Delhaize USA

9:30 – 10:00 AM Functionalized Agro-Based Fiber Alternative for Enhanced Performance in Thermoformed Molded Fiber Packaging – Lisandra Chacon, Senior Research Scientist, Biomaterials, Archer-Daniels Midland Company

10:00 – 10:30 AM Break

10:30 – 11:00 AM Decreased Drying Energy Demand Using Starch-Kaolin Clay Additives – Heather Starkey, Applications Development Scientist, Performance Starches, Primient

11:00 – 11:30 AM Unlocking the Full Potential of Molded Fiber Packaging Through Innovative Chemistry – Susan Bailey, Global Business Development Manager – Biobased Materials, Packaging Technologies, Archroma

11:30 – 12:00 PM Unlocking Fiber–Chemistry Synergy in PFAS‑Free Molded Fiber Packaging – Emma W Janco, Segment Team Leader – Moulded Fibre, BIM Kemi

12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch

1:00 – 1:30 PM Compostable Barrier Coatings for Molded Fiber Food Service Applications – Bailey Eberle, Product Development Chemist, Henkel

1:30 – 2:00 PM Improving Surface Strength in Molded Fiber Articles – Christopher Dilkus, Principal Scientist, Barriers & Molded Fiber / Global Lead, Molded Fiber Solutions, Solenis LLC

2:00 – 2:30 PM Testing Molded Fiber – Bob Versluys, Senior Technical Manager, Motus

2:30 – 3:00 An Update from the TAPPI Molded Fiber Testing Group, Speaker TBA

3:00 – 3:30 PM Break

3:30 – 4:00 PM Automation of Molded Fiber Production – Justin Jeanes,Software Product Manager, Motus

4:00 – 4:30 PM Linking Fiber Characteristics, Water Behavior, and Manufacturing Performance in Thermoformed Molded Fiber Products – Ericka Redmund, Assistant Professor, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry 

4:30 – 5:00 PM Next-Generation Wax-Free and PFAS-Free Wet-End Oil and Grease Resistant Technology for High-Performance Molded Fiber Packaging – Sanjeev Jain, CTO & COO, Pakitgreen

5:00 – 6:30 PM Reception

6:30 – 9:00 PM Offsite Dinner (tentative)

Thermoformed Molded Fiber Symposium

7:30 – 8:15 AM Welcome and Continental Breakfast

8:15 – 9:00 AM Foodservice Packaging Policy Landscape – Carol Patterson, Vice President, Government Relations, Foodservice Packaging Institute

9:00 – 10:00 AM Manufacturing Panel – participants to be announce

10:00 – 10:30 AM Break

10:30 – 11:00 AM MFC for Improved Barrier of Double Layer Molded Pulp – Eric Desnoes, Researcher, Innofibre

11:00 – 11:30 AM Advancing Molded Fiber Performance MFC (Micro Fibrillated Cellulose) – Christophe Bastien, Product Market Manager – Molded Products, Kadant Lamort

11:30 – 12:00 PM Unlocking the Full potential of MFC in Moulded Fiber – Ben Bulson, Business Development Manager, FiberLean Technologies

12:00 – 1:00 PM Lunch

1:00 – 1:30 PM Multilayer Forming – Nick Palumbo, North American Technical Sales Manager, Kiefel Fiber Division, Brueckner Group

1:30 – 2:00 PM High-speed Molded Fiber Process with Injection Foam Forming – Juho Pyrrö, Head of Valmet 3D Fiber, Valmet Technologies

2:00 – 2:20 PM Cellulose Dry Molding – Fabrizio Pucci,Product Development & R&D Director Rigid Packaging Technologies, Sacmi Imola S.C.

2:20 – 2:40 PM Scaling Dry Forming: From Pilot to Industrial Production Reality – Peter Baleja-Spyra, Technical Business Development Manager, Yangi

2:40 – 3:10 PM Break

3:10 – 3:30 PM FiberOne Technology – Thomas Halletz, Managing Director, Maier Packaging GmbH, Member of the OPTIMA Packaging Group GmbH

3:30 – 4:00 PM Panel – Dry Thermoforming – participants to be announced

4:00 – 4:30 PM Lab-based Formation and Evaluation of Molded Fiber Articles Produced from Hot-water Extracted Wood Pulp – Aysan Mazhar, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Maine

4:30 – 5:00 PM TBA

5:00 – 7:00 PM Reception and Poster Session

Cellulose Nanomaterials Forum & Paper Surface Science Program

8:00 – 8:30 AM     Registration, Coffee & Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 8:35 AM     Conference Welcome

8:35 – 9:15 AM Keynote Address: Wood Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies, Liangbing (Bing) Hu, Carol and Douglas Melamed Professor, Yale University

9:15 – 9:45 AM     The AFSAC Alliance Efforts to Establish the Safety of MFC For Food-Related Applications – Jo Anne Shatkin, Vireo Advisors, LLC

9:45 – 10:15 AM      Break

10:15 – 10:45 AM    Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC): High Solids Production and Barrier Coating of Fruits – J.Y. Zhu, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory

10:45 – 11:15 AM    Cellulosic Biobarriers for Sustainable Consumer Products – Jeffrey Youngblood, Professor, Purdue University

11:15 – 11:45 AM Hybrid Molded Fiber (HMF): From Concept to Industrial Trials –Mehdi Tajvidi, Professor of Renewable Nanomaterials, University of Maine

11:45 – 12:45 PM      Lunch

12:45 – 1:00 PM       The Paper Surface Science Program – Will Gramlich, PSSP Director, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Maine

1:00 – 3:10 PM      Presenations from UMaine Faculty on their research using cellulose nanomaterials in packaging applications:

  • Roll-to-Roll Coating of Microfibrillated Cellulose: New Findings and Opportunities – Caitlin Howell, Professor of Bioengineering, University of Maine
  • Microfibrillated cellulose-laminated molded fiber trays for cheese packaging: fabrication, shelf life, and techno-economic analysis – Qing Jin, Assistant Professor of Food Science, University of Maine
  • Aqueous modification of Cellulose Nanofibrils for Functional Materials – Will Gramlich, Associate Professor, University of Maine
  • Drying Cellulose Nanofibrils with High Shear Thermokinetic Mixer – Xuefeng Zhang, Associate Professor of Sustainable Materials & Technology, University of Maine

2:40 – 3:10 PM      Break

Paper Surface Science Program

3:10 – 3:30 PM      PSSP Sponsor Presentation – APS Grupa

3:30 – 3:55 PM     Tracking Startch Penetration When Coating Paper – Akongseh Agwana, University of Maine

3:55 – 4:20 PM Controlling Heat Sealing and Blocking of Paper Coatings – Fatemeh Aghamoosa, University of Maine

4:20 – 4:55 PM PSSP Future Directions Discussion

5:00 – 7:00 PM Evening Reception and Poster Session with Light Refreshments

Cellulose Nanomaterials Forum & Paper Surface Science Program

8:00 – 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast & Coffee

8:30 – 8:50 AM     P3Nano: Expanding the Commercial Potential of Cellulose Nanomaterials – Robert Moon, Adjunct Faculty, Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Tech

8:50 – 10:10 AM Research Presentations on Thermoformed Molded Fiber

10:10 – 10:30 AM     Break

10:30 – 11:50 AM    Student Research Presentations on Cellulose Nanomaterials

11:50 – 12:10 AM    PSSP Future Discussions

12:10 – 1:00 PM       Lunch

1:00 PM                   Tours