Comparing the impacts of wood and APMP non-wood fibers on the properties of hygiene tissue paper

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between fiber morphology, chemical composition, and tissue paper properties, comparing fibers from alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP) derived from alternative feedstocks—wheat straw, bamboo, and miscanthus—with traditional wood fibers from bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) and northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK). The APMP process produced high-yield pulps (> 70%). FTIR spectra exhibited pronounced aromatic C=C stretching vibrations between 1600 and 1450 cm⁻1, while XPS analysis showed lower oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) ratios (0.51–0.53) compared to traditional bleached kraft pulps (0.63–0.75). These findings indicate higher surface lignin in APMP non-wood fibers than BEK and NBSK. The APMP non-wood fibers enhanced tensile strength and water absorbency due to improved fiber bonding and bulk. However, the increased tensile strength led to reduced softness, demonstrating a trade-off like that observed with conventional fibers. Replacing NBSK with non-wood fibers improved softness while retaining tensile strength and absorbency compared to the benchmark. To balance softness with tensile properties, a 10% reduction in basis weight showed that it is possible to maintain or improve tissue paper quality compared with the benchmark. These results demonstrate that strategic blend adjustments and basis weight reduction can leverage the properties of high-performance hygiene tissue paper made from non-wood fibers, highlighting the potential utilization of alternative fibers.