Heinzel-Mondi-Sappi Research Award 2026 goes to DI Johanna Zieher
DI Johanna Zieher received the Heinzel-Mondi-Sappi Research Award 2026 in the category “Paper and Board Making Process” for her publication “Environmentally friendly approaches for the tuning of cellulosic paper properties through polysaccharide-reinforced silica coatings”, addressing the current topic of sustainable coating systems for ultrathin cellulose-based specialty papers, recently published in the journal Cellulose (DOI: 10.1007/s10570-025-06826-y). The prestigious award, conferred annually to the best PhD theses in three categories, recognizes outstanding scientific contributions with the potential to support future developments in the pulp and paper industry.
The research focused on environmentally friendly coating systems designed to enhance the mechanical performance of ultrathin cellulose-based specialty papers. Silica-polysaccharide composites were developed using a water-based sol-gel process and natural polysaccharides, such as starch, alginate, cellulose nanofibers, and microfibrillated cellulose. The overall aim was to establish a sustainable and industry-compatible coating approach for the production of high-performance paper materials based solely on environmentally compatible raw materials. The method is readily scalable and offers new opportunities for applications in filtration, packaging, and technical specialty papers. The PhD work was supervised by Univ.Prof. Dr. Thomas Rosenau, carried out in the Christian Doppler lab “Cellulosic high-tech materials” at the Institute of Chemistry of Renewable Resources, headed by Ass.Prof. Dr. Hubert Hettegger who also co-supervised the thesis.
The results demonstrated substantial improvements in both tensile and flexural strength, while also allowing the mechanical properties of the paper to be tailored to specific requirements. The work contributes to the development of more sustainable paper materials and highlights how environmentally friendly, industrially viable coating concepts can be used to enhance the performance of cellulose-based products.
The Heinzel-Mondi-Sappi Research Award 2026 in the category “Paper and Board Making Process” was presented on May 20, 2026, during the Paper Bioeconomy Conference in Graz, Austria, by Karin Hofer and Martti Savelainen (Sappi).