THE INFLUENCE OF MICROFIBRILLATED CELLULOSE, MFC, ON PAPER STRENGTH AND SURFACE PROPERTIES

This study demonstrates recent advances in microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) research. This novel material, which is mostly composed of nano-sized cellulose fibrils seems to have large potential within several applications. Three case studies are considered, i) MFC films that may be applied for packaging applications, ii) MFC applied in the paper bulk and iii) MFC applied as a coating layer on paper. It has been demonstrated that MFC forms films with high strength, high density and low permeability. The tensile strength of the TMP sheets assessed in this study have been increased by more than 20% by addition of 4% MFC to the furnish. Application of MFC as a coating layer on paper forms a dense continuous surface film. However, despite a considerable reduction of the surface roughness, the paper gloss was reduced. This contradictory phenomenon is most probably caused by the MFC layer covering the clay particles on the surface of the base paper.