Bagasse Fractionation by the Soda Process

The soda process was the first chemical pulping method and was patented in 1845. Soda pulping led to kraft pulping, which involves the combined use of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. Today, kraft pulping dominates the chemical pulping industry. However, about 10% of the total chemical pulp produced in the world is made using non-wood material, such as bagasse and wheat straw. The soda process is the preferred method of chemical pulping of non-wood materials, because it is considered to be economically viable on a small scale and for bagasse is compatible with sugarcane processing. With recent developments, the soda process can be designed to produce minimal effluent discharge and the fouling of evaporators by silica precipitation. The aim of this work is to produce bagasse fibres suitable for papermaking and allied applications and to produce sulfur-free lignin for use in specialty applications. A preliminary economic analysis of the soda process for producing commodity silica, lignin and pulp for papermaking is presented.

Creating a therapeutic environment : a non-randomised controlled trial of a quiet time intervention for patients in acute care

Background: Noise is a significant barrier to sleep for acute care hospital patients, and sleep has been shown to be therapeutic for health, healing and recovery. Scheduled quiet time interventions to promote inpatient rest and sleep have been successfully trialled in critical care but not in acute care settings. Objectives: The study aim was to evaluate as cheduled quiet time intervention in an acute care setting. The study measured the effect of a scheduled quiet time on noise levels, inpatients’ rest and sleep behaviour, and wellbeing. The study also examined the impact of the intervention on patients’, visitors’ and health professionals’ satisfaction, and organisational functioning. Design: The study was a multi-centred non-randomised parallel group trial. Settings: The research was conducted in the acute orthopaedic wards of two major urban public hospitals in Brisbane, Australia. Participants: All patientsadmitted to the two wards in the5-month period of the study were invited to participate, withafinalsample of 299 participants recruited. This sample produced an effect size of 0.89 for an increase in the number of patients asleep during the quiet time. Methods: Demographic data were collected to enable comparison between groups. Data for noise level, sleep status, sleepiness and well being were collected using previously validated instruments: a Castle Model 824 digital sound level indicator; a three point sleep status scale; the Epworth Sleepiness Scale; and the SF12 V2 questionnaire. The staff, patient and visitor surveys on the experimental ward were adapted from published instruments. Results: Significant differences were found between the two groups in mean decibel level and numbers of patients awake and asleep. The difference in mean measured noise levels between the two environments corresponded to a ‘perceived’ difference of 2 to 1. There were significant correlations between average decibel level and number of patients awake and asleep in the experimental group, and between average decibel level and number of patients awake in the control group. Overall, patients, visitors and health professionals were satisfied with the quiet time intervention. Conclusions: The findings show that a quiet time intervention on an acute care hospital ward can affect noise level and patient sleep/wake patterns during the intervention period. The overall strongly positive response from surveys suggests that scheduled quiet time would be a positively perceived intervention with therapeutic benefit.