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2025 Vol.57, Issue 2 Preview Page

Original Paper

Effect of PVA-Boric Acid Strengthening Agents on the Properties of Foam-formed Sheets

PVA-붕산 지력증강제가 폼포밍 시트의 물성에 미치는 영향

Gwon-Hui Park1
,
Byoung-Uk Cho2†
박 권희1
,
조 병욱2†
1Department of Paper Science & Engineering, College of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University
2Department of Paper Material Science & Engineering, College of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University
1강원대학교 산림환경과학대학 제지공학과 학생
2강원대학교 산림환경과학대학 종이소재과학전공 교수
†Corresponding Author: E-mail: bucho@kangwon.ac.kr (Address: Department of Paper Material Science & Engineering, College of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea)
30 April 2025. pp. 46-53
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Abstract

Foam forming technology is a sheet or mold forming process that uses liquid foam instead of water, allowing for high consistency forming, improved dewatering, enhanced formation, and the production of low density materials. However, foam-formed sheet generally has lower strength compared to water-based sheet. Therefore, to increase the applicability of foam forming technology, methods to improve sheet strength need to be developed. In this study, the effects of the chemical addition sequence of SDS, PVA, and crosslinkers, as well as the PVA-to-crosslinker ratio and the amount of PVA or PVA-boric acid on the physical properties of foam-formed sheets, were investigated. The results indicate that the optimum chemical addition sequence involves first generating fiber foam with SDS, followed by the sequential addition of PVA and borate. The most effective PVA-to-crosslinker ratio was determined to be 95:5, with boric acid selected as the optimal crosslinker. Increasing the dosage of PVA or PVA-boric acid resulted in an increase in bulk but a decrease in tensile strength in foam-formed sheets. However, the combination of PVA and boric acid improved tensile strength by 25–35% compared to PVA alone at the same dosage level. In addition, at equivalent bulk levels, the tensile strength of the PVA-boric acid system remained higher than that of PVA alone. These results suggest that the combined use of PVA and boric acid as strength additives can simultaneously improve the bulk and tensile strength of foam-formed sheets, enabling the development of low density materials with improved mechanical properties.

Keywords
Foam forming
polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)
boric acid
cross-linking
tensile strength
bulk properties
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Information
  • Publisher :Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국펄프종이공학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Korea TAPPI
  • Journal Title(Ko) :펄프종이기술
  • Volume : 57
  • No :2
  • Pages :46-53
  • Received Date : 2025-03-18
  • Revised Date : 2025-04-08
  • Accepted Date : 2025-04-09
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7584/JKTAPPI.2025.4.57.2.46
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