Deserved Wallenberg Prize for Holmbom and Eckerman of Åbo Akademi

At a ceremony presided upon by no less than the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, Prof Bjarne Holmbom and Christer Eckerman were awarded the 25th Marcus Wallenberg prize for their pioneering research on, 'Winning Chemicals from Trees.'

The Wallenberg citation reads:

The Laureates have created an understanding of the fundamental chemistry of spruce tree knots, i.e. the part of the branches that is embedded in the stem. They developed technical separation methods to extract tree knots from the pulping process and to isolate and purify chemicals from the tree knots, opening the field for many potential applications and uses. The selective removal of knots from the pulping process brings opportunities for additional benefits by reducing process disturbances, reducing the use of bleaching chemicals and energy, and allowing more consistent quality of the paper products to be produced.

By methodical research of the highest quality, the Laureates have significantly contributed to creating a platform for the forest products industry to improve and broaden its role and commercial prospects with a range of new products and implications e.g. for chemicals, energy, production efficiency and sustainability.

"The awarded research holds promise of adding value and enhancing the image of our business as capable of bringing benefits to society. As such it will also serve as a pointer to the future of our business, demonstrating that new ground is still to be explored when it comes to more fully developing the forest products industry to sustainably serve future society" said Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Marcus Wallenberg Foundation at the award ceremony.