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Research on flame-retardant paper prepared by the method of in-pulp addition of ammonium polyphosphate, TAPPI Journal May 2023
ABSTRACT: At present, the production of flame-retardant paper usually uses the impregnation method of phosphorus-nitrogen flame retardants in paper. There are few reports on the application of an in-pulp addition method. In this paper, the solubility of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and its effect on flame-retardant paper were investigated for use in an in-pulp addition method. It was found that APP particles were square, with an average particle size of 21.88 µm. The particle size decreased significantly after immersion in water at 25°C for 24 h. Furthermore, most of the APPs were dissolved after immersion in water at 90°C for 0.5 h, and the residuals agglomerated and their shape turned into an amorphous form. The APP possessed strong electronegativity and could partially ionize in water. The solubility of APP was 0.18 g/100 mL water at 25°C and increased quickly when the temperature was higher than 30°C. Therefore, APP should be added to the pulp at temperatures below 30°C. The tensile strength of the paper initially increased with the addition of APP, and it reached the maximum value when the APP content was 10% and then gradually decreased. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of the paper was 28.7% when the added amount of APP was 30% and cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) was 0.08%, reaching the flame-retardant level.
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A case study review of wood ash land application programs in North America, TAPPI Journal February 2021
ABSTRACT: Several regulatory agencies and universities have published guidelines addressing the use of wood ash as liming material for agricultural land and as a soil amendment and fertilizer. This paper summarizes the experiences collected from several forest products facility-sponsored agricultural application programs across North America. These case studies are characterized in terms of the quality of the wood ash involved in the agricultural application, approval requirements, recommended management practices, agricultural benefits of wood ash, and challenges confronted by ash generators and farmers during storage, handling, and land application of wood ash.Reported benefits associated with land-applying wood ash include increasing the pH of acidic soils, improving soil quality, and increasing crop yields. Farmers apply wood ash on their land because in addition to its liming value, it has been shown to effectively fertilize the soil while maintaining soil pH at a level that is optimal for plant growth. Given the content of calcium, potassium, and magnesium that wood ash supplies to the soil, wood ash also improves soil tilth. Wood ash has also proven to be a cost-effective alternative to agricultural lime, especially in rural areas where access to commercial agricultural lime is limited. Some of the challenges identified in the review of case studies include lengthy application approvals in some jurisdictions; weather-related issues associated with delivery, storage, and application of wood ash; maintaining consistent ash quality; inaccurate assessment of required ash testing; potential increased equipment maintenance; and misconceptions on the part of some farmers and government agencies regarding the effect and efficacy of wood ash on soil quality and crop productivity.
Journal articles
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Co-ground mineral/microfibrillated cellulose composite materials: Recycled fibers, engineered minerals, and new product forms, TAPPI Journal January 2021
ABSTRACT: When pulp and minerals are co-processed in suspension, the mineral acts as a grinding aid, allowing costeffective production of mineral/microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) composite materials. This processing uses robust milling equipment and is practiced at industrial scale. The resulting products can be used in many applications, including as wet- and dry-strength aids in paper and board production.Previously, we have reported that use of these MFC composite materials in fiber-based applications allow generally improved wet and dry mechanical properties with concomitant opportunities for cost savings, property improvements, or grade developments. Mineral/MFC composites made with recycled pulp feedstocks were shown to offer at least equivalent strength aid performance to composites made using virgin fibers. Selection of mineral and fiber allows preparation of mineral/MFC composites with a range of properties. For example, the viscosity of such formulations was shown to be controlled by the shape factor of the mineral chosen, effective barrier formulations were prepared, and mineral/MFC composites with graphite as the mineral were prepared.High-solids mineral/MFC composites were prepared at 75% total solids (37% fibril solids). When resuspended and used for papermaking, these high-solids products gave equivalent performance to never-dried controls.
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Flow rheology of light foams generated from aqueous solutions of polyvinyl alcohol, TAPPI Journal January 2023
ABSTRACT: Recent studies have shown that foam-assisted application of additives into a wet web has advantages over the conventional way of adding the chemicals into the pulp suspension before forming, e.g., increased mechanical retention as well as high dosage giving increased wet strength without impairing the sheet uniformity. To engineer processes utilizing this new technology, the complex flow behavior of applied foams must be quantified. At the minimum, the foam viscosity and the slip velocity at the solid surfaces need to be known to build practical models that can be used in analyzing and upscaling unit processes of the foam-assisted application.In this study, the rheological behavior was quantified for foams having polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), a widely used strength additive chemical, as the surfactant. The foam density was varied between 100 g/L and 300 g/L, and the concentration of the PVOH solution was varied between 0.5% and 6.0% (w/w). The foams were generated with a commercial foam generator, and the rheological properties of the foams were measured by using a horizontal pipe bank. At the outlet from the generator, the volumetric flow rate, the absolute pressure, and the bubble size distribution of the foam were measured. In the measurement pipe section, the viscous pressure gradient and the slip velocity were measured, after which the foam was discharged to ambient air pressure. The viscosity and the dynamic surface tension of the PVOH solutions were quantified with commercial laboratory devices. In the viscosity analysis, the apparent shear rate was calculated from the volumetric flow rate, and the resulting apparent viscosity was translated to real material viscosity data by applying the Weissenberg-Rabinowitsch correction. The results indicated that PVOH foams can be described with high accuracy as shear-thinning power-law fluids where the detailed behavior depends on the foam density and the PVOH concentration. Slip flow, as usual, increased with increasing wall shear stress, but it was also dependent on the PVOH concentration, the air content, and the bubble size. For both the foam viscosity and the slip flow, a correlation was found that described the quantitative behavior of all the studied foams with good accuracy.
Journal articles
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Value creation by converting pulp mill flue gas streams to green fuels, TAPPI Journal March 2023
ABSTRACT: Climate change mitigation induces strong growth in renewable electricity production, partly driven by shifts in environmental policies and regulation. Intermittent renewable electricity requires supporting systems in the form of sustainable hydrocarbon chemicals such as transportation fuels. Bulk chemical production fits well into a pulp mill environment, given their large volumes, stable operation, and ample supply of biomass-based carbon feed-stock in the form of flue gases. Until now, the utilization of the flue gases from conventional operation of a pulp mill has received little attention. Harnessing these flue gases into usable products could offer additional value to mill operators, while also diversifying their product portfolio. However, electricity-based fuels and products require extra energy in the conversion step and may not be commercially competitive with current fossil products under the current regulation. There might also be uncertainties about future commodity prices. Thus, the objective of this study is to estimate the economic competitiveness and the added value of selected side products that could be produced alongside conventional pulp and paper products. A typical modern pulp mill is modeled in different product configurations and operational environments, which allows testing of various development paths. This illustrates how the overall energy and mass balance of a pulp mill would react to changes in different final products and other parameters. The focus of the study is in synthetic methanol, which is produced from flue gases and excess resources from the mill, with minimal interference to the pulping process. The results aid in assessing the necessity and magnitude of a premium payment for subsidizing green alter-natives to replace current fossil fuels and chemicals. Additionally, the results function as an indicator of the development state of the pulp and paper industry in the turmoil of climate change regulation. The results indicate that power-to-X systems offer one more viable pathway alternative for broadening the product portfolio of the pulp and paper sector, as well as opening new flexibility measures and services to grid stabilization. Market conditions were found to have a significant impact on the perceived profitability.
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.
Journal articles
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Investigation of the Cellulose-Water Relationship by the Pressure Plate Method, TAPPI Journal July 2022
ABSTRACT: The swelling and water retention properties of pulp fibers are of basic importance in papermaking.
Journal articles
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Web instability in the open draw and the impact on paper machine efficiency, TAPPI Journal May 2022
ABSTRACT: Paper is most likely to break in the first open draw on a paper machine where it is unsupported, wettest, and weakest. Tension is applied to peel the web from the roll surface, as well as minimize web flutter in the open draw. The average tension is well below the breaking point and is often set by adjusting the speed difference between the press and the next machine element by visually observing the behavior of the web. However, machine direction variations caused by instabilities in the paper machine can cause tension swings that exceed the strength of the web. Measurement of the web’s release point from press rolls on pilot and commercial paper machines was used to identify the cause of tension instabilities. Variations in the speed of the paper machine drives and the work of adhesion from the press roll surface were identified as key factors. Fluctuations of paper moisture, which affects the elastic modulus and strength of the web, appear to be less important.
Journal articles
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Pilot scale black liquor concentration using pressure driven membrane separation, TAPPI Journal April 2023
ABSTRACT: Black liquor concentration using pressure driven membrane separation has long been proposed as a means of achieving energy savings and breaking production bottlenecks. To date, limitations in membrane performance and stability under black liquor process conditions have prevented those promises from being realized out-side of tightly controlled laboratory settings. In this work, we describe the first successful pilot scale field deployments of a membrane system for black liquor concentration. Using a purpose-built system and commercial sized, spiral wound graphene oxide membrane elements, we have logged nearly 6000 h of runtime across deployments to multiple mill sites. We demonstrate concentration of black liquor from 14% to >20% total solids, while generating permeate water comparable in quality to that of evaporator condensate and an 81% reduction in energy consumption relative to evaporation. At a commercial scale, these results translate to $2 M/year in net energy savings for a typical mill, as well as an opportunity to support production increases or mill expansions. These results represent a significant leap forward in the ability of membrane systems to deliver substantial value via black liquor concentration.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
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.