Five Key Tasks for Paper Chemicals Development in the New Era

[ppzhan abstract] China is currently the country with the strongest growth momentum in the paper industry, and its total output and consumption of paper and paperboard both exceed those of the United States, ranking first in the world. As a result, higher requirements have been placed on the development of paper chemicals in China. The "Twelfth Five-Year Development Plan for the Paper Chemicals Industry" identified five key tasks for the industry.

China is a country with strong growth momentum in the paper industry, and at present its total output and consumption of paper and paperboard both exceed those of the United States, ranking first in the world. At the same time, the world's advanced modern large-scale paper machines have entered China and are increasingly moving toward automation, large-scale operation and high speed, which has placed higher demands on the development of paper chemicals in China. In order to accelerate the structural optimization and technological upgrading of China's paper chemicals industry, the "Twelfth Five-Year Development Plan for the Paper Chemicals Industry" has identified five key tasks for the industry:

1. Vigorously develop specialty chemicals and key generic technologies for non-wood fibers and recycled fibers.

China's paper industry faces a serious shortage of papermaking fiber resources. Non-wood fibers and waste paper fibers account for about 78% of papermaking fiber raw materials, with recycled fibers alone already accounting for 62%. For this reason, it is necessary to develop specialty chemicals for non-wood fibers and waste paper fibers, especially network-type dry strength agents for paper. Network-type dry strength agents for paper can substantially increase the tensile strength and compressive strength of packaging paper and paperboard produced from secondary fibers, make it possible to produce paperboard with special requirements for stiffness and folding endurance, and also increase the breaking length of thin paper or, while keeping the breaking length index unchanged, reduce the amount of commercial wood pulp added and increase the use of secondary fibers; they can also reduce web breaks and linting and dusting, thereby improving the printability of paper.

At the same time, key generic technologies for recycled paper should be developed, such as deinking agents and deinking technology required for the reuse of printed waste paper; waste paper contains many impurities such as adhesives, and improper handling can lead to cylinder sticking and wire sticking during papermaking, causing papermaking problems, so new interference-resistant dry strength agents, amphoteric cationic acrylic acid–acrylamide water-soluble polymers and other resin deposit control agents need to be developed.

1. Vigorously carry out research on key specialty chemicals and application technologies for the comprehensive treatment of papermaking wastewater.

The comprehensive treatment technology for papermaking wastewater achieves comprehensive treatment of papermaking wastewater through integrated innovation involving chemical and biological, organic and inorganic, synthesis and compounding technologies, and through a combination of source control and end-of-pipe treatment. In terms of source control, the focus should be on developing new retention aids and drainage aids, interlayer reinforcing agents and surface sizing agents with high bonding strength to fibers, and their application technologies; in terms of end-of-pipe treatment, wastewater treatment chemicals and their application technologies and equipment should be developed, striving to bring the water consumption and discharge volume per ton of paper in the paper industry down to advanced levels. In addition, attention should be paid to developing new defoamers for the paper industry, including high-temperature- and strong-alkali-resistant silicone defoamers and non-silicone defoamers for aqueous systems.

1. Vigorously develop key papermaking chemicals and application technologies dedicated to paper and specialty paper.

Paper and specialty paper, which rely heavily on papermaking chemicals, are products in short supply in China and represent a high-profit area and a goal of transformation and upgrading for the paper industry. With the rapid development of the economy and the improvement of people's living standards, people's demand for paper and specialty paper has been rising year by year. For example, the development of digital technology has accelerated demand for digital printing paper; fruit wrapping paper can make fruit more colorful and tasty; safe decoration for modern housing requires the development of flame-retardant decorative paper; in addition, thermal paper, antistatic paper, conductive paper and anti-counterfeiting paper all require various special specialty chemicals. In this regard, developing the following three specialty chemicals is a key task: liquid fluorescent whitening agents and fluorescent whitening agents for high-whiteness paper, new paper surface sizing agents, and new environmentally friendly coating adhesives dedicated to paper.

1. In line with the upgrading of product scale and technology and the structural optimization of the paper industry, intensify the development of new paper chemicals products, new technologies and new processes, focusing on development in the direction of large-scale, specialized and serialized production.

Vigorously develop new paper chemicals products with independent intellectual property rights, such as neutral and alkaline internal sizing agents, dedicated surface chemicals, deposit control agents and new retention and drainage aid systems, focusing on development in the direction of large-scale, specialized and serialized production, and reach advanced levels in some important varieties.

1. Vigorously develop key generic environmental protection technologies and cleaner production processes for paper chemicals.

In view of the current situation of energy saving and emission reduction and low-carbon production in the industry, during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, vigorously develop key generic environmental protection technologies and cleaner production processes for several major categories of chemicals such as modified starch, polyacrylamide and sizing agents.

The continuous automated clean production process for modified starch is mainly achieved through the implementation of key technologies such as integrated technology for critical equipment in continuous applications, powder fluidization technology, rapid catalytic continuous reaction technology, automated control technology, and rapid quality control technology, thereby attaining a continuous automated clean production process.

The eco-friendly AKD wax and its continuous production technology will drive innovation in the acid chloride process, solvent-free production technology, and continuous production processes. Through novel reaction equipment and automated production processes, it effectively reduces environmental pollution and achieves a continuous automated clean production process.

— This article is reposted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362123.html