Bulky paper with good strength and smoothness? Certainly!

Increasing bulk is the first step toward resource-lean papermaking. Increasing the bulk tends to reduce strength and increase porosity and roughness; however, loss in strength could be compensated for via an increase in the specific strength of bonds. The increase in total surface area can have a positive influence on the porosity and smoothness of the paper. Results suggest that the bulk of fine paper can be increased by 20% and the critical paper properties maintained through selection of the kraft fibre type, control of the degree of hornification, addition of xyloglucan, and use of fines-rich mechanical pulp. In general, the results reported on here suggest that increasing bulk or reducing grammage is a challenging task but can be accomplished through simultaneous application of several unconventional measures.