Doctoral students and participating companies
PhD students and partner companies in the EXACT Industrial Research School.
Eric Matteusson - Absolent
"My research focuses on cleaning air from industrial processes. The work is concentrated on two areas: carbon dioxide filtration and oil mist filtration. The aim of the carbon dioxide research is to investigate the possibility of separating carbon dioxide efficiently in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in conjunction with air purification processes. The oil mist filtration research aims to develop models that enable faster and more efficient development and design of draining filters."
Fredrik Andersson - Blue Ocean Closures
"My research is focused on experimentally determining the mechanical properties required for the development and calibration of constitutive models for airlaid materials. These models will subsequently be used in a finite element analysis (FEA) environment to simulate manufacturing processes involving complex multiaxial loading and deformation states."
Carl-Magnus Brandén - Lixea
"Lixea operates an ionic liquid-based (Ionosolv) biorefinery process in which biomass is fractionated into several valuable material streams: cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose-derived products. The chemical properties, reactivity, and interactions of these fractions are complex and not yet fully understood. Carl-Magnus's research at Karlstad University aims to develop a deeper understanding of the chemical and structural changes that occur in these material streams during and after fractionation, and to identify how process parameters can be optimized to increase their commercial value and applicability."
Björn Öman - Nordic Paper
"My research focuses on the production of greaseproof paper. This type of paper is refined to such an extent that it obtains an almost closed surface, preventing fats and oils from penetrating it. Achieving this requires large amounts of energy during the refining process, and the more compact the paper becomes, the more energy is needed during dewatering. My research focuses on fibres, refining, and dewatering, with the goal of making this process more energy-efficient in order to conserve both resources and the environment."
Elise Meurs - Circulose
"As the textile industry is one of the world's most polluting industries and generates millions of tonnes of textile waste every year, there is a rapidly growing need for textile recycling initiatives. Circulose is one such initiative, producing dissolving pulp from cotton waste that is subsequently used to manufacture new regenerated viscose fibres for a wide range of textile applications. Since the industrial viscose production process has primarily been developed and optimized for conventional feedstocks such as specialty wood pulp and cotton linters, pulp derived from cotton waste behaves differently in this established regeneration process. This PhD project aims to increase understanding of how and why these pulps perform differently, with a particular focus on the reactivity of recycled textile dissolving pulp during the viscose process. The research seeks to support initiatives that reduce cotton waste by reusing it as a raw material for regenerated viscose fibres and thereby make such circular solutions more commercially competitive."
Zaeem Aman - Rottneros
"Hornification is an irreversible process that occurs when cellulose pulp is dried, resulting in reduced flexibility, reactivity, and reswelling capacity. This industrial PhD project aims to investigate the mechanisms behind hornification through experimental studies and to develop innovative drying strategies to mitigate its effects, thereby improving the recyclability of pulp fibres."
Morassa Raouf - Associated Researcher (without company affiliation)
"This PhD project focuses on new processes and applications for different types of nanocellulose. Nanocellulose is a bio-based material and, in our case, is produced from lignocellulosic chemical pulp. My research aims to avoid advanced chemicals and processing methods while ensuring scalability. The permeability of nanocellulose will be evaluated and divided into diffusivity and solubility components. Material properties will also be modified, for example through chemical crosslinking and hydrophobization, while Hansen solubility parameters will be used to support experimental findings. One hypothesis is that the deterioration of nanocellulose barrier properties at higher relative humidity is primarily caused by increased water solubility rather than increased diffusion. A PhD project in chemical engineering should also address potential applications. One obvious area is barrier coatings and films for paper and packaging. Another potential application is coatings for separator membranes in batteries."
Manal Rahal - Thermia
"The primary objective of this project is to develop a high-quality and robust machine-learning system that enables energy-efficient functionality in heat pumps."
Faizan Shaikh - Stora Enso
"My research focuses on improving the operation of paperboard mills through predictive maintenance using the Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) framework. The study concentrates on two main areas: increasing operational reliability and reducing downtime through early fault detection enabled by machine learning. The objective is to use sensor data and machine-learning models to detect anomalies and predict equipment failures before they occur, thereby optimizing maintenance schedules. The goal is to integrate these predictive strategies into industrial workflows to reduce costs and improve overall production efficiency, while addressing challenges such as handling noisy sensor data and ensuring model robustness under real-world operating conditions."