Abstract
Drainage rate in wet-end, which has significant influences on the production capacity, product quality and process economics in papermaking, becomes an important factor in the modern high speed papermaking processes owing to increased level of fines contained in today's pulp materials and increased papermaking system closure. A study was carred out to investigate the influence of beating and fines content on natural and vacuum dewatering using a vacuum drainage tester. Increase in beating and accumulation of fines in the stock decreased natural dewatering, Vacuum dewatering effect, however, increased substantially as beating and fines content were increased. But this increase in vacuum dewatering decreased again when a stock is severely beaten or fines content is greater than 35%. Above this level of fines content, mobile fines migrates to the interstices of the forming web to cause sealing or plugging which restrict fluid movement through the web.