The main motivation of Dr. Alex Berg, Executive Director of the Technological Development Unit (UDT) of the University of Concepción (UdeC), is to develop and apply technological solutions to transform raw materials into products. Alex Berg, Executive Director of the Technological Development Unit (UDT) at the University of Concepción (UdeC), is to develop and apply technological solutions to transform raw materials into products, while ensuring a benign environmental footprint.
In 1983, he graduated as a Chemical Civil Engineer at this university, and in 1989, he obtained the academic degree of Doctor in Natural Sciences from the University of Hamburg, Germany. Among other things, he talks about the importance of creating and maintaining working conditions that stimulate creativity, encourage teamwork and keep a multidisciplinary team alert and enthusiastic. At the same time, the ability to listen to and understand the productive sector is fundamental, considering that the ultimate aim of technological research is to apply R&D results. For this reason, the relationship and joint work with industry are key.
As a researcher at UdeC, he has been in contact with students and young researchers for 30 years, through the development of internships, undergraduate and postgraduate theses, and research projects. “The intergenerational contact and interaction with young people from different disciplines has been very relevant, in order to tackle technological problems and channel them into a plausible solution that can be productively applied,” says Dr. Alex Berg.
How have you integrated your academic and professional experience to address the specific challenges related to the pulp and paper industry?
I believe that a scientific approach to the pulp and paper industry is important and complementary to a business and state perspective. It is probably a more neutral position in terms of interests, more global from a thematic point of view and more futuristic from a time perspective.
A first challenge that seems important to me is for the forest industry to broaden the portfolio of products it generates. Indeed, the forest is a potential supplier of raw materials for green chemistry and many biomaterials; in turn, new pharmaceuticals, functional additives and fine chemicals can be developed from the wood and bark of different species.
Other challenges are to reduce the massive use of resources and waste generated by industry; to change the energy matrix to one with a smaller environmental footprint; to contribute to greenhouse gas neutrality (for which an increase in forest area and a more intensive use of biomass in long term uses are essential); to manage water resources properly and to take measures to adapt to climate change.
In my opinion, these challenges can only be met by applying technology, often at the frontier, and by making the three pillars of sustainability – economy, environment and society – compatible.
What strategies have you used to facilitate technology and knowledge transfer between academia and industry, especially in the pulp and paper context?
Technological innovation is extremely complex. First, a problem must be clearly and comprehensively identified, and then a solution must be sought that considers all relevant environmental, economic, commercial and regulatory aspects, and that has the support of relevant sectors of society.
Who is the driving force behind technological innovation in Chile and the world?
Mainly small and medium-sized technology-based enterprises. At the national level, unfortunately, there are few such entities. Therefore, our efforts at UDT focus on identifying and working closely with entrepreneurs and business people who recognise alternatives for development and growth based on frontier technologies, innovative processes and new products.
In fact, UDT’s technology transfer and licensing contracts to industry are related to this type of entrepreneurs: agile, forward-looking and eager to improve their productive environment.
What is the importance of collaboration between universities and the pulp and paper industry in promoting research and innovation?
It is essential to strengthen research and development, activities that in Chile are mainly housed in universities. Close collaboration between the industrial forestry industry and academia is necessary, so that research topics are related to the productive reality and the results have real possibilities of application.
It is also important to train professionals with the skills and knowledge required by the industry. Faced with a tremendously changing technological and social scenario, it is essential that the educational offer, curricula and training alternatives are aligned with industrial demands and requirements.
What programmes or initiatives have you developed to train professionals and students in topics related to the pulp and paper industry and environmental sustainability?
UDT’s role is to host students and young researchers, giving them the opportunity to carry out research stays, to engage with current topics linked to the bioeconomy and circular economy, to work in interdisciplinary groups and to take first steps in R&D activities.
How has the pulp and paper industry contributed to the training and development of human talent?
Professionals are the basis of any industry, including industrial forestry. Fortunately, in the Biobío Region we have several very good universities, from which thousands of students graduate every year. In fact, one of the main “export products” of our region are professionals.
Now, if we focus our attention on environmental issues, the importance of human talent is even greater, due to the complexity of the issues, the need to unite knowledge from different disciplines and the difficulty of finding solutions that satisfy all actors in society.
What are the main challenges and opportunities for collaboration between universities and the pulp and paper industry in terms of environmental sustainability?
The main challenge is to strike the right balance between the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social. In particular, if we recognise that in the future the types of mechanical, chemical and biological conversions that the sector will apply will be much broader and the variety of products it will generate more diverse and sophisticated, it will be necessary to achieve a new balance between stable jobs and the environment, between company size and productive diversity, between local economic development and productivity.
Studies contributing to the Biobío Region
In his outstanding career, Dr. Berg has contributed with several studies to the Biobío Region; he is a developer of disruptive technologies, some of which are being transferred to the productive sector.
This research went through multiple stages of development; some of the most relevant are the following:
- Technology for the extraction of natural polyphenols from pine bark. More than one million tonnes of pine bark are generated annually. This material contains natural polyphenols, called tannins, with various industrial uses, mainly wood adhesives, foams and antioxidants. We developed a new extraction process, which is being licensed to a major regional company.
- Foams for hydroponic crops. Those currently used in Chile are made from phenol-formaldehyde resins, are of fossil origin, do not degrade naturally and are imported, mainly from Colombia and Mexico. Together with the company REBISA, we are developing alternative foams based on the polyphenolic extracts mentioned above, which show excellent technical properties and are beginning to be marketed.
- Insulating panels based on eucalyptus bark. We developed a technology to use this raw material to produce insulating panels as a replacement for mineral wool and expanded polystyrene (Plumavit). The company AISLACOR is finishing the construction of an industrial plant in Tomé, based on this technology, whose production will start very soon.
- Reinforcing additive for adhesive resins. Research over several years has shown that nanometre-sized cellulose fibres can reinforce wood adhesives in a truly surprising way. Small doses of this additive can reduce the dosage of adhesive in the manufacture of reconstituted wood-based panels by 20%, a result of great economic and environmental significance. A local company will start producing these fortifying cellulose nanofibres in the short term.
Environmental development and its contribution in the Biobío Region
UDT works with companies and public bodies to develop studies, identify problems and propose alternative solutions. The main lines of current R&D can be summarised in two concepts: Bioeconomy and Circular Economy.
“Bioeconomy seeks to replace fossil resources with renewable raw materials. In the Biobío Region we have a great variety and quantity of biomass from agricultural and forestry activities; among others, bark, sawdust, wheat straw, fruit tree prunings, fruit peels and husks. These by-products can be used as raw materials for packaging materials, construction products and fine chemicals, among others,” says Dr. Alex Berg.
Meanwhile, “the Circular Economy seeks to reduce the use of resources in our economy, minimising the generation of waste and rubbish. This is possible through the intelligent design of products, which considers their post-consumer future, the development and application of recycling techniques, and cascade production, i.e. production systems in which the by-products of one process serve as an input for another,” says the specialist.
How do you see the role of innovation and sustainability in the paper industry in the future?
The pulp, paper, board and sawmill industry must necessarily open up to other products and areas of application. Currently in Chile, the range of applications for forest raw materials is restricted to a few products with low added value. The global trend is towards new applications: Substitution of plastics in packaging; replacement of synthetic products by bio-based additives with reinforcing, flame retardant or biocide activity; application of tannins and lignin as natural phenols and antioxidants; and oligomeric carbohydrates as thickeners and functional polymers, among others.
The forestry sector must improve its image in the community and show that bio-based products are distinguished, like no other, by their environmental sustainability, positive social impacts and high economic potential.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your career and your vision for the future of the environment?
Humanity was born tied to the Earth and its products: forests, plants and grasslands. I am certain, that a sustainable future of our planet must recognise the products and by-products of forestry and agricultural activities as fundamental, to replace materials made from petroleum and its derivatives. To do so, we must develop bio-based technology, open markets to these new products and foster new social consensuses.