Ground Calcium Carbonate Fillers for High Ash Content, High Strength Papers, 1996 Papermakers Conference Proceedings

Over the last ten years much of the U.S. fine paper industry has moved from acid to alkaline wet end production. This move has been facilitated to a large extent by the availability of precipitated calcium carbonate fillers produced at satellite plants close to the paper mill. The U.S. paper industry however lags behind the European fine paper industry regarding filler content; in Europe ground calcium carbonate fillers and not precipitated calcium carbonate tillers are the norm. As pulp prices steadily increase in the U.S. more importance is placed upon the means and methodologies necessary to increase sheet ash levels. This paper describes one approach, a new family of ground calcium carbonate fillers that exhibit a combination of the attributes of natural ground calcium carbonate fillers (strength, drainage, high tiller levels and good size response) and the attributes of precipitated calcium carbonate fillers (opacity and bulk). This range of products is expected to enable paper makers worldwide to increase current ash levels while maintaining or improving sheet properties.