New Concept of Stiffness Improvement in Paper and Board

A new concept of stock preparation for the increase of bending stiffness in paper and board was proposed. The 'stiff' fibers, which were mechanically not treated or treated slightly to remove fiber curls, were combined with extensively refined fibers (ERF) to produce higher stiffness papers than those where the whole fibers were refined. The combination of 'stiff' fibers and extensively refined fibers produced higher stiffness at the same tensile strength than the control furnish, in which all the fibers are refined together. In this concept, the fibers from recycled papers could be as much useful as the virgin fibers as long as they are stiff enough or they can produce highly bondable fiber fractions by extensive refining. Use of the concept in real paper mill needs considerations such as increase of refining energy, slower drainage, and added drying burden, but savings of wood fibers, utilization of more recycled fibers, and increase of physical properties may offset the negative concerns. The success of this concept implementation in mills, therefore, depends on the wood fiber market around the mills and the proper decision making for the papermakers about how to apply this concept.