Influence of hemicellulosic derivatives on the sulfate kraft pulp strength

In this work the application of different hemicellulosic derivatives including different degrees of substitution (DS) cationic hemicelluloses and carboxymethyl hemicelluloses in sulfate kraft pulp were investigated in detail. It was found that cationic hemicelluloses and carboxymethyl hemicelluloses could improve the physical properties of hand sheets, while the cooperation of cationic hemicelluloses and carboxymethyl hemicelluloses could enhance sharply the physical properties of hand sheets. When the dosages of cationic hemicelluloses with DS of 0.37 and carboxymethyl hemicelluloses with DS of 0.35 were 1.0% and 1.0% (based on dry pulp weight), respectively, the physical properties of hand sheets was significantly improved, breaking lengthen and tear index of hand sheets increased by 21.1% and 54.6% compared with the control hand sheets without any additives added. The fiber intertexture of the hand sheets was observed by SEM. The results indicated that hemicelluloses could be used as the source for the production of wet-end additives in papermaking, which might represent an important strategy for sustainable use of the agricultural residue.