Kinetics of sequential adsorption of polyelectrolyte multilayers on pulp fibres and their effect on paper strength

Conditions for sequential adsorption of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) onto pulp fibres were investigated in terms of appropriate addition levels and adsorption times. The objective was a technical application for improved tensile strength of paper. Two common polyelectrolytes (PE) in papermaking, polyamideamine epichlorolrydrin (PAE) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), were consecutively adsorbed onto long fibres from a bleached softwood kraft pulp, adding up to four PE layers on the fibre surfaces. Adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics were studied layer by layer, giving recommended addition levels and adsorption times for each layer. PAE adsorbed in larger amounts than CMC, 4 and 1 mg/g, respectively on fractionated pulp free of fines. For the kinetics, longer times were required to reach saturation adsorption for PAE compared to CMC, corresponding to three and two minutes, respectively. Tensile testing of handsheets based on both fractionated and beaten pulp showed that four PE layers increased the tensile index by about 50%, reaching levels of 34 (unbeaten) and 88 Nm/g (beaten), respectively. The effect of PEM on strain at break depended on the beating level as the fractionated pulp showed an improvement from 2.5 to 4.1% while beaten pulp showed a reduction from 6.1 to 4.5%.