Improving the wet web strength and runnability

This paper presents recent runnability research carried out at laboratory and pilot scale. Factors affecting adhesion, tensile strength, tension and residual tension after relaxation of wet web were studied. Adhesion of the web to surfaces was found to be not only furnish specific but also dependent on the temperature, dry solids content, chemical properties and contamination of the surface. Wet web strength has been shown to be a property even more sensitive to papermaking variables than the dry strength. In addition to fibre and fines properties, several chemical additives have also been found to improve the wet web strength. Surfactant was also found to have a considerable positive effect on wet web due to increased dry solids content after wet pressing. Increased tension holding capability was found to require improvements in fibre network structure.