Surface enhanced pulp fibers, methods of making surface enhanced pulp fibers, products incorporating surface enhanced pulp fibers, and methods of making products incorporating surface enhanced pulp fibers
View Patent ↗Various embodiments of the present invention relate to surface enhanced pulp fibers, various products incorporating surface enhanced pulp fibers, and methods and systems for producing surface enhanced pulp fibers. Various embodiments of surface enhanced pulp fibers have significantly increased surface areas compared to conventional refined fibers while advantageously minimizing reductions in length following refinement. The surface enhanced pulp fibers can be incorporated into a number of products that might benefit from such properties including, for example, paper products, paperboard products, fiber cement boards, fiber reinforced plastics, fluff pulps, hydrogels, cellulose acetate products, and carboxymethyl cellulose products. In some embodiments, a plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted average fiber length of at least about 0.3 millimeters and an average hydrodynamic specific surface area of at least about 10 square meters per gram, wherein the number of surface enhanced pulp fibers is at least 12,000 fibers/milligram on an oven-dry basis.
1. A plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers formed from a plurality of hardwood fibers in a refiner having a pair of ultrafine refiner plates, the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers having a length weighted average fiber length of at least about 0.3 millimeters and an average hydrodynamic specific surface area of at least about 10 square meters per gram after being refined at a specific edge load of less than 0.2 Ws/m until an energy consumption of at least 450 kWh/ton is reached, wherein the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers have a fiber count of at least 12,000 fibers per milligram on an oven-dry basis, and wherein the length weighted average length of the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers is at least 60% of the length weighted average length of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the refiner.
2. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted average fiber length of at least about 0.4 millimeters.
3. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have an average hydrodynamic specific surface area of at least about 12 square meters per gram.
4. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted fines value of less than 40% when fibers having a length of 0.2 millimeters or less are classified as fines.
5. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 4 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted fines value of less than 22%.
6. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the average hydrodynamic specific surface area is at least 6 times greater than the average hydrodynamic specific surface area of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the refiner.
7. An article of manufacture comprising the surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 .
8. The article of manufacture of claim 7 , wherein the article is a paper product, a paperboard product, a fiber cement board, a fiber reinforced plastic, a fluff pulp, or a hydrogel.
9. The article of manufacture of claim 8 , wherein the paper product incorporates at least 5 weight percent surface enhanced pulp fibers.
10. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the refiner plates have a bar width of 1.0 millimeters or less and a groove width of 1.3 mm or less.
11. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the refiner is operated at a specific edge load of between about 0.1 and about 0.2 Ws/m.
12. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the refiner is operated at a specific edge load of between about 0.15 and about 0.2 Ws/m.
13. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 1 , wherein the length weighted average length of the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers is at least 70% of the length weighted average length of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the refiner.
14. A plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers formed from a plurality of hardwood fibers in a refiner having a pair of ultrafine refiner plates that are operated at a specific edge load of between about 0.1 and about 0.2 Ws/m, the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers having a length weighted average fiber length of at least about 0.3 millimeters and an average hydrodynamic specific surface area of at least about 10 square meters per gram after being refined until an energy consumption of at least 450 kWh/ton is reached, wherein the length weighted average length of the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers is at least 70% of the length weighted average length of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the refiner, and wherein the average hydrodynamic specific surface area is at least 6 times greater than the average hydrodynamic specific surface area of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the refiner.
15. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the average hydrodynamic specific surface area is at least 8 times greater than the average hydrodynamic specific surface area of the fibers prior to introduction into the refiner.
16. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the plurality ofsurface enhanced pulp fibers have a fiber count of at least 12,000 fibers per milligram on an oven-dry basis.
17. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of hardwood fibers are refined until an energy consumption of at least 650 kWh/ton is reached.
18. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted fines value of less than 40% when fibers having a length of 0.2 millimeters or less are classified as fines.
19. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted fines value of less than 22%.
20. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the ultrafine refiner plates have a bar width of 1.0 millimeters or less and a groove width of 1.3 mm or less.
21. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the refiner is operated at a specific edge load of between about 0.15 and about 0.2 Ws/m.
22. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 14 , wherein the length weighted average length of the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers is at least 70% of the length weighted average length of the fibers prior to introduction into the refiner.
23. A plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers formed from a plurality of hardwood fibers in a mechanical refiner having a pair of ultrafine refiner plates that are operated at a specific edge load of less than 0.2, wherein the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted average fiber length of at least about 0.3 millimeters and an average hydrodynamic specific surface area of at least about 10 square meters per gram after being refined until an energy consumption of at least 450 kWh/ton is reached, wherein the length weighted average length of the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers is at least 60% of the length weighted average length of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the refiner, and wherein the average hydrodynamic specific surface area is at least 6 times greater than the average hydrodynamic specific surface area of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the mechanical refiner.
24. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 23 , wherein the average hydrodynamic specific surface area is at least 8 times greater than the average hydrodynamic specific surface area of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the mechanical refiner.
25. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 23 , wherein the plurality ofsurface enhanced pulp fibers have a fiber count of at least 12,000 fibers per milligram on an oven-dry basis.
26. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 23 , wherein the pair of ultrafine refiner plates that have a bar width of 1.0 millimeters or less and a groove width of 1.6 millimeters or less and that are operated at a specific edge load of between about 0.1 and about 0.2 Ws/m.
27. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 23 , wherein the plurality of hardwood fibers are refined is operated until an energy consumption of at least 650 kWh/ton is reached.
28. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 23 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted fines value of less than 40% when fibers having a length of 0.2 millimeters or less are classified as fines.
29. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 23 , wherein the surface enhanced pulp fibers have a length weighted fines value of less than 22%.
30. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 26 , wherein the ultrafine refiner plates have a bar width of 1.0 millimeters or less and a groove width of 1.3 mm or less.
31. The plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers of claim 23 , wherein the length weighted average length of the plurality of surface enhanced pulp fibers is at least 70% of the length weighted average length of the plurality of hardwood fibers prior to introduction into the refiner.