Improvement of bleached wheat straw pulp properties by using aspen high-yield pulp

Abstract

The bleached wheat straw pulp (BWSP) accounts for about 25% of the virgin fiber supply in the Chinese Pulp and Paper Industry. As a non-wood chemical pulp, BWSP is known to have low bulk, low light scattering coefficient and poor drainage due to its high content of parenchyma cells. In this study, a high-quality aspen high-yield pulp (HYP) was used to improve the BWSP properties at the laboratory scale. The results indicate that adding 5-20% aspen HYP into unrefined or refined BWSP can minimize many of the drawbacks associated with the BWSP: improving its drainage, bulk, light scattering coefficient and opacity. The addition of a small amount (up to 20%) of aspen HYP can also significantly increase the tear index of BWSP with only a slight decrease of the tensile index.