The effect of borax‐modified starch on wheat straw‐based paper properties

Abstract

This study was focused on the improvement of mechanical strength properties of wheat straw‐based paper through modification of wet‐end cationic starch with borax. Borax has been used extensively in many industrial applications for its unique physical and chemical properties. We investigated the strengthening effect of borax‐modified starch (BMS) as wet‐end paper strength additive on the mechanical strength properties especially the tensile strength of wheat straw‐based paper. Hand‐sheets made of typical wheat straw‐based papermaking furnish were investigated. Experimental results showed that BMS substantially increased the strength properties. Tensile index, elongation, tensile energy absorption, and wet tensile index were increased by 17%, 23%, 20%, and 21%, respectively. A short mill trial was also conducted on papermaking machine in which the impact of BMS on wheat straw‐based low grammage paper (<90 gsm) was investigated. The objective of mill trial was to reduce costly virgin softwood pulp content in wheat straw‐based paper recipe. Mill trial results showed similar trends in strength properties as in case of laboratory studies. Virgin softwood pulp was reduced from 30% to 25% in papermaking furnish. Furthermore, no sheet breaks were reported during trial which often happened due to poor strength of paper web. This study strongly suggests that modification of wet‐end cationic starch with borax holds a tremendous potential as wet‐end strength additive. It can provide significantly improved strength properties, reduction in softwood pulp costs, and better papermaking machine performance. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

Improvement of the mechanical properties of paper by starch coatings modified with sepiolite nanoparticles

“…In their experiments, an increase in the clay contents in the starch composite caused a decrease of the paper strength. Ali et al investigated the impact of borax‐modified cationic starch on the mechanical strength properties of paper and found the overall tensile properties showed a significant increase, while the other properties were not negatively affected.…”

“…On the other hand, starch is able to connect with a filler and enhance filler-fiber bonding. Modifications of starch lead to more economic and efficient application in the paper industry and also protect the environment [5][6][7][8]. Recently, investigations were focused on composites based on starch and clay minerals, especially phyllosilicates [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Sepiolite [Si 12 Mg 8 O 30 (OH) 4 (OH 2 ) 4 Á 8H 2 O] is a natural, fibrous clay mineral having a large specific surface area and high porosity [16].…”

Physicochemical properties of glutinous rice in the presence of alkali and borax

“…Hence, the changes in the pasting properties of BTF could not have been a result of the protein content. The changes could have been due to a borax–starch complex that formed cross‐linkages between borate ions (borax) and the cis ‐diol site (hydroxyl pairs) on the polysaccharide chains . The crosslinking strengthened the starch granules and resisted rupturing, resulting in increased final viscosity.…”

“…However, it has been reported that borax is sometimes used in the preparation of starch‐based food products because it causes desirable property changes in the product. In addition, borax has also been added in starch in non‐food applications such as in gluing to improve the overall binding properties, in the paper and packaging industry, and in paper bonding products, such as corrugated boxboards, paper board, and carton sealing .…”

Ionic interactions in cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel blended with starch

“…7 Borax has an ability to interact with hydroxyl group in the formation of cross-linked units between chains of polysaccharides. 8,9 PVOH-Starch borate hydrogel is formed due to interaction of borax with hydroxyl groups present in both PVOH and starch. 10,11 Similar interactions between the hydroxyl groups in cellulose and PVOH with borate ions were available in the literature.…”