Cellulose Fibres Innovation

Measuring the quality of cellulose fibres for paper- making used to take several days, but it can now be accomplished in a matter of minutes through an innovation developed by the Mechanical Wood-Pulps Network. The device, called a Fibre Quality Analyzer (FQA), represents the. network's first commercially viable product. "People have never been able to do this kind of testing this quickly before," says the network's Executive Director, Dr. Gordon Leary.

The FQA determines the length of cellulose fibres as well as their shape, which can affect the strength of the resulting paper. This kind of information enables paper manufacturers to assess the fibres they are using and optimize the quality of the finished product.

Starting with a beaker containing a sample of pulp, the FQA dilutes it to an appropriate concentration and passes it into a viewing cell. Video imaging technology then analyzes the fibre characteristics, generating measurements which can be printed or stored electronically.

The equipment also features a patented design to keep the viewing cell from fouling or clogging, which researchers had regarded as a major problem to be overcome. Since the cell relies on hydrodynamic focusing rather than directing fluid flow through narrow apertures, the system can handle recycled fibres containing ink, filler, extractives and pitch. This capability also raises the possibility of using the FQA for on-line use.

The FQA emerged from about three years' worth of intensive research and development by the University of British Columbia's Pulp and Paper Research Centre and the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada. Networks of Centres of Excellence funding of the university research was complemented by funding to Paprican from Paprican's industrial members and the B.C. Science Council.

An industrial partner, OpTest Equipment Inc. of Hawkesbury, Ontario, used the research to develop a working prototype of the FQA in less than a year. Although the nine-person company would have been too small to conduct such original research on its own, its collaboration with the Mechanical Wood-Pulps Network has made it the sole licensee to manufacture the device and market it to paper mills around the world.