polymers
Article Synthesis and Application of a Cationic Polyamine as Yankee Dryer Coating Agent for the Tissue Paper-Making Process Cesar Valencia 1 , Yamid Valencia 1 and Carlos David Grande Tovar 2, * 1 Á rea de Investigaci ó n, Desarrollo e Innovaci ó n, Disproquin S.A.S., Calle 93 N ú mero 7u-2a, V í a Cali-Juanchito 760021, Colombia; analista.id2@disproquin.com.co (C.V.); analista.id@disproquin.com.co (Y.V.) 2 Grupo de Investigaci ó ndeFotoqu í mica y Fotobiolog í a, Universidad del Atl á ntico, Carrera 30 N ú mero8-49, Puerto Colombia 081008, Colombia * Correspondence: carlosgrande@mail.uniatlantico.edu.co
Received: 25 November 2019; Accepted: 6 January 2020; Published: 9 January 2020
Abstract: Tissue paper is of high importance worldwide and, continuously, research is focused on improvements of the softening and durability properties of the paper which depend specifically on the production process. Polyamide-amine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) resins along with release agents are widely used to adhere the paper to the yankee dryer (creping cylinder) in paper manufacture. Nevertheless, these resins are highly cationic and they normally adhere in excess to the paper which negatively a ff ects the creping process and the quality of the paper. For this reason, a low cationic polyamine-epichlorohydrin coating (Polycoat 38 ® ) was synthesized from a diamine supplied by Disproquin S.A.S. and epichlorohydrin. The analysis of the synthesized polymer was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H-NMR). The molecular weight of the polymer was obtained by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), physical-chemical properties such as kinematic viscosity, percentage of solids, density, charge density were measured and compared with a commercial PAE resin (Dispro620 ® ) Thermal stability of the Polycoat 38 ® and glass transition temperature in presence of a release agent (Disprosol 17 ® )were also evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and di ff erential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Finally, a peel adhesion test and an absorption durability assessment were carried out together with the evaluation of the creeping e ffi ciency of the paper by caliber and tensile measurements in a tissue (towel paper) production plant, demonstrating a superior performance in the paper creping process as compared to some commercially available products.
Keywords: coating agent; paper creping; polyamine-epichlorohydrin resin; release agent; yankee dryer
1. Introduction Coatings are adhesive compounds which facilitate the operation of the creping machines since they allow the paper to adhere to the yankee dryer’s surface at the last step of the tissue paper conversion [1]. These are used in conjunction with a release agent that controls the hardness of the coating and its adhesion, allowing the demolding of the paper once in contact with the creping blade as shown in Figure 1 [1]. Coating agents commercially available, such as Discrepel HRC ® , Kymene 557H ® , Rezosol 8223 ® , and others [2], are synthesized from various available additives, such as polyamine-amide resins mixed with polyvinyl alcohols and ethoxylated alcohols [2]. Unfortunately, they tend to develop less re-wettable hard coatings due to the high cationic charge of the polymer [3,4]. The described
Polymers 2020 , 12 , 173; doi:10.3390 / polym12010173
www.mdpi.com / journal / polymers
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs