The three most important Parameters which defines the pulp are. 1.) Fiber Length, 2.) Brightness, 3.) Pulping process used. e.g. Northern Soft Wood Bleached Kraft (NSWBK). The Northern Soft Wood tells it is long fiber pulp. Bleached tells, it has high brightness and Kraft tells that Kraft (Sulfate) pulping process is used to produced this pulp. Similarly Southern Hard Wood Unbleached Kraft, will be a short fiber wood unbleached (low brightness) pulp made by kraft process. Link to a few typical Market Pulp data sheets.

Basic Pulp Properties

Pulp Navigator by Metsa Fiber

http://www.canforpulp.com/products/pulp/products/propertysheets.asp (Typical Pulp Properties Data Sheets from Canfor)

Ash Content in Pulp: Ash content in pulp may consists of various chemicals used during pulping/bleaching, mineral matter from wood or metallic matter from pipes and other machinery. It is not important parameter of pulp.
: Ash is the residue left after igniting pulp at 525 ⁰C (As per TAPPI T211). Ash is reported in % of residue to dry pulp basis.
: The standard procedure of measuring ash content is laid out in TAPPI T211, ISO 1762

Brightness of Pulp

Brightness of paper is discussed in Paper Properties. The paper brightness is mainly dictated by pulp brightness. There are some modification in stock preparation which can alter paper brightness to some extent such as filler, sizing, whitening agent, dying etc.

Coarseness of Pulp

This is a measure of the average weight of fiber per unit length, often reported in units of mg/m. It is most conveniently measured using an optical analyzer. For fibers of a given average length, it is a measure of the cross sectional area of the fiber. For a given average diameter, it is measure of wall thickness. Coarse fibers are considered to be less conformable than fine fibers and do not bond as readily. Coarser fibers also result in fewer fibers per mass of pulp, which has a significant impact on sheet formation and light scattering potential.

Conductivity of Pulp

Electrical grade papers such as cable paper, condenser tissue or insulation paper etc., require very low conductivity to electricity. The presence of metal ion more specifically iron ion contribute to pulp conductivity The pulp used for electrical grades are washed with demineralized water, beater or refiner use lava or other non-metallic bars and contacting surfaces of all equipment are made of stainless steel.

Values for the conductivity of the water extract of the pulp are expressed in µS/m.

S = Siemen (SI unit of electric conductance) = 1 mho.

Dirt in Pulp

Dirt content of pulp particularly of recycled pulp is important for its suitability to make fine paper. Dirt is any foreign material in pulp. TAPPI defines dirt as foreign matter in a sheet which, when examined by reflected, not transmitted light, has a marked contrasting color and has an equivalent black area of 0.04 mm² or more.

The standard procedure of measuring dirt content is laid out in TAPPI T213

Drainage Time of Pulp

Here the drainage time of pulp is discussed in reference to market pulp and/or unrefined pulp. The drainage time of pulp or freeness or slowness of pulp is modified to have some desired properties in the paper, here that is not discussed.

Drainage of unrefined pulp which is measured as freeness can give an indication on : 1) Fiber Length of pulp, as long fiber pulps have more freeness compared to short fiber pulps, 2) Damage to fiber during pulping, bleaching or drying as short fibers or fines produced during pulping operation, reduces pulp freeness, 3) Refining energy required to achieve certain slowness during stock preparation.

The standard procedure of measuring pulp drainage is laid out in TAPPI T221, T227, ISO 5267-1 and ISO 5267-2

Dry Content of Pulp

Consistency: is the term used to describe solid content of pulp during pulp processing. For pulp and paper maker this is the most important process parameters. All equipments are designed to handle pulp at and up to certain consistency. Pulp consistency is roughly divided in to three ranges:

Low Consistency: <5%

Medium Consistency: 5 - 15%

High Consistency: >15%

But more preciously actual consistency for these ranges in various unit operation of papermaking are different.

Unit Operation	Actual Consistency
	Low Consistency (LC) %	Medium Consistency (MC) %	High Consistency (HC) %
Repulping	<6.0	<12.0	12 - 28
Screening	<1.5	<4.5	-
Centrifugal Cleaning	<1.5	<2.5	2.5 - 6.0
Bleaching	-	10 - 15	25 - 35
Refining	3 - 6	10 - 15	28 - 35
Headbox	<1.0	-	>1.0

It is the desire of every pulp maker to keep pulp at the highest possible consistency to minimize dilution water usage and which ends up as effluent. Higher consistency also helps in reducing the bleaching chemical consumption. But there are practical limitation of handling pulp at higher consistency such as high viscosity which make pulp flow very difficult.

The standard procedure of measuring pulp consistency (up to 25%) is laid out in TAPPI T240.

Moisture Content of Market Pulp: is important from storage, transportation and handling point of view. Most of the market pulp are sold, stored, transported and used as air dry. The useable part of pulp is dry fiber only, so the tendency is to minimize the moisture content op pulp.

Small quantity of pulp is sold as wet lap also. Wet lap pulp is not dried at source and transported at about 50% moisture content. It is feasible for short distance transportation and if pulp is to be used immediately at user end.

Extractives (Low Molecular Weight Carbohydrates) in Pulp

The low molecular carbohydrates indicates an extent of cellulose degradation during pulping and bleaching process, which may effect pulp strength and other properties. Pulp is treated with 1% hot NaOH solution for one hour to estimate loss of yield due to extractives.

The standard procedure of measuring 1% Hot Alkali Solubility is laid out in TAPPI T212

Fiber Diameter: The effect of fiber diameter, wall thickness and coarsenses on sheet properties is rather complex and not clearly established. These qualities primarily affect fiber flexibility. Fiber diameter may be expressed mean cross section or ratio of wall thickness to diameter, sometime termed as fiber density.

Fiber Length of Pulp: Length of fibers (arithmetic average, weighted average etc.) is one of the most important parameters of pulp. Pulp strength is directly proportional to fiber length and dictates its final use. A long fiber pulp is good to blend with short fiber pulp to optimize on fiber cost, strength and formation of paper. Softwood with pulps in general have longer fiber compared to hard wood pulp. Pulp made from woods grown in cold climate in general have longer fiber compared to wood grown in warmer climates.
: Chemical pulps in general have higher fiber length compared to semi chemical pulp and mechanical pulp, when made from same wood. More fibers get damaged/shorten by mechanical action than chemical action.
: There are several method to measure /report fiber length of pulp. The 'fiber length of pulp by projection' is described in TAPPI T232. The 'fiber length of pulp by classification' is described in TAPPI T233. "Fiber length of pulp and paper by automated optical analyzer using polarized light' is described in TAPPI T271.; The coarseness of pulp fiber is described in TAPPI T234.

Effect of Fiber Length Increase/Decrease on Paper Properties

Properties	Increases	Decreases
Bursting Strength	Increases	Decreases
Folding Endurance	Increases	Decreases
Formation	Becomes Wilder	Becomes less Wild
Print Quality	Becomes Poorer	Becomes Better
Surface Levelness	Decreases	Increases
Surface Smoothness	Decreases	Increases
Tearing Resistance	Increases	Decreases
Tensile Strength	Increases	Decreases

Fiber Length of Various Raw Material

Raw Material	Fiber Length (mm)	Raw Material	Fiber Length (mm)
Temperate softwoods	2.7-5.6	Esparto grass	1.5
Temperate hardwoods	0.7-1.7	Flax tow, seed	25-30
Tropical mixed hardwoods	0.7-3.0	Hemp, bast	20
Acacia	0.7	Jute, bast	2.5
Eucalyptus	0.7-1.3	Kenaf, bast	2.4-2.6
Gmelina	0.8-1.3	Kenaf, core	0.6
Abaca (ie: manila hemp)	6.0	Ramie	200
Bagasse, depithed	1.0-1.5	Reed	0.5-2.5
Bamboo	1.2-4.0	Rice straw	0.8-1.0
Corn stalk, depithed	1.0-1.5	Sisal	3.0-3.5
Cotton fiber	20-25	Sunn hemp, bast	2.5-3.5
Cotton linters	1.0-3.5	Switchgrass	1.4
Cotton stalks	0.6-0.8	Wheat straw	0.7-1.5

Fiber Population of Pulp: Fiber population is defined as the numbers of fibers per gram. It is expressed as Millions fibers/gm.


Fiber Strength: The fiber strength, that is, the intrinsic strength of a single fiber, affects sheet strength, although sheet strength is more affected by fiber bonding. The fiber strength is indicative of maximum strength obtainable from a given pulp. The maximum strength is not achieved in practice owing to the fact that interfiber bond is the determining factor. Fiber strength is usually measured by zero spam tensile test.

Fines Content: An additional measure of pulp particle size is the percentage of fines. This consists of particles measuring less than 0.2 mm in length as measured by an optical analyzer, or the weight percentage of the P200 fraction obtained from a Bauer McNett classifier. Fines can have a significant impact on processing, particularly with regard to filtering or drainage operations. Fines content of a kraft pulp may be in the range of 5–15%. For a groundwood mechanical pulp, the fines content may exceed 40%.

Hemicelluloses in Pulp: Pulps differ in their content of hemicelluloses and in the chemical composition of their hemicelluloses. Hemicellulose content of a pulp is an indicator of chemical differences originating with the tree and is affected by the pulping process used. Pulp with higher Hemicellulose content develop strength faster upon beating/refining. Hemicellulose helps cellulose fibers bonding. Softwood hemicellulose is much more effective in fiber bonding than hardwood hemicellulose.

Pulp from wheat straw, cornstalks and other non-wood plant have much higher hemicellulose content than wood pulp. Pulp which contains too much hemicellulose hydrates too fast and loses freeness before adequate strength is developed.


Kappa Number of Pulp: Kappa number is determination of relative hardness, bleachability or degree of delignification of pulp. It is important parameter of unbleached pulp which is to be bleached. Low Kappa pulps are easier to bleach. High Kappa pulps usually require more energy in refining, but often produce stronger paper or board (particularly with regard to tear strength).; A fully bleached pulp can have Kappa # as low as 1 and very high yield pulp may have kappa # as high as 100. Typical kappa # of some pulps.

	Kappa #
Hardwood Pulp for Bleaching	14 - 20
Softwood Pulp for Bleaching	20 - 30
Wood pulp to be used Unbleached	40 -100

The method to find kappa # of pulp is described in TAPPI T236.

Lignin in Pulp: Commercial pulp range in lignin content from 1.0% for "soft cook" chemical pulp, about 8% for "hard cook" chemical pulp and up to 16% for semi-chemical pulp. In general lignin affects the properties of pulp in adverse manner. Pulp with too high lignin content are slow beating and show poor interfiber bonding and as a result, produce sheets of low density and inferior strength. Stiffness increases with increased lignin content.

Permanganate Number (K Number): Chemical test performed on pulp to determine the degree of delignification. There is a mathematical relationship between K Number and Kappa Number.

Pulping Process: Though the pulping process used is directly not a pulp property but this is one of the most important parameters used in specifying the pulp. As we move from full mechanical to full chemical pulping process, strength of pulp and bleachability improves. Strength improves due to less degradation of fibers and bleachability as more lignin is removed in chemical than mechanical pulping processes.
: Yield: Pulp yield is mainly govern by the pulping process. Mechanical pulping processes which provide high yield, retain almost all constituents of wood. Lignin which is second highest to cellulose, does not bond to itself or cellulose fibers as fibers do, don't contribute to any bonding, resulting in weak pulp. Secondly lignin is brown in color and to maintain high yield of bleached pulp, lignin is not removed during bleaching, but only chemically modified.

Specific Refining Energy: Energy applied per unit weight on oven dry basis (KWH/MT or HPD/Ton ) during refining. The higher value leads to good formation (and thus strength) and plenty of interfiber surfaces (for opacity and brightness).
: An estimate of the specific energy requirement can be made for a given type of pulp if the unrefined pulp freeness and the target freeness level are known. By subtracting the target freeness from the unrefined freeness, the total amount of freeness change is calculated.
: Values in following table can then be used to predict approximately how much energy should be required to achieve the desired freeness drop.

Tensile Strength of Pulp: This is not the tensile strength of individual fiber, which is even higher than or comparable with steel. The tensile strength discussed here is maximum strength of randomly oriented pulp fiber when formed in a sheet. This tensile strength gives an indication of the maximum possible strength of pulp beaten under ideal condition. This again an indication of what level of tensile strength can be achieved in real paper making environment.

Viscosity of Pulp: Solution viscosity of a pulp gives an estimation of the average degree of polymerization of the cellulose fiber. So the viscosity indicate the relative degradation of cellulose fiber during pulping /bleaching process.; Dissolving pulps from wood, which contains a large proportion of alpha cellulose, give higher viscosity values than paper pulps.; The standard procedure of measuring pulp viscosity is laid out in TAPPI T230

Zero-Span Tensile: One way of measuring tensile strength of pulp is "zero span breaking strength' described TAPPI T231. Zero-span tensile data determines the maximum strength of pulp fibers when beaten under idealized laboratory conditions.
Zeta Potential: Zeta potential is the parameter that determines the electrical interaction between particles, a high value, positive or negative, prevents flocculation. Changes to zeta potential can affect retention values, strength, pitch deposition and additive requirements. The zeta potential of pulp and other particles in the process may vary for a number of reasons, e.g. changes in refining, pH, pulp source, broke content and quantities of additives used.

Some of the commonly used Pulp & Fiber Test

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Raw Material	Length (mm)	Width (mm)	Population (Million/gm)
Eucalyptus	0.7	0.016	13-18
Acacia	0.7	0.016	13-18
Scandinavian Birch	1.1		8.0
Scandinavian Pine	3.0		1.5
Tropical Mixed Hardwood	0.9	0.004	5.0
Southern Pine	3.5		1.0

Grade		Net HP Day/Ton	Net KWH/Ton
Fine Paper	Hardwood Kraft	2 - 5	36 - 90
Fine Paper	Softwood Kraft	3 - 7	54 - 126
Linerboard	Base	5 - 7	90 - 126
Linerboard	Top	10 - 12	180 - 216
Newspaper	Softwood Kraft	2 - 5	36 - 90
Newspaper	TMP/GWD	1 - 5	18 - 90
GWD Printing Paper	Softwood Kraft	3 - 7	54 - 126
	TMP/GWD	3 - 6	54 - 108

Furnish	Freeness Drop Net HP Day/Ton
Bleached Hardwood Kraft	60 - 100 ml
Bleached Softwood Kraft	20 - 40 ml
GWD	3 - 7 ml
OCC	40 - 70 ml
Mixed Office Waste	50 - 70 ml
Newsprint	20 - 35 ml

TAPPI Method number	Test	*Related ISO Method	*Related ASTM
T211	Ash in Wood, Pulp, Paper :(525^oC)	1762	D1102
T234	Coarseness of Pulp Fibers
T240	Consistency	4119
T213	Dirt in Pulp	5350/1, 5350/2
T221	Drainage time of Pulp	5267-1, 5267-2
T232	Fiber Length by Projection	16065-1, 16065-2
T233	Fiber Length by Classification	16065-1, 16065-2
T271	Fiber Length by Automated Optical analyzer
T227	Freeness of Pulp (CSF)	5267/2
T236	Kappa Number	302
T200	Laboratory Beating (Valley Beater method)	5264
T248	Laboratory Beating (PFI Mill method)	5264/2
T220	Physical testing of Pulp Hand sheets	5270
T204	Solvent Extractives of Wood & Pulp	624	D1107, D1108
T259	Species Identification of Nonwood Plant Fibers
T230	Viscosity of Pulp (Capillary Viscometer method)	5351/1
T207	Water Solubility of Wood & Pulp		D1110
T231	Zero Span Breaking Strength (Dry)	15361	D5804