Pilot-scale papermaking using Layer-by-Layer treated fibres; comparison between the effects of beating and of sequential addition of polymeric additives

The Layer-by-Layer (LbL) deposition technique was used to treat fibres before papermaking on a pilot scale. Following a laboratory pre-study performed earlier to determine the adsorption isotherms and the kinetics of formation of multilayers of polyamideamine epichlorydrine (PAE) and carboxymethylated cellulose (CMC) on unbeaten, bleached softwood fibres, online LbL treatment of the furnish was carried out on the EuroFEX pilot paper machine. Papers from fibres coated with up to four layers of polyelectrolytes were produced. Two different LbL systems were investigated, with anionic CMC in combination with either PAE or cationic starch (CS). The results showed that the mechanical strength of the paper significantly increased when the fibres were LbL-treated online. A comparison with conventional beating of the fibres revealed that the LbL treatment was a potential substitute to beating treatment, as the density of the LbL-treated papers remained constant while the mechanical properties were significantly improved. At the same time, the press solids content was significantly higher (2%) when using LbL-treated fibres than with beaten fibres.