Refining and enzymatic treatment of secondary fibres for paperboard production : Cyberflex measurements of fibre flexibility

Abstract

Recycling is generally affected by secondary fibre quality. High temperature and pressure during the drying stage causes irreversible changes in fibre morphology, which is the mainly responsible for the considerable reduction in the swelling and bonding ability (strength and number of bonds) [1, 2, 3]. Additionally, the reduced dewatering ability of these pulps is a major problem during paper manufacture as they decrease the speed on the paper machine and worsen sheet formation [4]. Secondary fibre upgrade is difficult and sometimes unpredictable, as the samples to be treated vary along with their history. Traditional upgrade methodologies have been used to improve secondary fibre properties, but the results are most of the times insufficient [1, 5]. Different reports suggest that treating pulps with enzymes and refining could overcome these problems [4, 6, 7, 8, 9]. More recently, Cellulose-Binding Domains (CBD’s) usage has been shown as an interesting tool to modify recycled fibres properties.