Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Dec 7;28(24):7984.
doi: 10.3390/molecules28247984.

Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes as Flocculants and Retention Aids in Wet-End Papermaking

Na Su  1
Affiliations
Review

Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes as Flocculants and Retention Aids in Wet-End Papermaking

Na Su. Molecules. .

Abstract

As the criteria of energy conservation, emission reduction, and environmental protection become more important, and with the development of wet-end papermaking, developing excellent retention aids is of great significance. Spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPBs) bearing polyelectrolyte chains grafted densely to the surface of core particle have the potential to be novel retention aids in wet-end papermaking not only because of their spherical structure, but also due to controllable grafting density and molecular weight. Such characteristics are crucial in order to design multi-functional retention aids in sophisticated papermaking systems. This review presents some important recent advances with respect to retention aids, including single-component system and dual-component systems. Then, basic theory in papermaking is also briefly reviewed. Based on these advances, it emphatically describes spherical polyelectrolyte brushes, focused on their preparation methods, characterization, conformation, and applications in papermaking. This work is expected to contribute to improve a comprehensive understanding on the composition, properties, and function mechanisms of retention aids, which helps in the further investigation on the design of novel retention aids with excellent performance.

Keywords: flocculation; retention aids; spherical polyelectrolyte brushes; wet-end papermaking.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Classification of wet-end chemicals.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structural diagrams of different polymer retention aids.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Conformation of adsorbed polyelectrolytes on solid surfaces.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic diagrams of adsorption, reconstruction, and diffusion of polyelectrolytes.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mechanism diagrams of “Patch” and “Bridging”.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The structure diagram of polyelectrolyte brushes: (a) Planar polymer brushes, (b) Spherical polymer brushes, and (c) Star-polymer.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Schematic representation of physisorption (A) and covalent attachment (B).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Schematic representations of synthesis process of SPBs (A) and cationization process of SPAM (B). Copied from De Gruyter [193].
Figure 9
Figure 9
FTIR (A), XPS (B) (“*” denotes the signal position of nitrogen atoms in the spectrum of SiO2), and TGA (C) of CSPBs; TEM (D) of SiO2 (a) and CSPBs (b); mean chord length of pulp suspension induced by cationic additives (E). Reprinted with permission from [194]. Copyright: 2016, Elsevier.
Figure 10
Figure 10
FSEM images of PCC flocs adhering to the surface of fibers (A): (a) Without any additives, (b) with cationic starch/APAM (cationic starch = 35 mg/g, APAM = 0.03 wt%), and (c,d) with CSPB-3/APAM (CSPB-3 = 18 mg/g, APAM = 0.03 wt%); Flocculation mechanism of the CSPB/APAM dual-component system (B). Reprinted with permission from [195]. Copyright: 2015, Elsevier.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ma H. A review of ways to adjust papermaking wet-end chemistry: Manipulation of cellulosic colloidal behavior. Lignocellulose. 2014;3:69–107.
    1. Gibbs A., Pelton R., Cong R. The influence of dextran derivatives on polyethylene oxide and polyacrylamide-induced calcium carbonate flocculation and floc strength. Colloids Surf. A. 1999;159:31–35. doi: 10.1016/S0927-7757(99)00160-0. - DOI
    1. Lima D.U., Oliveira R.C., Buckeridge M.C. Seed storage hemicelluloses as wet-end additives in papermaking. Carbohydr. Polym. 2003;52:367–373. doi: 10.1016/S0144-8617(03)00008-0. - DOI
    1. Fatemeh N., Hamidreza R., Hossein R., Hossein J.T. Application of bio-based modified kaolin clay engineered as papermaking additive for improving the properties of filled recycled papers. Appl. Clay Sci. 2019;182:105258.
    1. Boufi S., González I., Delgado-Aguilar M., Tarrès Q., Pèlach M.À., Mutjé P. Nanofibrillated cellulose as an additive in papermaking process: A review. Carbohydr. Polym. 2016;154:151–166. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.07.117. - DOI - PubMed