Effect of Spruce Wood and Fiber Properties on Pulp Quality Under Varying Defibration Conditions, 1999 International Mechanical Pulping Conference Proceedings

Annikki Heikkurinen, Mikael Lucander & Antero Varhimo

The Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute

Jari Sirviö

University of Helsinki

The relationship between spruce wood fiber properties, on pulp properties, was investigated. Both fiber length and the cross-sectional dimensions of fibers were studied as a basis for the wood assortments. PGW and TMP processes were studied using normal defibration conditions. Moreover, the defibration conditions were varied using two refining intensities and different grinding temperatures.

The energy-freeness relationship for different raw materials hardly varied, but the pulp fiber properties were clearly affected by the wood fiber properties. In addition, the different wood assortments reacted in different ways to the changes in defibration conditions. Fast-growing thin-walled fibers seemed to develop better when defibrated by grinding than by refining, while the opposite was the case with thick-walled slow growth fibers.