Impact of pulp drying modes for water-retention values measured by headspace gas chromatographic method

Abstract

The water-retaining capabilities of bleached chemical pulps treated by the oven-, air-, vacuum-, and freeze-drying modes were determined with use of a reliable the headspace gas chromatographic method (HS-GC) developed recently. The results showed that reliable water retention data could be determined by the HS-GC method only in the case of air-dried pulp. This result was supplemented by observations of the surface morphology of the fibers from these drying processes. The present HS-GC method can be used for checking the differences of wettability (at a given equilibration time) of pulp specimens from different drying modes.