Volume 36, Issue 2

High yield pulps (HYP), manufactured in mechanical and chemimechanical pulping processes, are mainly used in graphic papers and paper grades where a high bulk is preferable, like in paperboards. Moreover, packaging papers with very high demands on both dry and wet strength could be manufactured from HYP in a near future. Preferred bonds between fibre components (long fibres, shortened fibres and fines) in the various paper grades are quite different. In the review, plausible effects of mechanical interlocking, intermolecular interactions (“physical bonding”), hydrogen bonds, intermixing of polymers, additives and possible specific interactions in the formation of strong bonds in sheet structures from HYP are discussed. A required condition for high bond strength in sheets from HYP furnishes is that fibre components are forced into sufficiently close contact. This is to a great extent impeded if the fibre walls are too stiff. Consequently, the current review focuses on both how fibre fractions should preferably be developed for different end uses and how suitable bonds might be achieved in different paper grades. The ideal type of bonds is certainly different depending on the demands on the final paper quality.

Resource-efficient wood chipping for forest-industrial processes demands large fractions of accept chips and small fractions of small-sized material, such as pin chips and fines. In Kraft pulping, a narrow distribution of wood chip thickness is important for even impregnation and for making high-quality pulp. Using newly developed forest-industrial drum-chipping technology, the investigation covered wood of varying moisture content, frozen versus unfrozen wood, and the use of different wood species. Using conventional techniques for analyzing wood chip dimensions, fast-grown spruce wood with high moisture content gave 4.2 % pin chips and fines, which was less than half of the fractions obtained with spruce wood with lower moisture content. A comparison between frozen and unfrozen pine resulted in slightly thinner and shorter chips for the frozen wood, but in both cases accept yields of up to ∼85 % were achieved. A comparison of different tree species (aspen, birch, pine, and spruce) resulted in larger accept fractions (∼90 %) for the hardwood species, even though the average length of these wood chips was as low as 17 mm. The results provide a first indication of how basic wood log properties affect the yields of accept chips and small-sized material when using modern industrial drum-chipping technology.

One way to obtain high quality pulp production is to improve selectivity delignification of step, maximize yield. Brown pulp yield and chemical composition were studied, with variation of temperature and effective alkali in Kraft cooking. Considering that these variables directly affect lignin removal rate and final product quality. Industrial wood chips from Eucalyptus grandis x Eucalyptus urophylla hybrids were used in this study. The cooking was performed to obtain pulps with kappa number 13, 15 and 17 for temperatures 155 °C, 160 °C and 165 °C, using the same Factor H (695). Yields were analyzed according to: total yield, rejects content and screened pulp yield. Klason lignin content, wood and pulp sugars, levels of hexenuronic acids in pulp were also determined. Results indicate that lower cooking temperatures are beneficial in relation to cooking performance, selectivity and preservation of xylans. With a screened pulp yield of 57.1 % for KN 17 at the lowest temperature 155 ºC and 55.3 % at the same KN at 165 ºC. The lowest screened pulp yield obtained, 51 %, was for KN 13 at 165 ºC, with 54.1 % with the same KN at 155 ºC. Evidencing a decreasing linear trend of screened pulp yield with temperature increase and kappa number reduction.

The goal of this paper is to model the pulp properties fiber length, shives width and freeness. This will be done utilizing specific energy, flat zone inlet consistency and the internal variables, consistencies and fiber residence times estimated from refining zone soft sensors. The models are designed using more than 3600 hours of data from a RGP82CD refiner. The pulp properties are sampled using a measurement device positioned after the latency chest. Such measurements are noisy and irregularly sampled which opens for a number of challenges to overcome in modeling procedures. In this paper it is shown that the models for shives width and fiber length are capable of predicting most of the major dynamics. However, for freeness no reliable linear models can be derived. When estimating fiber length, the specific energy together with flat zone inlet consistency, fiber residence times and the consistency in the conical zone were the dominant inputs. For shives width it was found that a similar set of inputs resulted in the best models, except that the consistencies during normal process conditions did not significantly influence shives width. Furthermore, fiber residence times were shown to have considerably more pronounced impact on fiber length compared with shives width estimates.

With growing demand of paper products, the electric consumption in pulp and paper industry is increasing globally where a share of 30 % is attributed to the pulp pumping system. The efficient designing and running of pumping system are critical for energy efficiency. The incomplete information on pulp flows and the oversized designs are the major causes of low efficiency. In the first part of this research, the fiber level models and rheological properties covering a series of unit applications are examined. A loss model of pulp pump is set up by considering different factors influencing pumping performance. The efficiency improvement opportunities in pulp pumping are systematically investigated. The drag-reducing feature at low consistency pulp pumping is highlighted which will be further applied in energy optimized sizing and dimensioning of a pulp pump in the second part of this research.

Based on the loss model of pulp pump set up in the I part of this research, an efficient designing method is proposed by taking account of the influences of head reduction by small blade number, leakage loss via tip clearance, and erosion-corrosion wears in pumps separately. Further, a two-stage optimal designing approach was proposed to tackle the oversized design. The pump designing was performed by coupling with a CFD-based optimization procedure. An efficiency increase of near 10 % was achieved on the pump model validated in laboratory. It was proved that performance could be improved by increasing the impeller blade width and enlarging the impeller blade outlet angle. It was further shown that the erosion-corrosion wear in pulp pump was relatively lighter when compared to particle-impingement wear in slurry and sewage pump. Adoption of composite material showed potential in energy-saving in the pumping system.

In food packaging, low-density polyethylene (PE) coating is applied to paperboards to act as a functional barrier and to provide the smoothness required to enhance printability. These characteristics are related to the material’s surface roughness, the parameter monitored during the manufacturing process. Measurement of surface roughness using optical profilometry has gained importance in the paper industry. The optical instruments used to measure surface roughness are limited spatially by the relationship with the light wavelength at which they operate. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is an alternative for overcoming the spatial resolution limitation, and the use of stereo-photogrammetry on SEM images can be seen as an alternative profilometry technique to measure surface roughness. In this investigation, the surface topography of industrially manufactured high-quality PE-coated paperboard was studied, comparing the SEM stereo-photogrammetry technique with a reference profilometry method, i. e., chromatic confocal microscopy (CCM). We found close agreement between the calculated surface roughness and the results of the techniques used and compared them according to the new ISO 25178 Geometric Product Specifications. We concluded that SEM stereo-photogrammetry provides comparable accurate alternative profilometry method for characterizing the surface roughness of PE-coated paperboard in the micrometer scale.

This work has been conducted to investigate the effect of accelerated ageing on the filler-free (control) handsheets and the ones having Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) and Zeolite (Clinoptilolite) fillers. The diagnosis approach of this work has been based on the use of the techniques of attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The FT-IR technique has allowed identifying the changes in cellulose components of handsheets. Likewise, the XRD technique has provided to diagnose the changes in crystallinity of the handsheets and fillers. The results found out that PCC and Zeolite fillers could be easily added to the structure of the paper network by changing various experimental variables. The loss of C−O functional groups and the formation of carbonyl groups in handsheets has been analysed by accelerated ageing. The spectroscopy results confirmed that usage of zeolite filler has a retarding and structurally improving effect on the glycosidic linkages. Recent findings have been provided new insights into the role of the synergistic effect of the combination of PCC and zeolite fillers in the decelerating of certain ageing mechanism.

A novel macro-RAFT emulsifier was synthesized with S, S’-bis(α, α’-dimethyl-α”-acetic acid)-trithiocarbonate (BDATT), M13-10 (self-made emulsifier) and acrylate monomer, which was further used to prepare surface sizing agent. On the other hand, M13-10 was synthesized with iso-tridecanol polyoxyethylene ether, sodium methoxide and sulfamic acid as the starting materials. The hydrophilicity of macro-RAFT emulsifier and the performance of surface sizing agent were affected by BDATT used as the chain transfer agent and M13-10 as the hydrophilic monomer. So, the CMC and HLB of the emulsifier prepared with different M13-10 content and BDATT content, were compared, as well as the particle size of the prepared surface sizing agent, and the cobb, bursting resistance, tensile resistance, folding endurance and roughness of paper sized. The results reveal that surface sizing agent with macro-RAFT emulsifier of which the amount of M13-10 is 7 w% and the amount of BDATT is 2.5 w% demonstrates the best sizing effect on paper with the contact angle of 119°, the surface water absorption (cobb) of 48.8 g/m 2 , the bursting strength of 285 kPa, the folding endurance of 19 and the tensile strength of 59.6 kN/m.

There is currently a great demand for sustainable and bio-derived coatings for fiber-based packaging materials, which are technically implementable with a high performance. The aim of this work was to investigate the grease resistance of coatings prepared from methyl nanocellulose when applied on paperboard. Co-additives selected from native microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and hydrophobically modified ethyl(hydroxyethyl)cellulose (EHEC) were used in order to determine their impact on film formation and crack resistance for folds. Small and moderate coat weights were applied in order to determine the critical coat weight for the barrier properties. It was found that high grease resistance can be achieved with methyl nanocellulose and a combination of methyl nanocellulose and MFC coatings. Contact angle determinations for water on uncoated and coated materials showed that EHEC-MFC films have a very high contact angle which is due to both the surface chemistry and roughness. This indicates and confirms that EHEC may facilitate the wetting of oil and greases. Methyl nanocellulose mixed with hydrophobically modified EHEC significantly changed the barrier properties indicating a change in the film formation.

Essential oils are interesting plant extracts that are used for preservation in food field. They can be used in antibacterial food packaging systems. The disadvantage of essential oils is that they degrade due to light and heat and lose their biological activity. Encapsulation techniques enable essential oils to be protected them. In this study wall material maltodextrin and whey protein concentrate were used. The emulsions were prepared with rosemary oil and wall material. Freeze dried capsules were synthesized. The encapsulation efficiencies, surface morphologies and particle size distributions were determined. In addition, the paper coating formulations were prepared with rosemary oil capsule by different concentrations and applicate them onto the paper. Antimicrobial test was applied to both gram negative and positive bacteria on the coated papers. In addition, color, gloss and contact angle were measured by spectrophotometer, glossmeter and goniometer, respectively. The offset test prints were made on the coated papers, and the color and gloss of the prints were measured and the color changes were calculated. As a result, capsules with rosemary oil were produced. It was determined that rosemary coated papers showed activity against E. coli bacteria and this paper could be used in active food packaging.

This study is about preparing different paper substrates with chemically stable hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surface coatings through spraying a mixture of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and inorganic particles. The method is easy to implement, reproducible and requires inexpensive starting materials. Non-colored and colored types of (i) raw paper (UC), (ii) glossy coated paper (GC) and (iii) matte coated paper (MC) surfaces were selected for surface modification through the coating application. Both water-based ink (WB) and solvent-based ink (SB) formulations were used to dye substrate surfaces. Investigations including surface wetting, optical and physical properties of the coated paper substrates revealed that the coating application method proposed is a promising lacquer alternative for packaging purposes.

The substantial expansion of the Brazilian pulp and paper industry in the last years resulted in a significant increase in the solid waste generation. This paper investigates the production of pellets using primary sludge from the effluent treatment plant of a kraft pulp mill, as a fuel for producing energy, using a novel wet route process. The pellet samples were produced in a laboratory pelletizing press, which has a horizontal circular matrix. The samples were characterized by moisture content, high heating value, ash content, dimensions (diameter and length), mechanical durability and fines content. The net heating value and energetic density were also measured. The pellets manufactured with primary sludge were compared to the European standard for non-woody pellets. Pelletization caused a reduction of the moisture content by 37.8 %, and increased the net heating value by 41 % and bulk density by approximately 39 %, which resulted in a 263 % increase in the material´s energetic density. Pellet production using a wet route process was appropriate for the primary sludge, and produced pellets with a high mechanical durability (99.3 %) and low fines content (0.062 %), indicating the potential of thermal valorization for incineration in the biomass boiler to produce high-quality steam.

This paper investigated the impact of type and content of diisocyanate on the structure of modified cellulose fillers. Four the most popular isocyanates were applied – isophorone, hexamethylene, toluene and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate – at loadings of 1–15 wt%. Chemical structure, and its short-term storage stability, were investigated for eight weeks. Moreover, the main volatile organic compounds detected during modification, as well as emitted from fillers before and after storage, were identified. The main compounds detected in the air during modifications were terpenes and terpenoids. No diisocyanates were detected, which is very beneficial considering their toxicity. They were emitted from modified fillers at 40 °C, but only from fresh samples. After storage no emissions were noted, which indicated successful modification of fillers, also confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and changes in polarity of fillers’ surface. Observed changes should be considered beneficial for the potential applications of modified fillers in manufacturing of polymer composites.

A new woodchips-ZrO 2 biosorbent (W-ZrO 2 ) was synthesized using wood residue material generated from the oak tree ( Quercus robur ) during furniture manufacturing. Biosorbent was tested for the simultaneous removal of both chromium (Cr) ions: Cr(III) and Cr(VI), in the binary component solution. Biosorbent characterization was performed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). To define optimal process parameters for simultaneous removal of both Cr species, effects of pH, temperature, sorbent dosage and Cr ions concentration on the sorption process were investigated. Sorption of Cr ions onto W-ZrO 2 was highly pH-dependent. Optimal pH for simultaneous removal of both Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions is 4.0 with removal efficiency over 99.5 % in both cases. Equilibrium experimental results are the best fitted by the Langmuir sorption isotherm model. The maximal sorption capacities of the biosorbent for simultaneous removal of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions in binary-component system are 16.18 and 83.52 mg g −1 , respectively. The present study shows that using wood residue material to produce a low-cost sorbent can effectively decrease the water pollution simultaneously removing both chromium species from water and also reduce wood waste and increase reuse/recycling options.