Partial Replacement of Cationic Starch by Cationic Hardwood Kraft Lignin Does Not Compromise Key Paper Properties

Patrícia I. F. Pinto, Paula C. R. Pinto, Dmitry V. Evtuguin and Falk Liebner ()
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Patrícia I. F. Pinto: RAIZ—Forest and Paper Research Institute, Quinta de S. Francisco, Apartado 15, 3801-501 Aveiro, Portugal
Paula C. R. Pinto: RAIZ—Forest and Paper Research Institute, Quinta de S. Francisco, Apartado 15, 3801-501 Aveiro, Portugal
Dmitry V. Evtuguin: CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Falk Liebner: CICECO—Aveiro Institute of Materials and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: Competition issues with food industry have recently boosted the exploration of alternative solutions capable of replacing starch in papermaking to a certain extent. Covalent grafting of quaternary ammonium groups onto LignoBoost ® Eucalyptus kraft lignin has recently shown promise in this regard as the cationic products feature excellent water solubility across the entire pH scale. Considering these suitable properties, cationic kraft lignin was applied and evaluated, for the first time, in the perspective of partial substitution of cationic starch in papermaking, using bleached Eucalyptus kraft pulp. Based on an assessment of key paper properties, such as mechanical (tensile, bursting, and tearing indexes), structural (roughness, capillarity rise, air resistance, internal strength, and water contact angle), and optical ones (brightness, opacity, and relative color change), it is safe to conclude that the partial replacement of conventional cationic starch by cationic lignin does not compromise these features. The results also show that properties can be fine-tuned by varying the degree of lignin derivatization, providing paper-specific solutions for replacing starch by lignin potentially available at large-scale at the pulp and paper industry, closing the loop within the circular economy concept.

Keywords: cationic starch; cationic lignin; hardwood kraft pulp; papermaking; water-soluble kraft lignin; bulk paper modification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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