FPInnovations and Auburn University, through its Alabama Center for Paper and Bioresource Engineering, announced a five-year agreement Sept. 27, aiming to bring Near-Neutral Binding technology to AC-PABE’s member mills in Alabama while facilitating the transfer of FPInnovations’ technical services to Alabama and neighboring states.

Both parties signed a memorandum of understanding at the 2016 TAPPI PEERS conference held in Jacksonville, Florida, forming a partnership that will introduce and implement FPInnovations’ Near-Neutral Brightening technology and other technical services to the forest products industry in Alabama, and over time to the broader Southeast.

In addition, FPInnovations have agreed to begin building future technical support capabilities by sponsoring a post-doctoral student at Auburn University to conduct further research on NNB technology and other aspects of the bleaching of kraft pulp and to support the implementation of the technology in the state. AC-PABE is hosted within Auburn University’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

-Contributed by FPInnovations