Kraft paper

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A roll of kraft paper

Kraft paper or kraft

chemical pulp produced in the kraft process
.

Sack kraft paper (or just sack paper) is a porous kraft paper with high elasticity and high tear resistance, designed for packaging products with high demands for strength and durability.[2]

Pulp produced by the kraft process is stronger than that made by other

hydrogen bonds between cellulose (and hemicellulose) in the fibers.[3]

Kraft pulp is darker than other wood pulps, but it can be bleached to make very white pulp. Fully bleached kraft pulp is used to make high quality paper where strength, whiteness, and resistance to yellowing are important.

Manufacture

Woodchips used for kraft paper production

Wood pulp for sack paper is made from softwood by the kraft process. The long fibers provide the paper its strength and wet strength chemicals are added to even further improve the strength. Both white and brown grades are made. Sack paper is then produced on a paper machine from the wood pulp. The paper is microcrepped to give porosity and elasticity. Microcrepping is done by drying with loose draws allowing it to shrink. This causes the paper to elongate 4% in the machine direction and 10% in the cross direction without breaking.[2] Machine direction elongation can be further improved by pressing between very elastic cylinders causing more microcrepping.[2] The paper may be coated with polyethylene (PE) to ensure an effective barrier against moisture, grease and bacteria, although recyclability is hindered. Zein coatings are also water resistant but allow better recyclability.[4]

A paper sack can be made of several layers of sack paper depending on the toughness needed.

Kraft paper is produced on paper machines with moderate machine speeds. The raw material is normally softwood pulp from the kraft process.

Maintaining a high effective sulfur ratio or sulfidity is important for the highest possible strength using the kraft process.

The kraft process can use a wider range of fiber sources than most other pulping processes. All types of wood, including very resinous types like southern pine,[5] and non-wood species like bamboo and kenaf can be used in the kraft process.

Qualities

Applications

Kraft paper bags
  • As a plastic-hazard-free paper in
    paper sacks
    for cement, food, chemicals, consumer goods, flour bags etc.
  • Electrical insulation in large oil-filled transformers
  • envelopes
    and other packaging
  • An inexpensive material for lining particle boards
  • The base paper for sandpaper
  • As wrapping for flower bouquets
  • In World War II, for fabricating drop tanks
  • As a wrapping for the French dish Gigot bitume, which consists of a leg of lamb wrapped in Kraft paper and cooked in hot asphalt

See also

References

  1. ^ Derived from German Kraft,kraft meaning "strength" in this context, due to the strength of the paper produced using this process.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ Hubbe, Martin A.; Lucia, Lucian A. (2007). "The "Love-Hate" Relationship Present in Lignocellulosic Materials". BioResources. 2 (4): 534–535. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
  4. ^ Parris, N (2002). "Recyclable zein-coated kraft paper and linerboard" (PDF). Progress in Paper Recycling. 11 (3): 24–29. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  5. ^ "The Southern Pines" (PDF). US Department of Agriculture. 1985. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  • Yam, K. L., Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology, John Wiley & Sons, 2009,

External links