Characterization of Retention/Loss Efficiency of Nanofibrillated Cellulose in Papermaking Process and Its Influence on Paper Properties

Abstract

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) is deemed to be environmentally friendly, green and inexhaustible material. Herein, Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) large length-diameter ratio were prepared by enzymatic pretreatment and mechanical method, and it was added into pulp as reinforcing agent to improve the performance of paper. The retention and loss efficiency of NFC in the paper preparation process were studied, and the retention and loss efficiency were characterized by analyzing the mechanical properties of the paper. It was found that the retention and loss efficiency of NFC decreased with the increase of NFC content. The addition of retention system in papermaking process has a positive effect on the retention efficiency of NFC. NFC can be uniformly distributed in the paper up to 8% with low addition. In addition, retention system can improve the mechanical properties of paper with high NFC content. Compared with the base paper, tensile strength, roughness, stiffness and air permeability of the paper increased by 111.38%, 100.95%, 152.63% and 96.80% respectively.