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Opportunities in Papermaking Wet-end Chemistry

Consulting

As time permits, Martin Hubbe provides consulting services about many topics related to papermaking chemistry and colloidal chemistry. Teaching is his specialty. He likes to lead off with a highly tailored, time-efficient lecture. That way your team can come up to speed quickly on some issues that may be critical to solving some issues in the paper mill.

To save time and expense, both for me and my client, I want to know in advance what are the key problems that need to be solved or the roles for which certain individuals need training. That way I can attempt to prepare a highly interactive and tailored consulting session.

My rates and availability will depend on a lot of things. For instance, Fall is usually my heavy teaching semester, and the best you can probably hope for during that period is consulting by Zoom. Some assignments will require a lot of preparation. Some assignments require follow-up work. Please give me an idea of what you think you need, and we can work from there. Leave a message on my email: hubbe@ncsu.edu.

Since about 1989 I have been delivering high-quality short courses on behalf of a diverse list of industrial clients (see list at the end of my curriculum vitae, with an effort to tailor the material to address critical needs, problem solving, and product development related to papermaking wet-end chemistry and allied subjects.

Does your company have a critical need for a better understanding of science and technology related to papermaking additives, cost-saving strategies, or papermaking process and product development?  Can some of your people benefit from a better understanding of the basics… or of recent developments? If so, I would like to suggest a way to meet this need without requiring your people to travel. 

Based on many cycles of targeted short-course delivery and consulting, working with many different clients (paper companies, chemical supplier companies, and equipment companies), what I usually recommend is that the client and I begin by defining key concepts that are most critical to be included in a “refresher” or highly targeted training session, where I can help your people to be up to speed in challenging topics within the field of papermaking chemistry.  Then, where appropriate, such input can provide a lead-in so that I can work with a client’s technical team to bring state-of-art concepts to bear in solving critical problems.

List of Courses Taught in the Past by Dr. Hubbe

A bit of history:  Early pulp and paper Wood chemistry Fiber types and properties Kraft pulping Kraft recovery Thermomechanical pulping (TMP) Deinking and recycled fiber Bleaching basics

Stock preparation:  Stock characterization Refining (beating) Screening and cleaning Paper machine headbox and forming Wet pressing and drying Size press, calendering and creping Paper coating Grades of paper

Concepts and definitions Fillers:  Types, amounts, & functions Sizing agents: Types, reasons for use Case study Dry strength additives Wet strength additives Colorants and whiteners

Retention aids Drainage strategies Contaminant control Case study Foam control Lab methods for wet-end chemistry Typical wet-end chemistry for paper grades Process control issues

Basic composition of wood and cellulose

Fibers and fiber quality
Fillers and other mineral additives
Starch and other polymer additives
Water and how it affects paper components
Adding chemicals at the wet end
Size-press starch and additives
Coating ingredients

Advances in synthetic sizing agents Advances in dry-strength additives Advances in wet-strength additives Advances in retention & drainage additives Impact of papermaking on fiber properties Fiber modification

Why paper strength is important
Starch – our most-used dry-strength additive
Cellulosic fibers
Development of fiber-to-fiber bonds
Theories of how starch contributes to strength
Factors that hurt strength
Strategies for use of cationic starch
High-performance dry-strength additives
The size press and related operations
Dry-strength strategies in the research stage

Definitions Why retention is important Mechanical factors Chemicals used to increase retention How retention aids work Interferences to retention aids Strategies for increasing retention aid efficiency
Strategies for drainage and formation uniformity Control of retention

Origin of charge on surfaces in water Examples of charged materials in water Zeta potential and its measurement Streaming potential and its measurement Charge titrations: Colorimetric method Charge titrations: Streaming current Interpretation of charge data Deviations from stoichiometry of charges Research using a streaming potential device

Evaluation of retention and dewatering aids Reversibility of fiber flocculation by shear Multi-component treatment systems Pulsations during retention tests Results with cationic acrylamide copolymer Results with different retention aid systems Where to add retention aid

Starch applications
Charge concepts
Water chemistry
Strength additives
Retention
Sizing
Wet end addition of starch
Size press addition of starch
Paper properties affected by starch
New directions in starch for paper

Introduction & process overview Main ingredients of paper Chemical additives Interactions between (2) and (3) Sizing agents and other tacky materials Process-enhancing additives Control of deposits and other maladies Analytical tests for process control

Losses  (wasted materials, unrecovered broke, etc.) Slow production rate  (fixed costs spread out over too few tons) Downtime  (length of scheduled downtime, frequency and duration of unscheduled downtime) Inefficient use of functional additives (higher than necessary costs for sizing, dry strength, wet strength, opacity, retention aids, etc.) Process additives and their control  (to reduce the standard deviations of measurable variables) Reduction in the amount of fiber needed to make a ton of product  (including basis weights, filler levels) The amount of energy required to produce a ton of product  (moisture out of the press section, vacuum energy, etc.) Reduction in the costs of handling chemicals

Acidic vs. alkaline size
Rosin soap size
Rosin emulsion size
Alkenylsuccinic anhydride (ASA)
Alkylketene dimer (AKD)

Dewatering improvements

Product attributes

Here are some additional off-site short-courses that Marty Hubbe has presented earlier for various companies and organizations (list obviously not up to date):

Acidic and Alkaline Sizing of Paper PapersMassaschusettsOct. 21, 2004
Retention Aids: What, Why, and HowInternet virtual seminarApril and May 2004
The Invention of Paper – Its Impact on Culture and on our LivesNorth CarolinaApril 25, 2004
Strength Additives for Paper Manufacture” and “Retention Aid Strategies for Paper Manufacture”ChinaMarch 17, 22, 26, 2004
Using the Paper Mill as a ‘Reactor’ for Multi-layer Surface Treatment of FibersTennesseeMarch 11, 2003
Chemicals, Enzyme Applications, and Fractionation Technology Trends in Paper ManufactureKoreaJuly 2002
   
Hands-On Wet-End Chemistry WorkshipTennesseeAugust 14-16, 2000
Analytical Chemistry Related to PapermakingNew YorkAugust 2-3, 2000
Wet-End Chemistry Short CourseTaiwanMay 2-4, 2000
Colloidal Principles of Paper Chemical FormulationGeorgiaFeb. 10-11, 2000
Paper Machine Wet-End Chemistry of StarchMichiganJuly 19, 1999
Hardboard Process ChemistryNorth CarolinaDecember 16-17, 1999
Wet-End Chemistry Related to ASA SizingPennsylvaniaMay 10-11, 1999
Chemistry of Wet-Lay NonWovens ProcessingNorth CarolinaApril 21, 1999