Improvement of Paper Properties of Recycled Unbleached Softwood Kraft Pulps by Poly(allylamine Hydrochloride)

Polyelectrolytes containing amine functional groups such as PAH (poly(allylamine hydrochloride)) can be useful, under certain conditions, for improving paper strength. In this work, the charge density of PAH was determined at different pH and ionic strengths; PAH adsorption onto the cellulosic fibers was characterized, and the effects of low PAH dosage on the papermaking properties were evaluated. It was found that the ionization of PAH is complete in acid media, but it is partial and depends on the ionic strength in neutral media. The adsorption isotherms of PAH on a recycled pulp from kraft liner allowed us to determine the amount needed to saturate the adsorption capacity of the fibers. For the three ionic strengths analyzed, the swelling of the fibers decreased when PAH was added in an amount corresponding to saturation (0.23% PAH on dried pulp). Nevertheless, the swelling was recovered when the amount of PAH was the double the saturation level (0.46% PAH on dried pulp). At these levels of addition, the papermaking properties were clearly improved, especially compressive strengths SCT (short compressive test) and CMT (concora medium test). The Page equation of tensile strength showed that PAH improved the shear bond strength, while the relative bonding area slightly decreased.