Forest Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Recycling On The Hygroexpansivity Of Thermomechanical Pulp, Derek M. Depuydt

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The objectives of this thesis were 1) to determine the effects of recycling and increased drying temperature on the hygroexpansivity of the fibers and 2) to investigate the role of beating on the hygroexpansivity of the fibers.

A never-dried thermomechanical pulp was obtained and separated into three samples. Handsheets were produced, dried, and placed in a conditioning room. Sample one was air dried (77°F), sample two was dried at 155°F and sample three was dried at 250°F, respectively. Five handsheet samples at each varying temperature were taken and the hygroexpansivity was tested and calculated for each sheet using the equation …

The Effect Of Aerobic Biological Treatment On Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions, Linh Ly

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Sulfides from Kraft mills and other processes are an odor problem. Using Thiobacillus thiooxidans as bacteria to be inoculated into an aerobic biological reactor can be an alternative to reducing the quantity and improving the quality of effluent gases. Approximately, two to three months was needed to insure that the Thiobacillus thiooxidans were growing in chains and colonies. So, this thesis was not fully completed due to the fact that the bacteria did not have enough time to grow. No conclusion can be made on the feasibility of using an aerobic biological reactor with an inert packing to degrade or …

The Use Of Wood Based Aerobic Bioreactor To Oxidize Hydrogen Sulfide, Wade C. Rayner

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The central focus of this thesis was to study the possibility of and carry out an experiment dealing with biological oxidation of hydrogen sulfide. The biological reactor was to be a 5 inch in diameter, 14 inch tall PVC pipe filled with pine chips as a growth medium. The growth medium was to be seeded with thiobacillus thioxidans, a strain of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Hydrogen sulfide gas at approximately 50 parts per million was to be introduced into the reactor at a rate of 1.8 L/min, resulting in a retention time of approximately 60 seconds. Inlet and outlet gas samples were …

Estimating The Treatability Of Mill Process Streams Using Bod Rate Constants, Sara J. Cox

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

This thesis estimates and compares the treatability of several internal mill process streams. This is important to the paper industry due to increasingly stringent regulations being placed on the effluent that is discharged from pulp and paper mills. The treatability of the process streams provides an indication of what processes are most effective on which process streams, identifies the major sources of COD, determines the treatability of the major sources, and will be very useful for emerging regulations regarding internal process streams. Samples from six different process streams within an integrated, bleach kraft mill employing their own wastewater treatment plant …

The Effects Of Repeated Recycle On Paper Strength, William T. Byrd

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

As society stresses the need to recycle to reduce the amount of waste sent to our municipality landfills every year, the effect of secondary fiber on the papers that we produce becomes greater and greater. One of the largest effects that these fibers have is to change the strength properties in the sheets which contain them. Most studies have shown a decrease in the tensile strength of paper as fibers pass repeatedly through a series of recycle. The reason of this tendency is believed to be a loss of bonding potential between fibers as they become shorter and stiffer through …

Detection Of Stickies Using Infrared Thermography, Daniel D. Finkler

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

With the growth in use of recycled material for the production of paper has come the problem of contaminants. The contaminants cause all sorts of problems in the paper making system. The most problematic and costly group of contaminants are known as "stickies." The current methods for detecting stickies are both time consuming and subjective to operator opinions. With the use of infrared thermography, both of these problems can be solved.

Handsheets containing various contaminants were made to two different weights, on two different handsheet formers. These handsheets were placed in an oven to raise their temperature to 105°F. The …

The Effects Of Recycling Of Mechanical Pulps, Bill D. Draze

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The recycle movement is now bigger than ever, with more reasons than ever. Recycling has the potential to save the world's landfills millions of cubic feet per year of precious space, as well as preserve our natural supply of virgin timbers. The recycling effort has sparked many questions over the years for papermakers. One big question is "how will repeated beating of fibers affect recycling potential?, and how will the effects differ between chemical and mechanical pulps"?

Chemical pulps have been found to lose strength from recycling. By becoming stiffer, chemically pulped fibers lose critical bonding area and flexibility, whereas, …

The Effect Of Silica Surface Area On Microparticle Retention Systems, Jason P. Hoffmann

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Retention of fines and fillers has always been a concern in the paper industry. There has been many different types of retention aids in the past, but they lack performance under the vigorous conditions in today's paper mills. High shear forces associated with high speed paper of recycled materials into the mill brought along with it high fines content and a lot of anionic trash which readily reacts with cationic polymers. Consequently, the dosage must be increased which can lead to poor formation and increased chemical cost. A new retention aid was needed to combat these problems. Microparticle retention systems …

Feasibility Of Sodium Carbonate Pulping Of Kenaf For Corrugating Medium, Jennifer A. Lechlitner

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The pulp and paper industry is showing an increasing amount of interest in the use of nonwood fiber sources for the production of paper. Research is being performed that involves the use of kenaf which is a nonwood fiber source that is grown in warm climates. The outer portion of kenaf, the bast, consists of long fibers similar to softwood fibers and the inner portion, the core, consists of short fibers similar to hardwood fibers. Paper properties that result by the use of kenaf pulp are similar to those of softwood and hardwood.

Once fiber is continuously reused as recycling …

New Mechanisms Of Micro-Fiber Flocculation And Computer Simulation Of Headbox Flow, Erik M. Standerfer

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The objectives of this thesis are 1) to investigate the physical reasons of flocculation, which contribute to nonuniformity in the CD through interactions between fibers in a turbulent flow and 2) to study the effects of velocity profiles in the headbox on variations in the CD by utilizing a computer simulation.

Fluid velocities emerging from the headbox vary greatly due to the turbulence generating tube banks. As the fluid exits the tube bank and enters the converging portion of the headbox, patterns formed from the bottom tubes are extended throughout this convergence. This velocity profile is caused by fluid flow …

The Optimization Of A Recycled Thermomechanical Paper Using Fractionation, Michael J. Felker

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The initial recycling of thermomechanical pulp leads to the flattening and increased flexibility of the fibers. Further recycling of the pulp leads to the unraveling of the fibers. The treatment of the fibers increases the bond potential of fibers while it decreases the fiber strength. Recycling of the fibers also leads to shortening of the fibers. The overall effect of recycling is the degradation of the finished product.

By varying the short fiber ratio the papers strength, physical, and optical properties can be directly affected. The strength properties dependent on bond potential are increased by adding short fiber and recycling. …

The Efficiency Of Surfactants On Xerographic Ink, Andrew Mclaughlin

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Surfactants are used in the deinking process for the dispersion of ink particles, collection of ink particles, and reduction of surface tension. Surfactant characteristics are vital in understanding the efficiency of a surfactant on ink particles. Evaluation on the efficiency of surfactants and on toner particles is critical to optimize a deinking process and improve selection of deinking surfactant candidates.

By deinking xerographic inks with series of nonionic, anionic, and cationic surfactants, the efficiency was reported. By using the HLB (hydrophile-lipophile balance) empirical method of rating surfactants, the efficiency was correlated to structure and other surfactant properties. Normally when the …

Image Analysis And Rating Of Ink Jet Printing, Wendy S. Woodbury

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Correlation between image analysis measurements and visual ranking of ink jet printing was established. Human rating was determined by the use of an all-pair comparison. A camera driven image analysis system and NIH image analysis software with a scanner was used to analyze printed samples. Three sets of printed samples were evaluated for print density. and single dot attributes.

Analyzing the mean gray scale value (GSV) as a tool for evaluating ink jet print quality is limited. Large differences between samples will contribute to the perception of quality, but small differences are overruled by other factors.

Using the standard deviation …

The Effect Of Varying Drying Temperatures On The Recyclability Of Thermomechanical Pulps, Jeffry J. Collegnon

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

There has been conflicting data regarding the effects of recycling on pulps. Strength properties go down for chemical pulps after being recycled, but the strength properties go up for mechanical pulps after recycling. The objective of the thesis will be to study the effects of varying the drying temperature on the recycled fiber properties of thermomechanical pulp.

A never-dried thermomechanical pulp furnish was obtained, from which three samples were separated out. Pulp sample one was air dried at approximately 77°F, sample two was dried at a temperature of 155°F, and the third sample was dried at a temperature of 250°F. …

The Effects Of Base Sheet Properties On Blade Forces In Beveled Blade Coating, Derek Denzer

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

When coating on a beveled blade coater, the coat weight applied to the base paper is influenced by the doctoring action of the blade. The final coat weight varies as a function of the blade deflection. The blade deflection can be determined by the balance of forces, external and dynamic. The external is the mechanical force applied to the blade, this is also known as the blade loading. The dynamic forces derive from the pressure forces (speed induced), the impulse force (momentum dependent) and finally the hydrodynamic forces. How the roughness of the base sheet affects the blade forces is …

The Effect Of Deinking Variables On Flotation Deinking Of Electrographic Toners, Joel E. Jacobs

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Concern for the environment has grown dramatically over the last two decades. In response to this concern, flotation deinking has become a popular way to recycle paper, reduce waste, and achieve a relatively white pulp without cutting down more trees and operating a bleach plant. However, the inks are becoming more and more difficult to deink. With the rise of photocopiers and laser printers the amount of electrographic toner in recycled paper has increased dramatically. Therefore, research on how best to remove these inks from paper is required.

The effects of pH, surfactant concentration, surfactant charge, and toner charge on …

A Study Of The Use Of Borates In Semi-Chemical Pulping, Dan Hebner

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The purpose of this project was to identify sodium metaborate as a pulping chemical in semi-chemical pulping with soda ash. The experimental design included four digester cooks with 0%, 10%, 20%, and 40% addition of.the borate compound. The resulting yields were 81. 3 %, 79. 2%, 77.4 %, and 7 4. 5% respectively. Therefore, under the definition of pulping, sodium metaborate was considered a pulping chemical. The pulps were mechanically refined. The resulting screened rejects increased with increasing borate addition. Handsheets were made and tested for strength and optical properties. The tensile and mull en strengths of the handsheets increased …

Viability Of Wood Pallets As A Significant Fiber Source, Marcus J. Tironi

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The rationale for this study came about from, among other things, the amount of wood waste in landfills and the decreasing amount of landfill space and increasing tipping fees. Annually, 315 pounds per capita of waste is landfilled and 20% to 30% of this is wood waste. This equals close to 9.8 million tons of wood waste per year in the United States.¹

The problem with the disposal of municipal solid waste is not the amount of waste that must be disposed of but this amount in relation to available disposal capacity. The two main disposal options for municipal …

The Effects Of Refining On Thermomechanical Recycle, Richard Michael Verbrugge

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Mechanical and chemical pulps are the dominant pulping methods used throughout the pulping industry. The increasing demand for the use of recycled fiber both by public and government legislation provides incentive for research concerning recycle fiber use. Currently, research has been performed on chemical pulps and only very little on mechanical pulps. The focus of this experiment was to determine the subsequent effects of refining on recycled pulp and paper without thermal interaction. From the majority of the data analysis, a conclusion concerning the optimum number of times a fiber could be recycled before severe degradation was three. Determination regarding …

The Effects Of Styrene-Butadiene Latex Binder On The Properties Of A Coated Sheet, Bryan J. Wiltzius

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The objective of this thesis proposal is to determine the effect of a varying latex binder on the physical and optical characteristics of a coated sheet with different binder addition levels. A total of nine separate coating formulations were made up of three different styrene to butadiene ratios and three different binder addition levels. The optical properties that were tested include opacity, brightness, paper gloss, and K&N ink absorption. The adhesive properties were evaluated by testing the physical properties of pick strength, abrasion resistance, and wet rub. The porosity and roughness characteristics were also tested.

One liter of each coating …

Influence Of Metal Ions On Brightness Reversion Of Mechanical And Tmp Pulps, Ajay K. Jain

Masters Theses

High-yield mechanical pulps possess high opacity, bulk, compressibility, and excellent printing properties as well. But these pulps are still not suitable for producing high-grade papers because of discoloration. The brightness with age may be due to the presence of lignin, hemicellulose (and even cellulose), resins, metal ions, and additives such as rosin, alum, starch, and other polymers.

This study includes the effects of different metal ions on brightness stability of wood, thermomechanical pulps, chemithermomechanical pulps, and alkaline peroxide mechanical pulps. Also studied were the influences of metal ions on bleached pulps towards brightness loss. The metal ions selected for this …

The Effect Of A Reduction/Oxidation Filter On Pilot Plant Effluent, Matthew R. Mcnamara

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

This project was concerned with the effects of a reduction/oxidation filter on water quality in Western Michigan University's Pilot Paper Plant. The filter was installed after the clarifier in the pilot deinking system. In other applications the filter has been found to remove heavy metals, chlorine, and also reduce the amount of scaling in a system. This application of the filter showed inconsistant results with no definite beneficial trends.

Liquid Agglomeration Of Ink Particles In Deinking, Timothy J. Bowen

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Liquid agglomeration is defined by references as a separation process (3). For the purpose of this thesis project, it is the process of using a hydrocarbon oil, dispersed in water, to a pulp slurry, to agglomerate the ink particles and then float them to the top. The idea behind this research is that the sludge produced will have a higher BTU value due to the hydrocarbon oil, which will make incineration a more feasible means of disposal. The preliminary work consisted of determining whether or not the ink particles would agglomerate with hexadecane. It was found that the ink particles …

Repulping Bottle Carriers, Mahsa Khosravani

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Wet strength resins are used to enhance the strength of the paper in the presence of water and high humidity. Paper makers have a difficult time breaking down the wet strength resins which are used to aid in this process. The ideal situation would be to have high wet strength and still be able to brake it down easily. Unfortunately wet strength paper keeps its integrity because of the chemistry involved in its preparation. The chemistry that protects the structure of the high wet strength paper will also defend it in the pulper. The problem that causes the main concern …

Electrokinetic Dewatering Of Softwood Furnishes, Aaron R. Redman

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Enormous quantities of water are required in the preparation and formation of paper products. One of the most costly operations in paper manufacture is removal of excess water from the sheet and disposal of by-products from paper production. Currently, high steam energy is necessary in the drying process of paper manufacture. Disposal of a paper by-product, sludge, is also a rising concern due to environmental risks, shrinking landfill space, and rising disposal costs. Both production costs and disposal costs could be reduced with a more effective and efficient process to enhance water removal in paper production and sludge disposal.

One …

The Effects Of Recycling On A Never-Dried Softwood Kraft Pulp Beaten To Different Initial Freeness Levels, Heath A. Smith

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The objective of this study is to compare two different pulps, a softwood kraft pulp with a groundwood pulp, to see if there is any difference in the behavior of their sheet properties as they are recycled. Neither pulp was dried before the experiment began. The pulps were each refined to three different freeness levels to determine the effect of initial freeness on recycled sheet properties. Tests for tear, tensile, zero-span tensile, opacity, brightness, scattering coefficient, absorption coefficient, and porosity were performed on the sheets in order to determine the effects of recycling on those sheet properties. A Kajaani fiber …

Treating Recycled Papers With Naoh For Strength Improvement, Satoshi Suga

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

Loss of strength is one of the worst aspects of recycled papers. Even though several factors are responsible for this phenomenon, loss of fiber swelling and inter fiber bonding are believed to be the main contributors. Therefore, prevention of loss in swelling and inter fiber bonding of recycled pup should result in the minimum strength loss of recycled papers.

Chemicals with hydroxyl group such as NaOH are known to provide superior swelling power to.pulp, and their swelling power might be utilized to minimize the strength loss of recycled paper.

In this study, batches of bleached kraft paper were repulped at …

A Study Of The Effect Of Recycling On The Bonding Ability And Characteristics Of Fines, Lon E. Pschigoda Ii

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The recycled paper industry has seemingly grown faster than the technology to go along with it. It has become accepted that along with paper recycles comes a certain amount of strength loss, limiting the uses of secondary fiber. If the recycling industry is continued to grow an effective counter to this strength loss needs to be found. In order to counteract this strength loss the mechanism must first be better understood. The three mechanisms that will be focused on for this paper will be 1) The loss of fiber length, 2) Hornification, and 3) The decrease in surface bonding activity. …

Improving Print Quality In Wallpaper By Pigment And Latex Substitution, Christopher L. Stratton

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The coated paper industry is rapidly changing and improving. Because of increasing demands by consumers, high quality paper at the lowest possible price is at a premium. Because of this paper makers and coaters are continually looking for ways to improve their sheet without increasing cost.

This experiment was designed to test the role which pigment and latex has in influencing the final sheet quality. This was tested in two stages. The first stage examined pigment variations and the second latex variations. In the pigment variation trial, a number 1 high brightness clay was replaced by a structured clay pigment. …

Repulping Bottle Carriers, Jennifer A. Giver

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The primary object of this thesis project was to repulp post consumer bottle carriers with the addition of chemical reagents and mechanical shear. Recycling bottle carriers is difficult to achieve due to the chemical additives that are added to the pulp. Chemical additives introduced to the virgin pulp are wet strength resins.

Post consumer bottle carriers used in this experiment contained Kymene 557, which is a wet strength product produced by Hercules incorporated and is difficult to repulp due to the cross-linking employed by this chemical additive. This experiment utilized both oxidizing and reducing chemical reagents such as hypochlorite and …