Wetting dynamics of alkyl ketene dimer on cellulosic model surfaces

The dynamic wetting of a commercial alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) wax was measured on model cellulosic surfaces. The variables investigated were temperature and the surface composition. The model surfaces consisted of cellulose and cellulose acetate films as well as glass. These surfaces are smooth by industrial standards but not on a molecular level. The objective of the study was to predict the extent of AKD wetting during the time frame of papermaking. For smooth surfaces, AKD particles wet but do not spread on the hydrophilic surfaces investigated. AKD wetting proceeds from the balance of the interfacial forces with the viscous dissipation. The effect of gravity can be neglected for papermaking conditions. The Hoffman-Tanner equation modified for partial wetting provided a very good fit of the dynamic wetting. The slope of the graph is a function of temperature but not of the solid surface composition. Maslyiah's model also fits the experimental results well, but with a physically unrealistic value of the fitting parameter. For partial wetting, the complex but rigorous Cox equation is recommended to estimate the slip length over macroscopic wetting dimensions.