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• 72% − 80% of fibre was recovered from disposable coffee cups. • 2% and 3% consistency shredded cups required > 100 kWh/tonne to repulp with 3 refiner passes. • Pulp quality did not significantly diminish after repulping using a single-disk refiner. Over 64 billion paper-plastic laminate (PPL) coffee cups are consumed between the United States and Canada annually, the majority accumulating in landfills due to a hydrophobic plastic inner-lining. Recycling can mitigate environmental damage and provide economic value from repurposed products. We found that standard repulping methods were insufficient to separate fiber from plastic due to the low intensity of treatment. To increase process intensity, we mechanically refined shredded PPL coffee cups and Kraft eucalyptus sheets (control) at 2%, 3%, and 4% consistencies with three passes to determine the energy required to separate fibers from plastic and the effects on fiber quality. 2% and 3% consistency PPL cups measured under 40 kWh/tonne of input material for one refiner pass and ∼ 80 kWh/tonne for 4% consistency PPL cups. Recovered fiber fraction totaled 87.7%, 85.3%, and 80.5% of input mass of Kraft eucalyptus and 72.3%, 72.6%, and 79.6% of input mass of PPL cups at 2%, 3%, and 4% consistency, respectively. Fines content of PPL cups jumped from 8% pre-refining to ∼ 30% post-refining while Kraft eucalyptus fibers were unaffected, suggesting that breaking the plastic-fiber bonds results in fines generation. Mean fiber length of PPL cups slightly decreased with consistency and tensile strength improved. Freeness decreased with consistency only in PPL cup samples. These results demonstrate a low energy requirement to effectively separate fiber and plastics in PPL cups as well as minimal impact on fiber quality using existing refining technology, and provides an estimate of the financial costs of local recycling efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xylan is primarily found in the secondary cell wall of plants providing strength and integrity. To take advantage of the reinforcing effect of xylan in papermaking, it is crucial to understand its role in pulp fibers, as it undergoes substantial changes during pulping. However, the contributions of xylan that is added afterwards (extrinsic) and xylan present after pulping (intrinsic) remain largely unexplored. Here, we partially degraded xylan from refined bleached softwood kraft pulp (BSKP) and adsorbed xylan onto BSKP. Enzymatic degradation of 1 % xylan resulted in an open hand sheet structure, while adsorption of 3 % xylan created a denser fiber network. The mechanical properties improved with adsorbed xylan, but decreased more significantly after enzymatic treatment. We propose that the enhancement in mechanical properties by adsorbed extrinsic xylan is due to increased fiber-fiber bonds and sheet density, while the deterioration in mechanical properties of the enzyme treated pulp is caused by the opposite effect. These findings suggest that xylan is decisive for fiber network strength. However, intrinsic xylan is more critical, and the same properties cannot be achieved by readsorbing xylan onto the fibers. Therefore, pulping parameters should be selected to preserve intrinsic xylan within the fibers to maintain paper strength. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A computationally efficient method to study the in-plane and out-of-plane dimensional instability of thin paper sheets under the influence of moisture changes is presented. The method explicitly resolves the bonded and the free segments of fibers in the sheet, capturing the effect of anisotropic hygroexpansion at the fiber level. The method is verified against a volumetric model. The importance of longitudinal fiber hygroexpansion is demonstrated in spite of the absolute value of longitudinal hygroexpansion being an order of magnitude lower than the transverse hygroexpansion component. Finally, the method is used to demonstrate the formation of macroscopic sheet curl due to a moisture gradient in structurally uniform sheets in the absence of viscoelastic or plastic constitutive behavior and through-thickness residual stress profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding water absorbency in paper is challenging as fibre swelling and out-of-plane deformation occur simultaneously during liquid imbibition. Liquid absorption is commonly accessed by gravimetric tests, which provides limited information on the local spatial and temporal distribution of fluid in the substrate. In this work, we developed iron tracers to map liquid imbibition in paper by in situ precipitation of iron oxide nanoparticles during passage of the wetting front. The iron oxide tracers were found to be robustly attached to the cellulosic fibres. After liquid absorption tests, absorbency was investigated by mapping the distribution of iron in 3D using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) and in 2D using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. We demonstrate a difference in tracer distribution between the wetting front and the fully saturated region supporting that imbibition proceeds in two phases, i.e. liquid percolation through the cell wall initially prior to filling of the external pore spaces. Critically, we demonstrate that these iron tracers enhance image contrast and allow for new imaging modalities in μCT for fibre networks. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new concept for fluid flow manipulation in microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) is presented by introducing ionogel materials as passive pumps. μPADs were fabricated using a new double side contact stamping process and ionogels were precisely photopolymerised at the inlet of the μPADs. The ionogels remain mainly on the surface of the paper and get absorbed in the superficial paper-fibers allowing for the liquid to flow from the ionogel into the paper easily. As a proof of concept the fluid flow and mixing behaviour of two different ionogels μPADs were compared with the non-treated μPADs. It was demonstrated that both ionogels highly affect the fluid flow by delaying the flow due to their different physical and chemical properties and water holding capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tensile response of dense fiber-based materials like paper or paperboard is mainly dependent of the properties of the fibers, which store most of the elastic energy. In this paper, we investigate the influence of geometrical and material parameters on the mechanical response of the pulp fibers used in paper manufacturing. We developed a three-dimensional finite element model of the fiber, which accounts for microfibril orientation of cellulose fibril, and the presence of lignin in the secondary cell wall. The results showed that the change in the microfibril orientation upon axial straining is mainly a geometrical effect, and is independent of the material properties of the fiber, as long as the deformations are elastic. Plastic strain accelerates the change in microfibril orientation and thus makes it material-dependent. The results also showed that the elastic modulus of the fiber has a non-linear dependency on microfibril angle, with elastic modulus being more sensitive to the change of microfibril angle around small initial values of microfibril angles. Based on numerical results acquired from a 3D fiber model supported by available experimental evidence, we propose an anisotropic-kinematic hardening plasticity model for a fiber within a beam framework. The proposed fiber model is capable of reproducing the main features of the cyclic tensile response of a pulp fiber, such as stiffening due to changing microfibril angle. The constitutive model of the fiber was implemented in a finite-element model of the fiber network. By using the fiber network model, we estimated the level of strain that fiber segments accumulate before the typical failure strain of the entire network is reached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant dimensional variations may occur in paper-based materials when subjected to changes in moisture content. Moisture induced deformations are governed by the swelling of individual fibres, which is transferred through inter-fibre bonds to the entire fibrous network. Complex interactions between mechanical and hygro-expansive properties take place in the bonding areas, affecting the overall material response. In most network models, the role of these inter-fibre bonds is not explicitly incorporated. This work presents a periodic meso-structural model for the discrete fibrous network, which considers the free-standing fibre segments and inter-fibre bonds. Despite its simplicity, the reference unit-cell enables the incorporation of relevant micro- and meso-structural features such as network structure, fibres and bond geometry and hygro-elastic properties. The proposed model is solved analytically through a proper homogenization strategy, allowing to recover the paper’s anisotropic hygro-mechanical response in terms of effective elastic constants and effective hygro-expansive coefficients, exploiting the coupling at the meso-structural level between hygroscopic and mechanical behavior. A comparison with experimental results obtained from the literature shows that the presented approach is quite accurate in predicting the overall paper response, thereby revealing the influence of several meso-scale parameters (e.g. fibre orientation, dimensions, mechanical strength). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper is a material exhibiting a complex microstructure that is composed of a network of fibres at the micro-level. When subjected to external loading or variations in moisture conditions over different time scales, changes in strain that are non-linear with respect to time are observed at the sheet level (macro-scale). In order to investigate this time-dependent behaviour of paper, a creep power law model is implemented within a finite element approach at the level of single fibres. This rate-dependent model is found to capture experimental results available in literature for single fibres with a good agreement (both quantitatively and qualitatively). Based on the identified model at the level of single fibres, the time-dependent hygro-mechanical response is upscaled towards the network scale. To this end, random model networks of ribbon shaped fibres are generated and their response is simulated. The network-scale response, emerging from the rate-dependent fibre model, demonstrates the ability to predict the response of networks subjected to relaxation at a constant moisture level. The developed numerical model predicts lower values of overall stress response in single fibres as compared to networks. Also, stress relaxation predicted by the rate-dependent model in the cross-direction of the networks is in agreement with the experimental observations by Johanson and Kubát (1967). Therefore, one of the remarkable findings of the present work is that the developed rate-dependent model is robust enough to capture the sheet scale response also qualitatively. Based on the study of these computational results, a better understanding is achieved regarding the influence of mechanical and rate-dependent properties of single fibres on the hygro-expansion of complete fibre networks, and in particular of paper sheets. • A rate-dependent non-linear model is developed to study creep in paper networks. • It is calibrated with experiments on the single paper fibres with a good match. • It also captures the experimental response of the networks qualitatively. • One of the remarkable achievement of our work is the robustness of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• RGHC generated intense shear rates and a violent form of developed cavitation. • The RGHC is successful at refining pulp with the usual consistency of 3%. • The physical properties of produced paper sheets were similar to newsprint paper. • Cavitation proved to be more economical in comparison to a Valley beater. Refining of cellulose pulp is a critical step in obtaining high quality paper characteristics, however, this process is slow and costly especially for refining longer conifer fibers which are the preferred source for high quality paper production and give the paper its strength. In this study, we have applied a novel rotation generator of hydrodynamic cavitation for refining conifer rich pulp samples. Our results show that the device is capable of generating intense shear forces and multiple zones of developed cavitation and is successful in increasing the drainage rate of high consistency pulp (3%). The paper produced by means of the obtained pulp has higher quality because of its higher tensile index (50.5 kN m kg−1) and burst index (3 kPa m2 g−1). These physical parameters were sufficient for newsprint paper and other paper/board quality manufacture. In addition, this laboratory scale rotation generator proved to be economically efficient in comparison to the routinely employed laboratory beaters. To our knowledge, this is the first example of using hydrodynamic cavitation for the refinement of softwood fiber pulp of standard industrial consistencies (3%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hydrogen bonds formed in the LTTMs enabled the removal of lignin from EFB. • Clear separation of precipitated lignin was observed in EFB strands after washing. • EFB powder showed stronger molecular bonding of pulp than EFB strands. • Paper formed from cactus based LTTMs-delignified EFB had less void space and pores. The aim of this work was to recover the cellulose fibers from EFB using low-transition-temperature-mixtures (LTTMs) as a green delignification approach. The hydrogen bonding of LTTMs observed in 1H NMR tends to disrupt the three-dimensional structure of lignin and further remove the lignin from EFB. Delignification process of EFB strands and EFB powder were performed using standard l -malic acid and cactus malic acid-LTTMs. The recovered cactus malic acid-LTTMs showed higher glucose concentration of 8.07 mg/mL than the recovered l -malic acid LTTMs (4.15 mg/mL). This implies that cactus malic acid-LTTMs had higher delignification efficiency which led to higher amount of cellulose hydrolyzed into glucose. The cactus malic acid-LTTMs-delignified EFB was the most feasible fibers for making paper due to its lowest kappa number of 69.84. The LTTMs-delignified EFB has great potential to be used for making specialty papers in pulp and paper industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]