FLUOROMETRIC METHOD FOR MONITORING SURFACE ADDITIVES IN A PAPERMAKING PROCESS

• Main Authors: THOMAS JAMES L, BANKS RODNEY H, CLOT OLIVIER
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Korean
• Published: 06.10.2010
• Subjects: IMPREGNATING OR COATING OF PAPER; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; PAPER NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PAPER-MAKING; PHYSICS; PREPARATION THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES D21C OR D21D; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE; PULP COMPOSITIONS; TESTING; TEXTILES; TREATMENT OF FINISHED PAPER NOT COVERED BY CLASS B31 OR SUBCLASS D21G

A method of monitoring and optionally controlling the addition of one or more surface additives to a papermaking process is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: (a) adding a known amount of one or more surface additives to a papermaking process either alone or in known proportion with a known amount of one or more inert fluorescent tracers, wherein the surface additives can only be added alone when the surface additives are capable of fluorescing; (b) measuring the fluorescence of the surface additives and/or one or more inert fluorescent tracers at a point subsequent to adding the surface additives and after a sheet has been formed, wherein the surface additives can only be measured when they are capable of fluorescing and wherein fluorescence is measured with a reflectance based fluorometer; (c) correlating the amount of fluorescence of the surface additives when they are capable of fluorescing and/or inert fluorescent tracers on a sheet with the concentration of the surface additives in a coating on a sheet and/or thickness of a coating on a sheet; and (d) optionally controlling the addition of one or more surface additives to a papermaking process by adjusting the amount of the surface additives added to the papermaking process in response to the coating thickness on a sheet and/or concentration of the surface additives in a coating on a sheet.