The effect of charged groups on the beatability of pulp fibres

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this bachelor thesis was to investigate how charged groups within the pulp fibre affect the beatability and the strength of the papers. To obtain different levels of charges on the pulp it was carboxymethylated. The different pulp samples were beaten to different degrees to investigate how charges interact with the beating. A PFI-mill was used for the beating because of the relatively homogenous effect on the fibres and the low demand for pulp fibres for each beating. The influence of the amount of charged groups on the surface and bulk swelling, as a result of the beating process, was evaluated.   The fibres were then analysed in a Fibre tester and using a microscope to see what had happened to the fibre structure.  The results showed that the PFI-mill mainly affects the surface of the fibres. The beatability, defined as the swelling obtain for a specific energy input, was greatly increased by the introduction of charges. It was also shown that there is a possibility to replace some of the energy input in the mill with the introduction of charges to obtain the same swelling and strength.   Paper sheets were formed from the different samples and some mechanical properties were analyzed. It was shown that the strength was initially improved by the introduction of charges but the improvement was partially lost during the beating. At the highest rate of beating the difference in strength between the samples had disappeared. This can be explained by the fact that the fibres, from the sample with highest number of charges, were destroyed. Microscopic images showed that the fibre was delaminated and at some sites there were extreme balloon-like swellings