Ammonia explosion pulping. A new fiber separation process

A new pulping method is developed in which fiber separation is effected by means of an explosive decompression of wood chips which have been plasticized and chemically modified with ammonia at elevated temperatures and pressures. The product is composed of kinked, curled, and twisted fibers and fiber bundles, easily separated by mild mechanical action. The paper describes the basic fiber separation process and the preparation of '%'mechanical'%' pulps from hardwoods with strength properties greatly exceeding those of conventional mechanical pulps.