The tissue dust analysis system: a new device and methodology to quantify dusting and linting propensity in hygiene tissue papers

Abstract

Linting and dusting are commonly used terms to describe the tendency of a tissue web to release unbound and loosely bound bers or ller particles during the tissue-making process or in the nished tissue product. Lint/dust generation has an overall negative impact across tissue paper manufacturing and handling operations, causing safety hazards, machine runnability di culties, and product quality issues. To date, there are no well-established industry standards to quantify dusting/linting propensities in nished tissue products, thus evaluating the effectiveness of dust/lint control programs is challenging yet intriguing. This research aims to ll this gap by developing a methodology to characterize dusting in tissue papers. We have developed a device prototype (named the Tissue Dust Collector) and a methodology that together have been named the Tissue Dust Analysis System (TDAS), which aims at quantifying the propensity for tissue-grade paper products to generate dust/lint in a controlled and reproducible manner. Two samples, corresponding to commercial products with a low and high linting propensity, were tested using the proposed device and methodology, and the released particles were quanti ed and characterized. The device and methodology provided reproducible results for simulated consumer handling and product manufacturing scenarios. By changing the instrument's motor frequency, the force of agitation changes, mimicking/simulating consumer (60 strokes per min, spm) and producer/manufacturing (180 spm) handling scenarios (though manufacturing processes are much faster in practice). Particle counts at each level for each product showed reproducible values differentiable at different agitation levels. Adopting the proposed Tissue Dust Analysis System may help to collect, characterize and understand the mechanisms behind dusting to alleviate this issue at its various sources through dust-control strategies.

Converting operations impact on tissue paper product properties – A Review

“…Tissue paper products, in general, can release extremely high concentrations of dust (fibers with a length approximately 0.4 to 2.0 mm) and lint (fibers with a length approximately 4.0 to 5.0 mm and a width of 500 μm), which are encountered during stages of processing and packaging (Baum 2001;Frazier et al 2022). In the manufacturing process of this type of product, these fibers and dust accumulate on the surface of the paper and in the elements of the converting machines, which translates into product quality problems and difficulties in runnability, and later, in the usage of the final consumer (Kuryllowicz 1984;Linder et al 2017).…”

“…This lint and dust accumulation form agglomerates on the surface of the tissue paper sheet, and consequently decreases its softness with a roughness increase. Due to this fact, the usage of these products contaminated by lint and dust becomes unpleasant, such that the product does not meet the requirements of the final consumer (Frazier et al 2022). The fishbone diagram presented in Fig.…”

“…The fishbone diagram presented in Fig. 15 shows the major contributing factors to dust and lint generation in tissue converting (Frazier et al 2022).…”

Bulk characterization of highly structured tissue paper based on 2D and 3D evaluation methods

“…Kumar et al (2022) used SEM for the characterization of the fibre lumen collapsibility due to different refining energy. A qualitative analysis of the cross-section based on SEM images was published by Frazier et al (2022) to evaluate the impact of dust particles on the fibre network. Morais et al (2021) showed the densification effect of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) as an additive in tissue paper using cross-sectional SEM images.…”