Surface sizing bbasics

Surface sizes help provide a range of characteristics to the paper sheet. Peter de Clerck looks at some of the fundamentals of surface sizing and the ways that careful application can improve paper qualities.
he function of surface sizing is quite different from that of internal sizing. Whereas the latter provides water repellancy, surface sizing is used primarily to keep colloidal solutions such as writing inks from penetrating the paper surface. Water repellancy is undesirable for writing papers or commercial rulings where migration of the water into the sheet is the main method of ink drying, leaving the colloidal pigment particles on the sized surface. Hence good internal sizing is no guaranteeof good writing qualities. Surface sizing is also necessary for paper to be used with oil-vehicle printing inks. The desired effect is to %lter &t the ink pigments while allowing the oil vehicle to migrate into the body of the paper. Slow ink drying, resulting in "set-off' and smearing, may occur if the migration is too slow.

Why surface size?

Physical properties: The applied starch penetrates into the sheet and increases inter-fibre bonding, resulting in increased burst an2 tensile Peter de Clerck (above) is Technical Serstrengths together with a very large vice Manager with Avebe (Far East) Pte improvement in fold strength. The inLtd in Singapore creased strength may allow the mill to use a cheaper furnish, or to reduce its refining and so achieve easier THE INCLINED SIZE PRESS drainage on the wire and better hydrostability in the sheet, Rubber giving fewer cockles and less curl. Another effect is the improvement of surface strength or scuff resistance. This reduces "fluffing" on the printing press, a particular problem with offset litho printing. Fibre picking on the after-dryers is reduced. Stiffness is improved and air permeability reduced. A low-viscous starch solution may also be applied to
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saturate the paper and give lower opacity, as for example in glassine papers. Erasability: This requires surface resistance to abrasion and ink penetration with the ability to retain both a good surface and sizing after erasure. Good internal and surface sizing are both needed to provide good erasability. Surface sizing improves erasability by reducing ink penetration and increasing abrasion resistance by promoting inter-fibre bonding. The ideal condition is a strong, well-bonded body stock. O i l resistance: Surface sizing increases the contact angle against oil, providing a relatively continuous, non-porous film impervious to oil penetration. The oil resistance properties are important for gloss ink printing, as the surface absorbency must be carefully regulated. If too little surface size is used the paper absorbs too much ink during printing. This gives a high "ink demand" and a flat, unattractive print. Conversely, too much surface size results in excessive ink holdout and slow ink drying which causes "setoff' and smudging. A maximum of 1.5-2 g/m2 starch per side is recommended. Writing qualities: The surfacefilm "filters out" the pigments in ordinary writing inks, so preventing "feathering". The size reduces the porosity of the sheet surface, improves the smoothness and surface strength, and cements down any protruding fibres. The surface properties are also important for printing, as modernrapiddrying inks dry either through penetration of the vehicle into the paper or by solvent evaporation. Most of these inks contain a water-miscible non-volatile surfactant to promote ink penetration. Many flexographic inks are of this type. Pre-coating: Surface sizing may be applied to give the controlled surface characteristics required for a

subsequent operation. This is especially useful where the very demanding blade coater is used. The more uniform surface absorption of surface sized papers helps to reduce print mottling due to uneven binder migration in all types of coated paper. Since binder migration is reduced to a controlled level, higher coating solids contents are then possible. Sometimes pigments are added to the surface size to give a pre-coat or a lightly pigmented surface.

Sheet factors
The factors affecting pick-up are the moisture content, internal sizing, smoothness, permeability and compressability of the sheet. Formation is also important as any surface application emphasises rather than conceals any unevenness or other problem. Entering moisture content: Maximum pick-up occurs at about 10% sheet moisture. At very low moisture contents the surface energy of cellulose is reduced and the paper is difficult to wet. Many mills do run size presses with sheet moistures down to 2%, but this is invariably a sign of problems further up the paper machine that result in a poor moisture profile. Overdrying is very expensive in energy as the extra heat has to be forced into the sheet through a dry

Starch selection

The properties of the finished paper product must be considered when selecting starch for the size press. Linerboard requires a high ringcrush value and hence good stiffness. This is best achieved by maintaining the starch on the surface of the sheet. Hence a relatively high viscous starch is applied to Absorption (%) ensure only limited penetration. For printing paper good surface strength and general strength are required. A medium viscous starch ensures greater starch penetration while main5 10 15 1 2 3 taining surface strength. Rosin kgn Moisture of sheet entering size press The main requirement of envelope paper is good dry strength. Maximum starch v ariations in wet pick-up and rosin absor penetration is required for reinforcement of inter-fibre bonding, so a low viscosity starch is recomcellulose surface, which is an exmended. tremely good insulator. It is usually inadvisable to run the Size press design ingoing sheet at the moisture level Size press design has passed corresponding to maximum size through various stages. Today the inpick-up because this increases the clined size press is most common. It load on the after dryers and results in gives a more direct sheet run than the a loss of production. Size presses horizontal size press and is easier to usually run at 5-8% sheet moisture, feed, but maintains most of the with the size solution being adjusted benefits. For example, it eliminates to give the desired pick-up. However, the problem of dirt and other material increased concentration increases the falling from the lead roll into the size viscosity, so a lower viscosity press and reduces the tendency for product may be necessary. Since wrinkling to occur at the turning roll. lower-viscosity products have lower More recently the diameter of the binding power, a compromise is resize press rolls has been increased to quired. improve the equality of pond depth on Internal sizing is particularly imthe inclined size press and to improve portant for producers of waste-based pond stabililty. This was becoming a paper. Initially, internal sizing causes problem for small diameter size press a rapid drop in starch pick-up at the rolls turning at high speed. size press, but a minimum pick-up is A recent innovation is the use of a quickly reached and maintained as gate-roll or fountain coater to meter the level of internal sizing is increased the size solutions onto the size press (see graph). rolls. This eliminates the size pond This shows the rapid decrease in and allows very accurate size applicapick-up achieved on adding the first 1 tion. However, problems have ockglton of rosin. Since wastepaper is curred with insufficient penetration an extremely variable commodity, it of the starch solutions so applied. is often valuable to add a small

amount of rosin to such furnishes to eliminate or greatly reduce variations in size press pick-up. Particular care is required when neutral sizing is employed as the development of the size is slower on machine. Often the pre-dryer temperatureprofile must be adjusted for these grades. For Cobb60 values before the size press we generally recommend as follows: well-sized: c25 - low viscosity oxidised starch medium-sized: 25 - medium viscosity oxidised starch poorly-sized: >25 - high viscosity oxidised starch Permeability/compressability: An elastic, porous sheet may act like a sponge in the size press nip. The more permeable the sheet, the greater will be the starch penetration and hence the pick-up. A free-beaten stock results in the greatest pick-up, as does a low size solution viscosity. Smoothness: The smoothness of the sheet affects the pick-up at the size press by trapping and immobilising a layer of size solution on the paper surface. The smoother the paper surface the thinner this boundary layer. The roughness of the surface also has a profound effect on the rate of On wetting of the paper and on the depth of penetration. Wetting and penetration are increased by using low solution viscosities, while the boundary layer is increased with high solution viscosities.

Solution factors
The viscosity, temperature and concentration of a solution are all interdependent;it is not possible to alter only one factor and not affect the others. For a given starch solution the viscosity may be reduced by lowering the concentration or raising the temperature. This will invariably alter the surface tension of the solution and hence its ability to wet and penetrate the sheet. By changing the starch it is possible to attain the same viscosity at the desired temperature but at a different concentration. The pick-up of starch solution (wet-pickup)at the size press may then be the same, but the dry pick-up will be different due to the different solution concentrations.For size press application, such a narrow band of viscosities is used that the relationship of viscosity to degree of modification may be considered linear for a given temperature and

approaches the press nip the hydrodynamicpressure increases and some liquid is forced into the pores of the paper. The sheet is compressed and air is forced from the sheet. On exiting the nip the sheet will expand, taking in liquid like a moist sponge. Obviously the porosity, permeability and bulk of the paper and its compressibility are factors governing the amount of liquid absorbed, as is the size solution viscosity. As the web leaves the size press rolls the liquid film carried through the nip between the roll and the paper surface splits, probably by a process of filamentation and cavitation. Exactly where the split occurs depends Equipment factors on the relative surface roughness of both the paper and the size press rolls, Nip loadings vary from 5-22 kglcm in the horizontal size press to as a rougher surface traps more solu4- 13 kglcm in the vertical size press. tion. The surface roughness is also The rolls must be accurately important in determining the crowned for the operating thickness of the starch film pressure used, especially in a passing through the size STARCH PICK-UP: PILOT PLANT TRIAL RESULTS vertical size press, because press nip. -HydroTotal with too little crown the sheet The whole process of apSheet Absorption dynamic wet will be "baggy" in the centre. plication and metering a size Viscosity Speed term term term pick-up Increased nip loading should solution takes place in only C P mlmin glm2 gm2 gm2 g/m2 theoretically reduce pick-up a fraction of a second. 14 210 17.5 3.5 0.9 21.9 Solution viscosity is imas more starch solution is ex18 183 17.5 2.2 2. O 21.7 pressed from the paper in portant in the 33 21 0 17.5 0.3 3.6 21.4mid-nip. Iodine staining of hydrodynamics of the size 76 190 17.5 0.0 9.0 26.5 paper cross sections have press nip. The greater the Source: Howarth & Hoyland, UMIST, UK. confirmed that at high nip viscosity the greater is the pressure generated in the loadings greater penetration size pond by the rotating of the starch occurs even though the overall pick-up is rolls. At high speeds the pressure generated may be reduced. This is somewhat metering effect becomes the enough to eject the entire contents of academic as it is not usual to vary the dominant factor and then pick-up inthe nip. This is usually preceded by nip loading during normal operation. creases with speed. Hence the wet "jumping" of the size pond. Larger Roll hardness and diameter are not pick-up curve passes through a minirolls are used on high speed size presreadily changed and should be conmum. The machine speed at which sidered in the initial installation of the ses mainly because their larger this minimum occurs depends on size press. diameters do not "close" the nip so many factors, including the starch Pond depth is important as it rapidly, resulting in a more gradual viscosity and type of paper. pressure build-up and hence a more governs the contact time and hence At low speed, where absorption is stable size pond. the time available for absorption to the main method of wet pick-up, a occur. Pick-up increases with pond lower viscosity solution gives a In conclusion depth and the effect is more noticehigher wet pick-up. At higher speeds It should be noted that in all cases able on slower machines. Pond depth a higher solution viscosity results in a where the absorbency factor is not may only be attended by altering the thicker film being metered through physically limited by low sheet end dams and is limited by the size the nip, giving a greater wet pick-up. weight, the sheet substance has no press configuration and roll diameter. Mechanism of size pick-up: On effect on size press wet pick-up for a Roll sugaces should be smooth entering the size pond there is a slight given set of sheet characteristics and and in good condition, being delay before the sheet surface is a given size press operating regime. reground as necessary. Roll smoothwetted. Absorption then commences. ness will affect the position of film There are many factors influencThe amount absorbed depends on the splitting on the emerging paper web. ing the performance of the size press, time available (ie pond depth and a significant number of which are Sheet tension is important, as unmachine speed), the solution visfixed by equipment factors or operaeven tension on the sheet leaving the cosity, the paper type, porosity and tional necessity. For the mill, the bigsize press will rekult in uneven migradegree of internal sizing. The wetting gest benefits may be obtained by tion of the starch into the paper. time of the paper surface acts to paying attention to the characteristics Starch feed is extremely impordecrease the time available for abof the ingoing web and to the quality tant. Failure to ensure sufficient feed sorption and is a function of surface pipes across the width of the size and properties of a properly selected smoothness and dryness of the sheet. size press solution. press will result in uneven pick-up. Within the size pond, as the web
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concentration. Three points are significant when considering a change of concentration to increase pick-up: Increased concentration will increase the solution viscosity and alter the level of penetration. A lower-viscous starch may be required to achieve the penetration necessary to impart the desired properties to the sheet. The increased viscosity may produce runnability problems so again a lower-viscous starch may be needed. A lower-viscous starch will have lower binding power.

Another area of concern is the rope-feed system. This must be properly designed not only to ensure easy feeding of the size press, but also to avoid the problems of size making up on the ropes. Speed: Speed directly affects the time available for absorption in the nip and also affects the behaviour of the size press. Increased speed "pumps" more starch solutioninto the nip of the size press, increasing the local pressure and so forcing more through the nip. This effect is known as hydrodynamic metering. Hence speed increases may result in more or less pick-up, depending on which effect is dominant. As machine speed is increased from a very low level, the wet pick-up decreases with the absorption time. At a certain point the hydrodynamic