ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WOOD FIBRE WALL SWELLING, CHARGED GROUPS, AND DELAMINATION DURING REFINING

The influence of sulphonic and carboxylic acid groups in combination with the effect of counter ion form, on the swelling capacity of mechanical pulp fibres was studied by means of water retention value (WRV) measured in the temperature range from 25 to 95 o C. Mechanical pulp fibres (TMP) were treated with hydrogen peroxide and/or sodium sulphite during conditions resembling those used in chemimechanical and bleaching processes commonly used in the industry. In conventional chemimechanical processes sulphite treatment is used before refining while peroxide treatment can be utilized both before and after refining. In this study we did however also use sulphite after peroxide treatment. When subjecting sodium sulphite treated pulps to a subsequent hydrogen peroxide step, all pulps show a decrease in sulphonic acid groups, which could be owed to dissolution of highly charged lignin. Pulps treated with a high hydrogen peroxide charge (4%), showed a loss in carboxylic acid groups during subsequent treatment with sodium sulphite. This loss is probably due to dissolution of highly charged fibre material such as demethylated pectins. Both increased degree of sulphonation and carboxylation of the lignin reduces the softening temperature by means of reducing the degree of cross-linking in the lignin matrix. This softening probably improves the compressibility of the fibre pads in the sample holders of the WRV centrifuge, which would counteract an otherwise expected increasing WRV-value due to increased swelling potential. This makes it difficult to see clear trends in WRV as a function of increase in degree of sulphonation and carboxylation. When changing counter ion form from proton or calcium form to sodium form there is however always a clear increase in WRV in the range from 20 to 30%.