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Title: Effects of pulverized coal fly-ash addition as a wet-end filler in papermaking

Journal Article · · TAPPI Journal
OSTI ID:21116248
 [1]
  1. SLIET, Longowal (India). Dept. of Chemical Technology

This experimental study is based on the innovative idea of using pulverized coal fly ash as a wet-end filler in papermaking. This is the first evaluation of the possible use of fly ash in the paper industry. Coal-based thermal power plants throughout the world are generating fly ash as a solid waste product. The constituents of fly ash can be used effectively in papermaking. Fly ash has a wide variation in particle size, which ranges from a few micrometers to one hundred micrometers. Fly ash acts as an inert material in acidic, neutral, and alkaline papermaking processes. Its physical properties such as bulk density (800-980 kg/m{sup 3}), porosity (45%-57%), and surface area (0.138-2.3076 m{sup 2}/g) make it suitable for use as a paper filler. Fly ash obtained from thermal power plants using pulverized coal was fractionated by a vibratory-sieve stack. The fine fraction with a particle size below 38 micrometers was used to study its effect on the important mechanical-strength and optical properties of paper. The effects of fly-ash addition on these properties were compared with those of kaolin clay. Paper opacity was found to be much higher with fly ash as a filler, whereas brightness decreased as the filler percentage increased Mechanical strength properties of the paper samples with fly ash as filler were superior to those with kaolin clay.

OSTI ID:
21116248
Journal Information:
TAPPI Journal, Vol. 7, Issue 9; ISSN 0734-1415
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English