Fluff Pulp Performance Improved by Alternative Pine Species, 19PEERS

Absorbent products suppliers are constantly improving the main components of their product’s matrix materials, but few of them are related to the fluff pulp itself, currently treated as commodity. In order to maximize the pulp potential, the objective of this work was to evaluate and compare different softwood species including Pinus taeda and Pinus maximinoi in terms of their properties and impact in absorbent pads. These species were chosen since P. taeda wood is the most used pine species in Brazil for softwood pulp production and P. maximinoi has potential for forest exploration due to its high fibrous yield. When compared to P. taeda, the pulp fibers from P. maximinoi showed better results regarding morphology through larger fiber length 8%, width 9% and wall thickness 25% resulting in a coarseness 23% higher, parameters considered important for wicking. P.maximinoi also presented lower cut tendency in the Hammermill, contributing to better process yields in the customer’s facilities. However, due to higher coarseness, the number of fibers per milligram were reduced by 25%, which can contribute to higher empty volume between fibers, leading to greater liquid flow inside the pads. Other properties such as burst strength and shredding energy consumption usually correlated, showed significant reductions of 17% and 24% respectively. Altogether, this study proves the feasibility of exploring new wood species for fluff pulp, especially P. maximinoi as a raw material that through its properties may contribute to the final product’s performances.

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