Effect of Various Filters on Physical and Optical Properties of Agro-Straw Papers

Abstract

A method to incorporate fillers within pulp fibers has been the subject of extensive research. In the present study, our purpose was to study the effect of various fillers on the physical and optical properties of paper. Apart from this, a low cost environment friendly fiber could be developed which can be used to prepare low cost paper having high strength. Non-wood fibers have a long history as a raw material for papermaking. Environmental and population growth pressures are contributing to long range changes in forest land management practices which reduce harvest of wood for pulp and paper manufacture. In general, paper contains cellulose, lignin, hemi-cellulose, various additives and fillers which can be modified by the processing techniques so as to obtain better properties. However, the various properties are interrelated and when a change is made to improve one property, some other property is often made poorer. Therefore, optimization of various properties with processing techniques is a way to get appropriate and desired properties of the end-products. In the present study various type of fillers such as soapstone (SS), titanium oxide (TiO2) and Hydex-P (HP, synthetic material) are used in acid paper to study their effect on the optical and physical properties of agro-based wheat straw papers. The samples are made by conventional processing techniques of papermaking. These samples were characterized by using various techniques viz. Tensile and Tear strength tester, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) etc. It is observed that TiO2 exhibits a minimum drop in strength properties i.e. breaking length and tear factor while maximum gain in optical properties and maximum strength drop is observed in Hydex-P. Both TiO2 and Hydex-P exhibit gain in brightness and opacity but Hydex-P shows lowest filler retention.