EDT

June 2021

Confidential to EDT

Discussion

Topic Background

• Enzyme, technology overview

• Pulp hornification and its mechanisms

• How bad is it?

pRefinase Enzyme Technology

• Mechanisms to mitigate issue

• Benefits for pulp end user

• Benefits for pulp production

Conclusions

• Summary thoughts

Technology Background

• Resulted from 25 years studying enzymatic fiber

modification, its mechanisms, and the issues it might

address

• Early work in mills using never-dried pulp and

comparing results to use of repulped (dried) market

pulp showed dramatic differences

• The discoveries stemmed from investigation of dozens

of different enzymes across a myriad of tree species;

enzyme specificity and tailored blends matter

significantly when using enzymes

• Led to patented and patent-pending technology across

major pulp producing countries which is being

commercialized today

• Not alive, but produced by living organisms

• Biological catalysts

• Unique activities

• Produced by fermentation

• Safe to handle and use

• Growing range of pH applications

What are Enzymes?

5

• We eat enzymes – contained in most liquid food items purchased in stores (cheese, yogurt, juices, wine, beer)

• We wear enzymes (detergents)

• We are filled with enzymes (billions in our bodies)

• Every mill is filled with enzymes…at all times

• Enzymes safely applied in P&P industry for over 100 years

Enzymes are Safe

ILLUSTRATIVE

Temperature & pH Enzymatic Specificity – examples

ProductComposition

Goals fromtreatment:- Better tons- More tons- Cheaper tons- Sustainability

Mill / machine equipment and water loops

Specific recycled orvirgin fiber composition

and morphology

Key application conditions(e.g., temperature, pH,

retention time / kinetics)

Tailored Product Development Inputs

Peeke: Potential of papermaking fibers

The swollen and fibrillated never-dried fiber collapses upon drying,

never to be as large and fibrillated again; this is the hornification that

leads to great strength loss.

http://www.slideshare.net/Peeke/potential-of-papermaking-fibers

Fiber

cross-section

Fiber

surface

• Shrunken fibers with less

surface area & less fibrils

• Reduced reactivity for poor

chemical retention

• Reduced physical strength

• As one can see from the graph above, the effect of hornification greatly reduces final

pulp qualities vs. “never-dried” qualities. Until now, this has been a necessary evil of

pulp drying.

• We find similar patterns

across most physical

properties. It is an objective

of this technology is to

change the way these curves

look.

Dewatering Pressing Drying

• It is only until the drying starts (solids >50%) that the properties of the pulp start to

decrease, and these are not recovered after rewetting.

Air Dried ECF

Dried Pulp

Never-dried Pulp

Topic Background

• Enzyme, technology overview

• Pulp hornification and its mechanisms

• How bad is it?

pRefinase Enzyme Technology

• Mechanisms to mitigate issue

• Benefits for pulp end user

• Benefits for pulp production

Conclusions

• Summary thoughts

Improved drainage and drying

Fewer breaks, due to increased wet web strength

Increased strength

Improved refinability for customer

Improved water retention values

Energy reduction (drying)

Less downtime due to breaks

Avoided use of more expensive fibers for needed wet web strength

Avoided alternate drainage aids

Avoided acidification chemistry for drainage

More/

Better

Tons

pRefinase®

Benefits

Reduced

Cost

EDT pRefinase Patents (US & Canada)

• As one can see from the graph above, the effect of hornification greatly reduces final

pulp qualities vs. “never-dried” qualities. Until now, this has been a necessary evil of

pulp drying.

• As one can see from the graph above, the effect of hornification greatly reduces final

pulp qualities vs. “never-dried” qualities. Until now, this has been a necessary evil of

pulp drying.

• Significant increases were shown in Tensile Index, with the pRefinase-treated and dried

pulp reaching almost the same Tensile Index as the never-dried, untreated pulp.

Topic Background

• Enzyme, technology overview

• Pulp hornification and its mechanisms

• How bad is it?

pRefinase Enzyme Technology

• Mechanisms to mitigate issue

• Benefits for pulp end user

• Benefits for pulp production

Conclusions

• Summary thoughts

• The effect of hornification greatly reduces final pulp qualities vs. “never-dried” qualities.

Until now, this has been a necessary evil of pulp drying.

• Significant increases were shown in tensile strength, with the enzyme-treated and dried

pulp with the tensile strength closer to that for the never-dried, untreated pulp

• Improvements to Elongation with pRefinase were strong that the Elongation of the

dried pulp actually close to that of the never dried pulp without pRefinase.

• Reduced pulp WRV is another effect of pulp drying. Increased pulp WRV is a good

indication of better water absorption and better fiber reactivity to papermaking

additives.

• Treated pulp requires less energy to reach a desired SR and strength level.

41% LESS ENERGY!

Never-dried

• Tensile from the pre-treated pulp is continuously higher

• Less refining required with improved drainage to achieve similar desired tensile

strength values.

Never-dried

Topic Background

• Enzyme, technology overview

• Pulp hornification and its mechanisms

• How bad is it?

pRefinase Enzyme Technology

• Mechanisms to mitigate issue

• Benefits for pulp end user

• Benefits for pulp production

Conclusions

• Summary thoughts

Benefits to Market Pulp Production

• Improved drainage of the pre-treated, never-dried pulp forms,

drains, presses and dries more quickly

• Faster drainage/drying profile also elevates the web

consistency for any process point, thereby providing greater

wet web strength and reduced chances of dryer breaks

• Economic value to pulp production process can be

considerable

− Pulp production – greater TPH throughput and fewer breaks leads to

more total output

− More on-spec production – instances of too-wet final pulp bales can be

reduced

− Production cost – savings from reduced drying energy/ton and avoided

pre-dryer drainage additives to support throughput (e.g., chemicals and

also stronger fibre inclusion to minimize breaks)

• The equal drainage at a higher production rate translated to a 4% reduction

in the steam consumption, creating more tons for the mill and at a lower

production cost

• For a given production rate, total steam consumption was at the lowest points

of the pre-trial data

Topic Background

• Enzyme, technology overview

• Pulp hornification and its mechanisms

• How bad is it?

pRefinase Enzyme Technology

• Mechanisms to mitigate issue

• Benefits for pulp end user

• Benefits for pulp production

Conclusions

• Summary thoughts

Conclusions

• Hornification of virgin pulps upon drying is a significant

issue, creating significantly weaker versions of the

never-dried fibers

• Enzymatic treatment prior to drying provides notable

benefits to both the pulp production process and

eventual pulp end users

− Pulp production – improved drainage, drying and less process

breaks

− Pulp end users – notably better strength values obtained when

using pre-treated market pulp

• Continued work across a broad mix of tree species and

market pulp end uses is ongoing as part of the activities

in this area and may be reported in future updates.