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Evaluation of soap recovery efficiency from black liquor — analytical tools, TAPPI Journal April 2023
ABSTRACT: Soap skimmings (“soap”) are typically recovered from black liquor in kraft mills that process a high percentage of softwood. In many mills, the recovery of soap is inefficient, negatively impacting performance of evaporators and recovery boilers and resulting in loss of potential revenue. A thorough evaluation of soap recovery performance in a kraft mill requires measurement of soap content in black liquor at various sampling locations, especially around the soap skimmer.The standard laboratory method for evaluating soap content in black liquor is a complex, multi-step process that relies on solvent extraction and titration; most mills send these samples to an outside laboratory for this analysis. In this study, 100 black liquor samples, with a wide range of soap concentrations, were tested by the standard solvent extraction method. After additional dilution, each sample was also tested for surface tension with a bubble pressure tensiometer. The results were found to correlate very closely with the solvent extraction tests results. This alternate method, using surface tension measurements of diluted black liquor samples, produces rapid results and can be easily implemented in most kraft mills, which would facilitate much more frequent in-house evaluations of soap recovery performance.
Journal articles
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Comparative study of guar gum and its cationic derivatives as pre-flocculating polymers for PCC fillers in papermaking applications, TAPPI Journal April 2022
ABSTRACT: In this work, gums from guar seeds were evaluated as a potential precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) filler pre-flocculant to induce functional filler in papermaking applications. In recent years, guar has been conidered one of the promising wet-end additives due to its abundance, rich source of hemicellulose content, and bio-degradability. However, application of guar gum in filler pretreatment methods for producing high ash paper has scarcely been reported. In this paper, the flocculating ability of three types of guar gum was established with charge analysis and turbidity (NTU) of the system at 1% and 5% for each gum: native gum (NG) having a degree of substitution (DS) of 0, and cationic gums having a DS value of 0.07 (CL) and 0.15 (CH). It was interesting to observe that even at a 5% dose of G, the charge density of PCC did not deviate much from the initial values. The system carried a weak negativeharge, resulting in an unstable colloidal suspension that led to PCC-PCC particle bridging. On the other hand, the operative mechanism of CL and CH during adsorption and PCC flocculation was predicted to be charge neutralization and electrostatic-patch formation, accompanied by particle bridging. Note that CL, with a maximum 47.5% eduction in residual turbidity of PCC at a 1% dose, was much more efficient in doing so than the other two gums; NG had a 40% maximum reduction in residual turbidity at a 5% dose and CH had a maximum 30% reduction at a 1% ose. Later on, floc formation and structure were correlated with optical and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images. In the next set of trials, paper properties were determined by varying the different gum dosages from 0.2% to 5% at a constant dose of 20% filler. It is also noteworthy to mention that with 1% CL (low DS) dose, PCC retention increased by 39%, which also enhanced the tensile, tear, burst, and opacity properties by 11%, 19%, 5%, and 4.4%, respectively, without significantly affecting the bulk properties. Further, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis nd Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed that pre-flocculating PCC with a 1% gum dose did not induce any change in crystalline transformation. Based on observation, it was found that cationic gums with low DS values re a better choice for maximizing the strength of paper while maintaining bulk and high opacity when pre-flocculaion is adopted to increase the filler retention in paper.
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The Creep Properties of Paper, TAPPI Journal August 2022
ABSTRACT: The creep proprties of alpha-pup handshetts were determined at various constant tensile loads and relative humidities for the purpose of clarifying the prerupture mechanical behavior of paper.
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Editorial: The changing face of the coated paper industry, TAPPI JOURNAL January 2018
Editorial: The changing face of the coated paper industry, TAPPI JOURNAL January 2018
Journal articles
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Contrasting underlying mechanisms of different barrier coating types, TAPPI Journal January 2018
Contrasting underlying mechanisms of different barrier coating types, TAPPI Journal January 2018
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Print quality of flexographic printed paperboard related to coating composition and structure, TAPPI Journal January 2018
Print quality of flexographic printed paperboard related to coating composition and structure, TAPPI Journal January 2018
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The evolution of reel statistical methods, TAPPI Journal June 2019
ABSTRACT: Multiple statistical methods for calculating the variance partition analysis (VPA) of reel data have existed for decades. In the paper industry, VPA is also commonly known as reel statistics. VPA commonly consists of total variance (TOT) that is then divided into three components: cross direction (CD), machine direction (MD), and residual (RES). A common mathematical procedure is referred to as ANOVA (analysis of variance). TAPPI Standard Test Method T 545 “Cross-machine grammage profile measurement (gravimetric method)” addresses paper testing and includes the ANOVA equations that have also been used to analyze scanning data.In the 1990s, TAPPI published TIP 1101-01 “Calculation and partitioning of variance using paper machine scanning sensor measurements,” which contained simple formulas that were easy to implement and could be used by a nov-ice to generate statistics on a spreadsheet. All involved quality control system (QCS) suppliers agreed to support this common method in their QCS. TIP 1101 was recently revised, and this paper concerns the analysis of data collected from a scanning sensor in a QCS and the creation of a common method for the calculation of reel statistics by TAPPI’s Process Control Division.
Journal articles
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Lignin-based resins for kraft paper applications, TAPPI Journal November 2019
ABSTRACT: We investigated miscanthus (MS) and willow (W) lignin-furfural based resins as potential reinforce-ment agents on softwood and hardwood kraft paper. These resins might be sustainable alternatives to the commercial phenolformaldehyde (PF) resins. Phenol is a petrochemical product and formaldehyde has been classified as a carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The lignin used in this study was derived from hot water extraction (160ºC, 2 h) of MS and W biomass, and may be considered sulfur-free. These biorefinery lignins were characterized for their chemical composition and inherent properties via wet chemistry and instrumental techniques. The resin blends (MS-resin and W-resin) were characterized for their molecular weight, thermal behavior, and mechanical properties. Mechanical properties were measured by the resin’s ability to reinforce softwood and hard-wood kraft papers. The effect of adding hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA), a curing agent, to the resin was also examined. Mixtures of PF and lignin-based resins were investigated to further explore ways to reduce use of non-renewables, phenol, and carcinogenic formaldehyde. The results show that lignin-based resins have the potential to replace PF resins in kraft paper applications. For softwood paper, the highest strength was achieved using W-resin, without HMTA (2.5 times greater than PF with HMTA). For hardwood paper, MS-resin with HMTA gave the highest strength (2.3 times higher than PF with HMTA). The lignin-based resins, without HMTA, also yielded mechanical properties comparable to PF with HMTA.
Journal articles
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Rheological characteristics of platy kaolin, TAPPI JOURNAL September 2019
ABSTRACT: Platy kaolin can provide significant value in the coating of paper and paperboard. It can be used in multiple applications and can provide benefits such as titanium dioxide (TiO2) extension, smoothness improvement, improved print gloss or ink set rates, calendering intensity reduction, and improved barrier properties. It is not a pigment that can be simply substituted for traditional hydrous kaolin without some adjustment to the coating formulation. These adjustments can be as simple as reducing solids, but may require binder changes as well. The coater setup may need to be adjusted because of the unique rheological behaviors these pigments exhibit.The unique rheological characteristics of platy kaolin are explored here. Measurements of the water retention of platy kaolin containing coatings confirm that water retention is not reduced in comparison to more blocky kaolin pigments, despite the lower coating solids at which they need to be run. This means that the rheological characteristics are the most important in understanding the runnability. An extensive analysis reveals some unique behaviors that need to be understood when utilizing these materials. Viscoelastic measurements indicate that, for this binder system, Tan d is mainly a function of solids. This may explain how weeping is initiated on a blade coater. The degree of shear thinning behaviors is investigated using the Ostwald de-Waele power law. The immobilization point was determined using the Dougherty-Krieger equation and related to the work of Weeks at the University of Maine on blade coater runnability. An indirect measure of particle shape and size synergy is also demonstrated using the Dougherty-Krieger equation parameters.
Journal articles
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Flow characteristics of drag-reducing natural bamboo fiber suspensions with minimal environmental load, TAPPI Journal September 2019
ABSTRACT: The reduction of pipe friction loss by adding drag-reducing agents has attracted attention as an aid to energy conservation. Drag-reducing agents induce drag reduction (DR) effects and should have a minimal environmental load, with natural resource-saving potential. This study demonstrates bamboo fiber as a drag-reducing agent that saves natural resources and has a low environmental load. Using pressure drop measurements, we report DR with suspensions of bamboo fibers with the average diameter of 13.3 µm and aspect ratio of 98.7. The maximum DR obtained in this experiment is 43% at the concentration of 4000 ppm and pipe diameter of 30 mm; DR is affected by the Reynolds number, suspension concentration, and pipe diameter. In addition, the bamboo fibers can be easily removed from the suspensions by filtration. We found that low-environmental-load bamboo fiber has DR effects like those of other fibers; its effects are greater than those of conventional synthetic fibers and wood pulp. Furthermore, it is resistant to mechanical degradation, recoverable, and recyclable. Therefore, DR effects can be selectively obtained by adding the fibers only when DR is needed; the fibers can then be collected when DR is no longer necessary. This method might greatly expand the application range of DR agents. The results demonstrate the usefulness of bamboo fibers as DR additives.