Sizing of paper with sucrose octaacetate using liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide as a green alternative medium.

Highlights • Sizing of paper is carried out using liquid CO 2 as an alternative medium. • Sucrose Octaacetate (SOA) is used as a CO 2 -philic and renewable size compound. • The method is inherently dry and industrially viable. • The SOA-coated surface shows reduced optical reflectance. • The sized paper shows enhanced non-wetting nature and improved mechanical properties. Abstract The development of low cost, non-fluorous, CO 2 -philic materials such as sugar acetates have opened up new opportunities for enabling the utilization of liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2) as a green solvent platform for industrial processes by virtue of the high solubility of these materials in CO 2. In the present work, we report the sizing of paper surface with sucrose octaacetate (SOA) using this alternative solvent system. Characterization of the bare and sized paper samples has been carried out using spectroscopic and surface imaging techniques. The studies reveal a smooth and uniform coating of the surface with SOA. Contact angle measurements and sorption studies show that the SOA-coated paper surface is hydrophobic. The mechanical properties of the SOA-coated paper are observed to be superior to that of the uncoated one. Since the solvent and the size can be completely recycled, this can be developed into an industrially viable green technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]