Film formation and foamability of cellulose derivatives: Influence of co-binders and substrate properties on coating holdout

Abstract

Foams were prepared from hydrophobically modified ethyl(hydroxyethyl) cellulose (EHEC), methyl nanocellulose, and native microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). Their film- and foam-forming abilities, stabilities, and suitabilities for foam coating on different substrates were investigated. The role of EHEC as a polymeric stabilizing agent was also studied. The EHEC-MFC foams showed greater stability and water-holding ability under pressurized dewatering than MFC foams prepared in the presence of a surfactant. A foam could be created with methyl nanocellulose without any foaming agent. Selected nanocellulose gels and foam formulations were used to coat various substrates. The surface was efficiently closed by gel and foam coatings prepared from the methyl nanocellulose and EHEC solutions, which was ascribed to good coating holdout. Coatings on papers with different levels of smoothness/density and hydrophobicity/ hydrophilicity confirmed that foam-substrate interactions affected the coat quality. The air permeance was reduced by 99% and 64% with a methyl nanocellulose coating and an EHEC-MFC coating, respectively. An EHEC-MFC coating created a hydrophobic surface on a hydrophilic substrate, and methyl nanocellulose improved the oil resistance even at a low coat weight.

Nanocellulose and polysiloxane coatings for strength enhancement and oil-proof and hydrophobicity improvement of recycled pulp sheets

“…What is worse, the paper's mechanical properties are also greatly reduced after multiple recycles due to the decrease in recycled fiber performance, making it difficult to use the paper without modification. Various approaches have been adopted to enhance the mechanical properties, as well as the water and oil resistance of paper, such as spraying the coating on the paper surface (Lyytikainen et al 2021;Zhou et al 2022), paper sizing (Dang et al 2017), and other surface modification methods.…”