Hemicellulose in pulp affects paper properties and printability

摘要

Hemicellulose is an important component in plant fibre and it contributes to paper properties. During pulping and fibre-recycling, it could be removed by either its degradation or release. The objective of this work was to explore the effects of hemicellulose loss on paper structure and printability. Herein, parts of hemicellulose were selectively extracted from bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp with sodium hydroxide solution. The bulk, surface roughness, and air permeability of paper were found to have increased as a result of hemicellulose loss, particularly as the hemicellulose content in pulp was decreased below 13%. Both the brightness and opacity of the paper were slightly improved due to the removal of hemicellulose. Meanwhile, strength indices decreased as expected. Both ink transfer and print through were reduced with hemicellulose loss. When the print density was lower than 1.6, the dependence of print through on hemicellulose loss at a certain degree of print density was not obvious.