Optimizing Soybean Wax Emulsion Coatings for the Development of Sustainable Hydrophobic and Oil-Resistant Paper: A Comparative Study of Surfactant and Pickering-Stabilized Systems, TAPPICon26

Soybean wax is a potential sustainable substitute for synthetic polymeric coatings to produce water resistant paper based packaging. This natural wax is hydrophobic, renewable, and environmentally safe. A potential system to apply soybean wax is as an emulsion. This study compares two approaches to stabilizing soybean wax emulsions: a conventional surfactant-based emulsion (SE) with nonionic surfactants (Span-80/Tween-80) and a Pickering emulsion stabilized with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), in combination with sodium alginate (SA) as an anionic stabilizer. Three different kinds of paper substrates were then treated with the stabilized SE and PE: northern bleached kraft (NBK) paper, copy paper, and cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-coated NBK paper. Overall, the comparative results demonstrate that the SE had a short storage life (approximately 7 days) and only slightly improved the paper's water and oil barrier performance. In contrast, the PE exhibited an effective storage life of at least one month, significantly higher water and oil resistance, and improved mechanical strength retention.

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