Visiting scholar produces important sustainability and recycling research

Contact: Cindy Wagner
November 4, 2022

Sinan Sonmez
KALAMAZOO, Mich.鈥斅槎勾's visiting scholar Dr. Sinan Sonmez has helped developed a method to achieve savings in terms of energy and cost by reducing the use of raw cellulose to recycled paper. As result of this work, Sonmez鈥檚 has had seven research papers accepted for publication.

鈥淒uring his time at WMU, Dr. Sonmez has made important advancements in his research, impacting the area of recycling and sustainable materials for the paper and packaging industry,鈥 says Lee Ryder, senior director of international 麻豆传媒 and scholar services. 鈥淗is contributions to the field in such a short time are remarkable.鈥

鈥淚 hope to continue my efforts to leave a more livable world for tomorrow by developing biodegradable and printable products, especially for the packaging industry,鈥 says Sonmez, a professor of applied sciences at Marmara University鈥檚 Department of Printing Technologies. He arrived at Western in fall 2021 and will be at the University through the 2022-23 academic year.

The digital print market size is . 鈥淐onsidering that the need for raw materials will increase with this growth, the search for new sustainable resources gains importance,鈥 explains Sonmez.

Additional research while at WMU

Sonmez鈥檚 ongoing research with multidisciplinary studies is focused on paper coating and its impact on paper recycling as part of WMU鈥檚 Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering. Wanting to draw attention to the rate that an individual's paper and cardboard consumption Sonmez focuses on sustainability, recycling and deinking.

Sonmez worked on completely biodegradable packaging products with the new coating formulations under the departmental leadership of Dr. Kecheng Li, chair, and Dr. Abdus Salam, assistant professor.

麻豆传媒 Sonmez

Sonmez earned his Ph.D. and Master of Science in printing education from the Marmara University Science and Technology Institute in Turkey where he was promoted to full professor in 2018. He has since published more than 60 articles (Google Scholar). His research at Western has been supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (2021) and the Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering (2022).

Publications referenced include the following:

  • 鈥淭he recyclability and printability of electrophotographic printed paper,鈥 Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal.
  • 鈥淓ffects on hand-sheet paper properties of pH in deinking process,鈥 Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal
  • 鈥淓ffect of progressive deinking and reprinting on ink-jet printed paper,鈥 Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal
  • 鈥淩ecycling of printed papers and usability in flexo printing packaging,鈥 Cellulose Chemistry and Technology

In addition to these studies, Sonmez has produced environmentally friendly inks formulations especially for the packaging industry. As result of this work, Sonmez鈥檚 research was accepted for the following publications:

  • 鈥淎 survey on the effects of environmentally friendly soy protein inks on flexography print parameters in the packaging industry,鈥 Cellulose Chemistry and Technology
  • 鈥淯sability of cellulose-based binder in water-based flexographic ink,鈥 Colaration Technology
  • 鈥淓ffects on print quality of varying acrylic binder types in water-based flexographic ink formulations,鈥 Colaration Technology

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