Research exchange with Madrid in Spain

Professor Angeles Blanco and Professor Carlos Negro are new visiting professors at FSCN Research Centre this fall. They are married and moved to Sundsvall and Mid Sweden University together with their three teenagers in the middle of august 2022. They are planning to stay in Sweden until Christmas. We wish them welcome and hope they will enjoy working with us.

What are you going to do here in Sweden?

"We are planning for a long-time collaboration during the coming years and this semester we are working together with professor Per Engstrand at FSCN Research Centre to learn about the different research areas and develop new complementary research together," says Professor Angeles Blanco.

How did you get in contact with our Research Centre?

"It started when Angeles met professor Per Engstrand at Holmen Paper mill, in Madrid, in 2002. An intensive collaboration resulted in creating a university laboratory within the paper mill installations. During the PM62 project, we jointly developed continuous process improvements that enabled the mill to achieve 3 world productivity records in newsprint manufacturing. In addition, it was one of newsprint mills with the lowest water consumption. Furthermore, the new approach in sustainable water management allowed the mill to be the first European factory to manufacture 100% recycled paper using 100% recycled water from a municipal wastewater treatment plant", says Prof Carlos Negro.

Now we can work together with Per Engstrand and his colleagues at Miun to develop new research projects, says Professor Angeles Blanco, and the start of the research period has been very pleasant.

Carlos Negro and Angeles Blanco are both very highly ranked academic researchers at Madrid University Complutense in Spain with chemical engineering and materials as their subjects. Carlos research area is nanocellulose and Angeles is working with process improvements and water treatments.

"I hope we can find connections to develop the research collaboration with the researchers of Mid Sweden University during the fall of 2022, and hopefully also collaborate to exchange knowledge and develop exchange periods for PhD students and researchers and publish articles together in the future. It can be a good opportunity for both our universities", says Carlos Negro. "This collaboration brings new opportunities to both universities and I am really interested in the nanocellulose research on hot pressing developed here at Mid Sweden University and I like to explore research areas together with the FSCN researchers".

"I have worked a lot in the lab of the paper mill plant of Holmen Paper in Madrid", says Angeles Blanco, "and I really enjoy working with the industry and develop solutions to improve papermaking process, this time together with FSCN and Mid Sweden University. During these months we are thinking together with Per how to selectively remove some extractives from the thermomechanical process to improve paper strength".

Research Bio Professor Angeles Blanco Suarez
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
University Complutense of Madrid, Spain
 

Professor Blanco is the leader of the Cellulose, Paper and Water Research Group since 2005. Her research activities are focused on paper recycling, sustainable water use, improving the sustainability of industrial processes, use of secondary materials and wastes and industrial symbiosis. The works are developed in two parallel lines, one fundamental to generate new knowledge, and one applied to develop and apply the generated knowledge to solve industrial and social problems. She has been identified between the 2% top list of scientists worldwide by Stanford University in 2021.

Publications

• 172 publications in the JCR, Q1:90. Google Scholar: h index = 49; citations = 11.852 (28/9/2022). 15 paper/year as average in the last 3 years.
• 45 papers in other journals.
• 13 books, collaboration in 8 book chapters and 2 encyclopaedias.
• 6 patents
• +300 papers in conferences (80 as invited speaker).
• Collaboration in the organization of 15 international conferences being the scientific secretariat of the last World Congress of Chemical Engineering in October 2017.

Awards

• ChemPlast Award to the best research project for the industry, 2019.
• Ken Maddern Award, 2017.
• First Prize for Technology and Knowledge Transfer from the Complutense University to the Cellulose and Paper Research Group, in the Experimental Sciences and Engineering modality, 2016.
• Al Moslemi 2008 Award, for research carried out in the field of fiber cement.

Memberships of scientific and professional societies

• External Scientific Secretary of the EU for the COST-ESF Program Paper reciclability (1996-1998).
• Evaluator of the Research Program of Mid Sweden University and Utkal University of India.
• Vice-president of the Association of European Fiber and Paper Research Organizations ("European Fiber and Paper Research Organizations" -EFPRO). (2007-2012).
• Technical contact between the WSSTP and the EWP for the coordination of activities and R & D plans on water issues at European level since 2013.
• Member of the commissions for the realization of the strategic research agendas of European and national EWWSP and FTP since 2006.
• Evaluator of R&D projects: for the European Commission, ANECA, European Science Fundation, EraNets, FORMAS, FONCYT, Comunidad de Madrid, etc.
• Member of ANQUE, AIChE, TAPPI, APPITA, WSSTP,
• Associate member of the Ibero-American Institute of Information in Science and Technology
• Member of the "International Association of Scientific Papermakers".
• Member of the Research Committee of TAPPI ("Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry")

Research Bio Professor Carlos Negro
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials
University Complutense of Madrid, Spain

Carlos is Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University Complutense of Madrid. His research interest is focussed mainly on sustainable water use in the industry, paper recycling, wet-end chemistry, and nanocelluloses. He has made a broad range of contributions to the paper recycling industry and the sustainable water use for different industrial sector including chemical industry, paper industry, petrochemical, energy, stainless steel and food industries.

He holds directorships positions in several professional associations: Spanish Association of Chemists and Chemical Engineers (ANQUE, Past President 2008-2012),  Executive Committee member of the Spanish Environment Club (2008-2012), Executive Committee member of the European Association  of Chemistry and Molecular Science (EuChEMS, 2010-2013), President Spanish Forum Chemistry and Society (FQyS, since 2010), Scientific Advisor Foundation to support the Spanish National Science and Technology Museum (since 2012), Vice-President Expoquimia (since 2013), Member of the World Chemical Engineering Council (WCEC, since 2014), Executive Committee member of European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE, 2016-2018).                  

Awards

• Botin Foundation Sustainable Water Award (2021)
• ChemPlast Award (2019)
• Ken Maddern Award (2017)
• ANQUE Gold Medal (2016)
• Technology and Knowledge Transfer UCM Prize (2016)
• ANQUE Award (2014)
• AQM Gold and Diamond Medal (2013)
• Al Moslemi Award (2008)
• AETEPA Award (1994)

Membership

• AIChE Member Life
• Fellow-RSC
• ACS
• ANQUE
• IASPM
• IWA
• TAPPI
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