In this blog post we have collected our key learnings from working with corrugated board in over 170 trials. You will find information about reduced starch consumption, prolonged stability of viscosity in starch adhesives, robustness, increased productivity, bonding quality and how to fight warp. Finally, we share feedback and learnings from customers!
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In this blog post we have collected our key learnings from working with corrugated board in over 170 trials. You will find information about reduced starch consumption, prolonged stability of viscosity in starch adhesives, robustness, increased productivity, bonding quality and how to fight warp. Finally, we share feedback and learnings from customers!
To wrap up this corrugated boards application series we finish with a focus on warp. Warp is one of the most common problems that corrugated board manufacturers face. Producing bent or twisted boards results in excessive scrap, waste and reduced production rates. There may be a number of factors that contribute to this problem; leaving out the machinery and focusing on the moisture control in the bonding process, what happens when we add Exilva (Microfibrillar Cellulose, MFC) to the adhesive?
The bonding quality determines the ultimate strength of the corrugated board. In my previous blog post I revealed increased speed results for the production of corrugated boards. In this blog post I have investigated what effect Exilva Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC) has on bond strength.
The corrugated business is an industry always in development. After five years of looking into the corrugated industry and how Exilva can be applied to different glue recipes, we have seen elevating results at more than 70 corrugators around the world. Timer after time customer’s state great results. Our latest success story involves a trip to one of the biggest players in the industry. Our common mission was to fix edge delamination that occurs at slitter scorer on double wall and heavy single wall. Names and location of the customer has been anonymized.
Having demonstrated the viscosity stabilizing effect of Exilva in starch adhesives, for this third blog post in the corrugated boards application series, I will focus on the effect on glue ability and production speed.
In a previous blog post, I explained how the new technology of Exilva microfibrillated cellulose may improve the viscosity stability of starch adhesives. Here is the second blog post in the corrugated boards application series, and now I have entered the glue kitchen of a corrugated boards manufacturer to evaluate the robustness and stability effects of Exilva.
Starch is a natural polymer found in many processes either as an adhesive or a thickener. Following paper production, corrugated board is the second largest application of non-food starches globally, where it it used as an adhesive between the fluting and liners. The control of the adhesive viscosity during process and storage is critical. However, despite further developments regarding the formulation of starch adhesives, the viscosity is commonly not stable enough over extended periods of time, in particular over weekend storage. In this first of a series of blog posts with the corrugated boards application as the example, I will give an introduction to this problem, and the new technology of Exilva, a microfibrillated cellulose, to solve it.
Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and Exilva microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) can both be used as rheology modifiers in a variety of industries to prevent sedimentation and settling. In this article, I review the ability of the materials to give a yield stress in a waterbased system and, because of that, provide anti-settling and anti-sedimentation behavior. Tune-in on a comparison between these two rheology additives.
Undesirable phenomena such as sedimentation and settling can often occur during the storage of paints. Therefore, a re-dispersion step is necessary which can mean additional cost. These challenges can be even more pronounced in high solid content formulations and so it is crucial to secure stability of those systems. To avoid these effects, rheology modifiers need to be added to paint formulations. So, I prepared some information for you and conducted a couple of tests with the rheology additive nanocellulose to show you how focus on yield stress will reduce sedimentation and settling.
Paint manufacturers have been formulating paints containing microspheres in many years. Formulators can use microspheres to increase the solid content of a coating while maintaining the proper application and flow characteristics. Higher solids can reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs), shrinkage and drying time. But there can be problems with settling and sedimentation, as well as floating of the microspheres. In addition, cost of certain types of microspheres can be high. In this article I will show you how the microfibrillated cellulose technology can give anti-settling and anti-sedimentation of microspheres, as well as enabling you to choose less expensive microspheres and obtain the same performance, which typically has been associated with more expensive types.
