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Effect of pressure and time on water absorption of coated paperboard based on a modified Cobb test method, TAPPI Journal April 2024
ABSTRACT: This manuscript presents the study of water absorption by paperboard subjected to water at high hydrostatic pressure based on a modified Cobb tester. The new tester is based on TAPPI Standard Test Method T 441; however, the water column can reach up to 550 mm. The evaluation consisted of measurements of water absorption for coated and uncoated paperboard at different exposure times from 5 s to 45 s and water column heights from 10 mm to 500 mm (corresponding to hydrostatic pressures 98 Pa and 4.9 kPa, respectively). The coatings were formulated as a combination of styrene acrylate (SA; two binder levels) and two types of ground calcium carbonates (differing particle sizes) to form the two pre-coating structures: open and closed. The coating weight was 6 g/m2 applied on 210 g/m2 solid bleached board (SBB). In addition, 210 g/m2 uncoated boards were studied. Characterization of the coatings was performed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury intrusion, and roughness. It was found that the new device properly mimics the conditions of the current Cobb tester. The characterization of the coating also confirmed the presence of more open/larger pores of open coatings, confirming the desired coating structure. The absorption of boards was mainly driven by exposure pressure by comparing with exposure time. This was already evident after shorter periods of exposure time at 5 s and also 15 s exposure time. Paperboards with open coatings showed slightly higher absorption than other boards.
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Editorial: TAPPI Journal Best Research Paper for 2023 focuses on black liquor concentration using graphene oxide membranes, TAPPI Journal February 2024
ABSTRACT: TAPPI and the TAPPI Journal (TJ) Editorial Board would like congratulate the authors of the 2023 TAPPI Journal Best Research Paper Award and Honghi Tran Prize: Sam Rae, Ella V. Richards, Max Kleiman-Lynch, Brent D. Keller, and Brandon I. Macdonald. Their paper, “Pilot scale black liquor concentration using pressure driven membrane separation,” appeared on p. 223 of the April 2023 issue. This kraft recovery cycle research was recognized by the TAPPI Journal Editorial Board for its innovation, creativity, scientific merit, and clear expression of ideas.
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Editoral: Investing in the future: Writing and peer-reviewing for TAPPI Journal, TAPPI Journal July 2024
ABSTRACT: Those who actively participate in TAPPI realize how much there is to gain from the networking, educational resources, career development, and other opportunities that come with this involvement. One important opportunity is the ability to share your work and expertise with others in your field, and an excellent way to do this is by taking part in the TAPPI Journal peer-review process, either as an author or a reviewer or both.
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Editorial: Concentrated content: TAPPI Journal special issues create research visibility, TAPPI Journal September 2024
You may have noticed that TAPPI Journal often brings readers special focused issues from time to time. Over the years, these issues have covered a range of topics, including wet-end technology, recovery cycle, foam forming, coating, additives, biorefinery, nanotechnology, lignin, pulping, recycling, university research, and more.
Journal articles
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Control of continuous digester kappa number using generalized model predictive control, TAPPI Journal September 2024
ABSTRACT: Kappa number variability at the digester impacts pulp yield, physical strength properties, and lignin content for downstream delignification processing. Regulation of the digester kappa number is therefore of great importance to the pulp and paper industry. In this work, an industrial application of model-based predictive control (MPC), based on generalized prediction control, was developed for kappa number feedback control and applied to a dual vessel continuous digester located in Western Canada. The problem was complicated by the need to apply heat at multiple locations in the cook. In this study, the problem was reduced from a multiple to a single input system by identifying three potential single variable permutations for temperature adjustment. In the end, a coordinated approach to the heaters was adopted. The process was perturbed and modeled as a simple first order plus dead time model and implemented in generalized predictive control (GPC). The GPC was then configured to be equivalent to Dahlin’s controller, which reduced tuning parameterization to a single closed loop time constant. The controller was then tuned based on robustness towards a worst-case dead time mismatch of 50%. The control held the mean value of the kappa number close to the setpoint, and a 40% reduction in the kappa number’s standard deviation was achieved. Different kappa number trials were run, and the average fiberline yield for each period was evaluated. Trial results suggested yield gains of 0.3%•0.5% were possible for each 1 kappa number target increase.
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Wet pressing and product quality: Review of previous pilot machine trials, TAPPI Journal July 2020
ABSTRACT: The purpose of wet pressing is to remove water by mechanical means to consolidate the web and minimize the energy expended in the dryer section. In this process, paper is compacted and densified to degrees that impact end-use performance. Average density is increased by pressing, which has implications for grades where stiffness is important. The z-direction density gradients can affect printing and converting. Lastly, pressing affects surface quality of paper and its response to printing. Broadly speaking, the final press nip dominates the paper surface roughness and the early press nips affect printing performance.
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Cationic emulsions of maleic anhydride derivatives of oleic and abietic acid for hydrophobic sizing of paper, TAPPI Journal 2020
ABSTRACT: Ordinary rosin sizing agents are mixtures of resin acids that include abietic acid and related compounds obtained from softwoods such as pine. Fatty acids, which are another byproduct of the kraft pulping of soft-wood species, also may have hydrophobic effects, but their use as sizing agents has seldom been considered. In the current study, abietic acid and oleic acid, in the absence of other components, were first modified by reaction with maleic acid anhydride. Then, the maleated derivatives (maleated oleic acid [MOA] and maleated abietic acid [MAA]), which were emulsified with cationic starch at the 1:1 and 3:2 ratio, respectively, were added to fiber furnish containing aluminum sulfate (papermaker’s alum). The prepared sheets were dried with a rotating drum on one side at 100°C at low pressure to cure the sizing agents. The chemical, optical strength, and absorption properties were measured. The presence of the sizing material was confirmed using time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and the retention of the sizing agent on fibers was supported by evidence of hydrocarbons on the paper surface. In addition to achieving sufficient water resistance features with MAA, a lesser hydrophobic character was obtained when using MOA. Compared to commercial applications, relatively large amounts of sizing agent were used to obtain a sufficient sizing degree. The MOA required 5% addition to achieve a similar sizing degree as MAA at the 2% level. The sizing treatments also resulted in substantial increases in tensile index value. Since cationic starch was used in the formulation of the sizing agents, the increase in tensile index may have been due to the influence of cationic starch. Contributions to paper strength from a combination of ionic complexation and mutual association of hydrophobic groups is also proposed. Depending on the amount of sizing agent, the yellowness increased, especially when sizing with MOA.
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The use of hollow sphere pigments as strength additives in paper and paperboard coatings—Part 2: Optimization in paperboard formulations for opacity and strength, TAPPI Journal November 2020
ABSTRACT: This report aims to summarize the efforts in testing the properties of coatings for paperboard utilizing hollow sphere pigments (HSPs). HSPs are known to effectively scatter light and replace titanium dioxide (TiO2) in architectural coating formulations. The effect of the particle size and void fraction was evaluated, along with many coating parameters, including level of addition, binder chemistry, and blends of two HSPs. The small HSPs that have optimized voids for scattering light showed equivalent strength to the TiO2-containing control. The strength data was surprising, particularly the improvement in strength for coatings containing large particle size HSPs. Because of this increase in strength, four parts of binder could be removed, which allowed for higher brightness while not compromising other properties, including hot melt glueability. These trends held true using different binder chemistries (styrene acrylic, vinyl acrylic, and styrene butadiene). Upon refining the formulations further, blends of two HSPs showed further benefit.
Journal articles
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Multifunctional barrier coating systems created by multilayer curtain coating, TAPPI Journal November 2023
ABSTRACT: Functional coatings are applied to paper and paperboard substrates to provide resistance, or a barrier, against media such as oil and grease, water, water vapor, and oxygen, for applications such as food packaging, food service, and other non-food packaging. Today, there is increasing interest in developing recyclable and more sustainable approaches for producing these types of packages. This paper focuses on water-based barrier coatings (WBBC) for oil and grease resistance (OGR), water, moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR), and oxygen barrier performance. The main goal is to create coated systems that can achieve more than one barrier property using multilayer curtain coating (MLCC) in a single application step. One advantage is in optimizing coating material cost with the use of functional chemistry in confined layers where performance is balanced within the coating layered structure. This allows simultaneous application of layers of different polymer types in one step to achieve the appropriate performance needs for a given barrier application. This paper provides working examples of using MLCC to create coating structures with multiple barrier properties in a single application pass. Barrier polymers studied include styrene butadiene, styrene acrylate, starch-containing emulsions, and polyvinyl alcohol. The paper also shows the effect of increasing the pigment volume concentration with platy clay or fine ground calcium carbonate on MVTR and OGR barrier properties.
Journal articles
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Surface energy considerations for offset printing of coated paper and paperboard, TAPPI Journal November 2023
ABSTRACT: Offset printing of coated paper involves the complex interactions of ink with a surface that is characterized by three major properties: roughness, porosity, and related pore network structure and surface chemistry (related to surface free energy [SFE]). The effects of porosity and roughness are relatively well understood and are documented in the literature, whereas the influence of surface chemistry is much less studied and therefore the focus of this paper. The key results shown include: i) Coating porosity has a negligible effect on SFE determination by contact angle using two fluids. ii) The chemistry of the latex polymer in the coating formulation dominates the influence on SFE compared to pigment, with any surface energy differences present in the pigment being almost completely masked by latex. iii) Wetting agent and corona treatment can impact water absorption rate and surface spreading of water, resulting in small differences in printability. Increasing the concentration of the surfactant on a coated surface indicates switching orientation of the surfactant molecules, giving a “step wise” printing result. When looking to improve offset printability by selection of different pigments, the variation in SFE is less important than variation in either surface roughness or porosity.