Paperboard Filling Experiences with Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) for the New Millennium, 2000 Papermakers Conference Proceedings

Robert A. Gill, William J. Haskins--The application of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) as the preferred filler in printing and writing papers is now expanding into other segments of the paper industry, specifically bleached paperboard and white top linerboard. The solid bleached paperboard and white top linerboard marketplaces are quite competitive at this time. Evolving end user needs in each of these product areas have resulted in crucial changes in the materials used to manufacture these grades. Today, PCC represents greater than 80% of the total filler used by the North American freesheet producers, and continues to replace less efficient and/or more costly fillers such as clay, titanium dioxide, and ground calcium carbonate (GCC). Over the past two years, several board manufacturers have converted from acid to alkaline papermaking utilizing PCC fillers to improve quality and reduce manufacturing costs. This paper reviews the use of PCC filler in meeting these changing market demands with emphasis on actual mill experience in North America.