polymers
Article Facile Strategy for Boosting of Inorganic Fillers Retention inPaper Klaudia Mas´lana 1, *, Krzysztof Sielicki 1 , Karolina Wenelska 1, * , Tomasz Ke˛dzierski 1 , Joanna Janusz 2 , Grzegorz Marian´ czyk 2 , Aleksandra Gorgon-Kuza 2 , Wojciech Bogdan 2 , Beata Zielin´ ska 1 and Ewa Mijowska 1
1 Department of Nanomaterials Physicochemistry, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Piastow Ave. 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland; krzysztof-sielicki@zut.edu.pl (K.S.); tomasz.kedzierski@zut.edu.pl (T.K.); bzielinska@zut.edu.pl (B.Z.); emijowska@zut.edu.pl (E.M.) 2 Arctic Paper Kostrzyn SA, ul. Fabryczna 1, 66-470 Kostrzyn nad Odra, Poland; joanna.janusz@arcticpaper.com (J.J.); grzegorz.marianczyk@arcticpaper.com (G.M.); wojciech.bogdan@arcticpaper.com (W.B.) * Correspondence: klaudia.maslana@zut.edu.pl (K.M.); kwenelska@zut.edu.pl (K.W.) Abstract: Achieving the desired properties of paper such as strength, durability, and printability remains challenging. Paper mills employ calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) as a filler to boost paper’s brightness, opacity, and printability. However, weak interaction between cellulose fibers and CaCO 3 particles creates different issues in the papermaking industry. Therefore, this study explores the influence of various inorganic additives as crosslinkers such as mesoporous SiO 2 nanospheres, TiO 2 nanoparticles, h-BN nanoflakes, and hydroxylated h-BN nanoflakes (h-BN-OH) on inorganic fillers content in the paper. They were introduced to the paper pulp in the form of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) suspension to enable bonding between the inorganic particles and the paper pulp. Our findings have been revealed based on detailed microscopic and structural analyses, e.g., transmission and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and N 2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. Finally, the inorganic fillers (CaCO 3 and respective inorganic additives) content was evaluated following ISO 1762:2001 guidelines. Conducted evaluations allowed us to identify the most efficient crosslinker (SiO 2 nanoparticles) in terms of inorganic filler retention. Paper sheets modified with SiO 2 enhance the retention of the fillers by ~12.1%. Therefore, we believe these findings offer valuable insights for enhancing the papermaking process toward boosting the quality of the resulting paper.
Citation: Mas´lana, K.; Sielicki, K.; Wenelska, K.; Ke˛dzierski, T.; Janusz, J.; Marian´ czyk, G.; Gorgon-Kuza, A.; Bogdan, W.; Zielin´ ska, B.; Mijowska, E. Facile Strategy for Boosting of Inorganic Fillers Retention in Paper. Polymers 2024 , 16 , 110. https:// doi.org/10.3390/polym16010110
Keywords: cellulose; crosslinker; fillers; polymer
Academic Editor: Selestina Gorgieva
1. Introduction The process of papermaking involves converting raw materials, like wood fibers or recycled paper, into a product that meets quality standards and market demands. One of the main challenges in this process is achieving the desired properties in the final product, such as strength, durability, brightness, opacity, and printability, which enhance the strength and stiffness of the paper, avoiding poor folding, tearing, and cracking resistance. To achieve this, paper mills often use fillers such as CaCO 3 [1]. However, the weak interaction between cellulose fibers and CaCO 3 particles can lead to a range of problems in papermaking [2,3]. This problem is related to the cellulose fibers’ structural properties, which have a highly crystalline structure with a low surface-area-to-volume ratio. As a consequence, a limited availability of active sites for hydrogen bonds, both between fibers and with CaCO 3 particles, is observed [4,5]. The interaction between cellulose fibers and CaCO 3 particles affects paper mass drainage and retention. The presence of fillers can interfere with water flow through the paper machine, leading to longer drying times and increased energy consumption [6].
Received: 21 November 2023 Revised: 18 December 2023 Accepted: 25 December 2023 Published: 29 December 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
Polymers 2024 , 16 , 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16010110
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers
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