Press ReleasesLaunch of World's First Commercial Products Made of Functional Cellulose NanofibersNippon Paper Crecia Co., Ltd., a Group company, starts selling the “Hada Care Acty” series, newly branded adult diapers that use the material, on October 1.

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd. (President: Fumio Manoshiro), this spring, succeeded in the commercialization of highly effective deodorant sheets using cellulose nanofibers (hereinafter "CNF"), made from pulp that is chemically processed with the TEMPO catalytic oxidation method [A1](see Note 1). Nippon Paper Crecia Co., Ltd. (President: Yasunori Nanri), a Group company, will start selling the "Hada Care Acty" series, or adult diapers, that use the sheets, on October 1, nationwide, as the world's first commercial product made from functional CNF sheets.

If the pulp is chemically processed with the TEMPO catalytic oxidation method, high concentrations of metal ions and metallic nanoparticles can be easily attached to the surface of CNF (Note 2). Nippon Paper Group took advantage of such characteristics and succeeded in manufacturing sheets of CNF incorporating a large amount of metal ions that generate deodorant and antibacterial effects. The sheet features a deodorant capability of the highest ever standard. Nippon Paper Crecia Co., Ltd. has adopted the deodorant sheet of the functional CNF for its new product series carrying a new "Hada Care Acty" brand, which feature deodorizing capability of at least three times as effective as conventional products. (Checker: If the original is better, please change it back.)

The Nippon Paper Group is focusing its efforts on expanding its business into fields that support people's lives, by enhancing technological capabilities that depend on advanced utilization of renewable forest resources. The Group considers CNF as a new material essential to these efforts. In October 2013, it constructed facilities for trial production [A2]of CNF (annual production capacity 30 tons) at Iwakuni Mill (Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), and has been working to produce samples in large quantities and develop applications. Going forward, the[A3] Company will redouble its efforts to develop technologies, establish mass-production technologies and develop applications for a broader range of industrial fields.

      1. Note1:Chemical denaturation of cellulose based on TEMPO catalysis. The method was developed chiefly by Professor Akira Isogai of the Department of Biomaterial Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at The University of Tokyo. With this method, pulp is easily defibrated and nanofiber with a uniform width can be created.
      2. Note2:Creation of metallic nanoparticles on the surface of cellulose chemically treated with the TEMPO catalytic oxidation method. The method was developed chiefly by Professor Takuya Kitaoka of the Department of Agro-environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Graduate School at Kyushu University