A superior new approach to paper machine contaminant control

Chemical methods of wet end contaminant control are frequently used in the paper industry to improve machine productivity and paper quality. Three quite different methods are particularly common: Stabilizing the colloidal material with a dispersant or surfactant Reducing the tackiness of the colloidal material using a detackifier Removing the contaminants from the system together with the paper using a highly charged cationic polymer Traditionally, these three methods have rarely been combined because combining them typically provided few additional benefits and the methods have not been complementary. However, Hercules Incorporated has developed a new approach to controlling contaminants that combines an amphoteric, surface-active, structured protein with a highly charged cationic polymer. The structured protein is able both to increase the stability and to reduce the tackiness of colloidal contaminants. The real key to the effectiveness of the program, however, is the effect achieved when the structured protein is used together with a cationic polymer to retain the contaminants with the web. This approach, which combines three different methods of control, has been shown to be considerably more effective on commercial paper machines than conventional methods. Research data illustrates the effectiveness of this method compared with conventional methods. Test data of this application on commercial paper machines shows how effectively the method may improve contaminant control within the papermaking process.