The effect of fiber external fibrillation on paper properties

Fiber external fibrillation is one of the refining effects in conventional refining which is accompanied with other effects such as internal fibrillation. Objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of fiber external fibrillation on paper properties. Softwood kraft pulp and poplar wood CMP pulp produced at Mazandaran Wood and Paper Industries was used. An ultra-fine friction grinder was used to generate the external fibrillation. Results showed that, increasing the fiber external fibrillation increased the density of paper sheets and lower refiner gaps decreased the light scattering coefficient. Increased fiber external fibrillation improved the tensile strength of the paper sheets by about 20% and internal bonding was increased from 33% to 46% compared with unrefined fibers.