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2026 Vol.58, Issue 1 Preview Page

Original Paper

Influence of Sizing Treatment on the Hydrophobicity and Strength Properties of Cellulose-Based Paper Materials for Liquid Packaging
Hao Liu1
,
Guihua Yang2†
,
Ming He3‡
,
Shaoguang Wang4
,
Qimeng Jiang5§
,
Chenyue Yu1
,
Jiachuan Chen2
1State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, Qilu University of Technology, Graduate Student
2State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, Qilu University of Technology, Professor
3State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, Qilu University of Technology, Associate Professor
4Asia Symbol (Shandong) Pulp and Paper Co., Ltd., Senior Engineer
5State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, Qilu University of Technology, Lecturer
†Corresponding Author: E-mail: ygh@qlu.edu.cn (Address: 주소)
‡Corresponding Author: E-mail: heming8916@qlu.edu.cn (Address: State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, 250353, China)
Corresponding Author § Co-Corresponding Author: E-mail: qmj@qlu.edu.cn (Address: State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, 250353, China)
28 February 2026. pp. 43-53
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Abstract

The non-biodegradable petroleum-based plastic packaging materials have caused pollution to the human living environment. With the implementation of global plastic ban, the research of cellulose-based paper materials as alternative to plastic for liquid packaging have become a key focus. In this work the effects of sizing treatment on the hydrophobicity and strength of cellulose-based paper materials for liquid packaging was investigated. The sizing process parameters were optimized based on the strength properties, water absorption Cobb value and hydrophobicity contact angle of the cellulose-based paper materials after sizing treatment. The results indicated that the single alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) sizing exhibited optimal hydrophobic performance compared to the single rosin sizing. The cellulose-based paper materials obtained the enhancement of hydrophobicity when the AKD dosage was 1.5 wt% (based on oven-dry pulp fiber), with a minimum Cobb value of 21.9 g/m2 and a maximum contact angle of 118.6°. For the mixed sizing of rosin/AKD, a decrease of the mass ratio of rosin is beneficial to improve the hydrophobicity of the paper materials, and the optimal strength and hydrophobicity were achieved at mass ratio of rosin 30% : AKD 70% in the mixed sizing process, with a tensile strength of 7.62 KN/m, a bursting strength of 491.2 kPa, a tearing strength of 220 mN, a Cobb value of 20.0 g/m2 and a contact angle of 121.2°. Furthermore, the sequence of adding rosin and AKD in the mixed sizing process had no influence on the performance of the cellulose-based paper materials. It is expected that a theoretical reference for the development of high-performance cellulose-based liquid packaging materials will be provided.

Keywords
Cellulose-based materials
hydrophobicity
rosin
alkyl ketene dimer
sizing
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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 : 58
  • No :1
  • Pages :43-53
  • Received Date : 2025-12-09
  • Revised Date : 2026-02-02
  • Accepted Date : 2026-02-02
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7584/JKTAPPI.2026.2.58.1.43
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