The influence of the counter-ions to the charged groups on the refinability of never-dried bleached pulps

Abstract

Refining of bleached hardwood pulps and bleached softwood pulps having different counter-ions to the charged groups within the fibres was studied. The results show that an energy reduction of 50% for the hardwood pulps and 20% for the softwood pulp can be achieved if the fibres are converted into the Na+-form prior to refining. The results also show that the amount of charged groups in the fibres is important for the refinability, which explains why the refining efficiency is much lower for bleached softwood fibres, which have a much smaller amount of charged groups than the bleached hardwood pulp.