Detta examensarbete har utförts på papperstillverkaren Arjo Wiggins’ forskningscenter i Beaconsfield,England. Företaget har planer på att börja tillverka en ny papperskvalitet för bläckstråleskrivare, varförsyftet med arbetet har varit att testa och utvärdera olika sammansättningar av kemikalier som lämparsig för bestrykning av bläckstrålepapper.Ett stort antal bestrykningar har testats med varierande resultat. Det svåraste har visat sig vara attnå en tillräckligt hög grad av vattenhållfasthet. Resultaten förbättrades något då baspapperetbyttes från ett limmat och kalandrerat papper till ett olimmat, okalandrerat papper. I övrigt visade sigbindemedlen ha större påverkan på bestrykningens egenskaper än pigmenten. Utskriftskvaliteten haröverlag varit god.

In Sweden, paperboard has been an essential product in the export market and is mainly used as packaging material. Packaging materials corresponded to 66% of all paper and board production in Sweden for the year 2020, which is an increase of 2,5% compared with the previous year [1]. The main function of the packaging is to protect the content inside from physical, chemical, and biological contamination [2]. Usually, paper boards are coated with pigment coatings to improve printing properties of the paperboard. Expancel microspheres are small plastic hollow spheres, which can improve the compressive properties of the paperboard. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Expancel microspheres affects the pigment coating, runnability and coated paper boards [30,31].Iggesund mill located in Iggesund manufacturer and coats high-quality paper boards. The coating formulas are based on existing recipes from the mill. The formulas where adjusted so that 12vol%,37vol% and 50 vol% of the pigments consisted of Expancel microspheres. Two different types of Expancel microspheres were used, one type of microspheres with a density of 80g/L and the other type had a density of 148g/L. To investigate how the microspheres affects the pigment coating the pH, dry content, ash content, viscosity, water retention and density were measured on the pigment coating. The paperboards were coated with pigment coating, containing different volume percentages of microspheres. The paperboard tests included gloss, surface roughness, grammage, thickness, compressibility contact angle and water adsorption.The mixture with 50 vol% of the pigments containing of microspheres with the density of 148g/L had a low pH value which can affect the results of the measurements as the pigment particles are not fully separated from each other. The low pH value resulted that the mixture had a high viscosity, which can create runnability problems. The increased number of microspheres resulted in decreasing solid content and density. The low solid content requires more energy for drying. The increasing amount of microspheres with a density of 80g/L showed an increasing viscosity with Hercules Hi-Shear. The high viscosity in Hercules Hi-Shear show that more force will be required to pump the coating mixture and that the flow in the pipes will be slower at higher viscosity.There is a difference between calculated thickness and the measured thickness of the coated paper boards. Calculated thickness where almost always less than the measured. The SEM(scanning electron microscope)-images showed that the microspheres affected the3thickness of the coated paper board. The size and shape of the particles affected the gloss. The higher content of carbonate 90(C90) resulted in higher gloss. The addition of microspheres lowered the gloss of the coated paperboards. Compressibility on the paperboard increased with the increasing addition level of microspheres. The SEM images showed that higher number of microspheres on the surface of the paperboard increased the compressibility of the surface. The contact angel measurement showed that the coating mixture containing of 50vol% with the density of 80g/L hade the highest contact angel. The Cobb60 method was used to examine the water adsorption the coated paper boards. The paper boards coated with mixtures containing the microspheres of density 80g/L had the lowest Cobb60-values.

The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the print performance of some of the new most promising, cost effective absorbent pigments specialised for inkjet coatings on the market in a continuous drive to find an alternative to silica. The target was a lower production cost for ArjoWiggins inkjet products, OMD 01 and OMD 02. Five absorbent pigments are being evaluated through measuring the qualities of the coating mix itself, visual evaluations of print performance and physical testing of the coated paper. Pigments 1,2 and 3, which all are said to be tailored for inkjet coatings, did not reach the print performance needed for an OMD 01 and OMD 02 equal, due to severe bleed and feathering identified especially on the Epson 950 printer. They are therefore currently not seen as viable formulations. A blend of 50% pigment 5 and 50% silica had excellent print performance as OMD 01 and OMD 02 equivalents and is therefore recommended as a potential alternative to 100% silica. It is of the company’s interest to find a more cost effective solution to their inkjet coatings, and a 50/50 blend of Pigment 5 will save the company more than 35 000 euro per year.

Executive summary Today, packaging has gained a significant role in the food industry as well as other industries. Paper substrates that have been coated in some ways are typically used to make packaging. The amount and type of pigment used in the formulation determine whether this coating is a pigment coating or a barrier coating. Critical pigment volume concentration (CPVC) is the optimum spot when the pigments are packed as densely as possible, and the binder fills the air gaps. When the amount of pigment in a coating is less than CPVC, a barrier coating is formed, although when the amount of pigment in the coating is greater than CPVC, a pigment coating is formed. Pigment coating adds optical properties to a package, such as improved printability. And chemical protection is primarily provided for water, water vapour, fats, and gases in the case of the barrier coating. Chemical protection against these substances means, for food packaging, that the shelf life of the product will be extended, among other things. The role of packaging in society is expected to grow as barrier coatings on packaging continue to improve. The use of nanoclay in barrier coatings is investigated in this laboratory study. Two latexes are tested with nanoclay, with latex chosen based on its glass transition temperature (Tg). The hypothesis was that a latex with a higher Tg would have more properties like brittleness and orderly structure in its amorphous structure than the other latex. Latex with a lower Tg, on the other hand, would have more elasticity, be more ductile, and have a lower degree of ordered structure in its amorphous structure. Latex with a higher Tg was referred to as Hard latex and was composed of Styrene-butadiene, while latex with a lower Tg was referred to as Soft latex and was composed of Polyolefin dispersion, although it is unorthodox to call it latex. Previous research has found that the addition of Bentonite nanoclay can improve the mechanical and barrier properties of barrier coatings. Bentonite was therefore chosen as the nanoclay for this study due to having a higher aspect ratio, is flaky and can improve desired properties. The coating was applied as a dispersion coating using a lab-scale rod coater. The substrate for this study was BillerudKorsnäs FibreForm with a grammage of 150 g/m2.In order to find the optimum rod for the coating, three different rods were tested during screening test 1. The rods tested were based on the desired coating weight and thickness, a red rod with a wet film thickness of 12 μm was chosen. The nanoclay content of the latex formulation was investigated to determine the optimal level for improved barrier properties. In screening test 2, the concentrations examined were 2/4/8 w/w% nanoclay in each latex, and 0 w/w% to compare the difference with Hard/Soft latex to see if there are any benefits of nanoclay. For both latexes, the addition of 2/4 w/w% nanoclay resulted in more pinholes as well as a poor water vapour transmission rate and permeability. The results of screening test 2 showed that adding 8 w/w% nanoclay to both latexes improved the water vapour transmission rate, water vapour permeability, and pinholes test when compared to the other concentrations of nanoclay. In the water vapour transmission rate and pinholes test, however, 0 percent nanoclay performed similarly 8 w/w% for each latex formulation. The selected formulation for further study was 8 w/w% nanoclay with Hard/Soft latex.  Water vapour was the most important barrier property to investigate since barrier coatings were intended for food packaging. For the intended food packaging, it was sought that the barrier could be stretched with 3.8/6.7/10.4%-stretch and then characterized by water vapour transmission rate to be able to see the differences before and after stretching. Stretching with tensile tester were performed on a barrier coated FibreForm, first in the machine direction (MD), then in cross-direction (CD). Hydroforming with shaped bubbles was used for the second method of stretching with various bubbles. Stretching in MD + CD, and hydroforming bubbles were done according to the desired %-stretching. Characterization of the coating was done by water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) for all coatings, pinholes test for hydroformed coatings, water vapour permeability (WVP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on tensile-stretched coatings. The performance of Soft latex with an 8 w/w% formulation stretched in MD then CD and characterized by water vapour transmission rate was significantly unchanged despite stretching up to 10.4%. This is thought to be because nanoclay, as the literature suggests, has created a better barrier against water vapour. The mean WVTR of 10.4%-stretching in MD then CD was 5.5 g/m2/day, compared to 5.5 g/m2/day for the unstretched barrier.  SEM images of both stretched and non-stretched coatings show that the dispersion of nanoclay is poor, as there are islands of polymer and nanoclay bulk. The poor dispersion of nanoclay in the matrix was due to the lack of polar groups in the backbone of Soft latex (Polyolefin) and also being hydrophobic, as opposed to Bentonite, which is hydrophilic. Despite poor nanoclay dispersion and a stretch of 10.4% in MD + CD, resulting in reduced barrier thickness, WVP improved from 289 g* /m2/day (pre-stress) to 191 g* /m2/day (10.4%-stretch), giving the impression of some reorientation of nanoclay in the polymer matrix. A crack was also visible in SEM images, near the boundary layer between the barrier and the substrate, on an unstretched coating, which is thought to be caused by the difference in the boundary layer and adhesive forces, that has occurred during drying. Cracks are not visible on the stretched barriers, even though it was expected. With increased stretching of hydroforming substrates coated with Soft latex formulation, the performance of water vapour transmission rate was significantly worse. The reason for this is thought to be that the barrier was damaged during hydroforming due to friction during pressing and shaping, as the hydroforming was done on the barrier side. The pinhole test revealed clearly degraded performance with a large number of pinholes. This could indicate that the barrier has been stretched beyond its capacity or has been damaged. There was no correlation found between stretching in tensile tester and hydroforming.  Hard latex with an 8 w/w% formulation stretched in MD then CD and characterized by water vapour transmission rate could be stated to have significantly improved performance despite stretching up to 10.4%. The mean-WVTR of 10.4%-stretching in MD then CD was 11.3 g/m2/day, compared to 16.4 g/m2/day for the unstretched barrier. According to SEM images, the reason for this is that nanoclay was very well dispersed in the matrix and that there has seemingly been a slight reorientation of nanoclay with increased stretch. Furthermore, SEM images show that the thickness was reduced, yet despite this, mean-WVP improved from 1094 g* /m2/day (pre-stress) to 419 g* /m2/day (10.4%-stretch), indicating reorientation of nanoclay and thus improved stretchability.These SEM images show cracks at the boundary layer between the barrier and the substrate for both unstretched and 10.4%-stretched barriers in the Hard latex formulation. The cracks are seemingly stopped by nanoclay in the matrix, according to the stress concentration effect, where the crack moves around nanoclay and not through nanoclay. Hydroforming of barrier coated Hard latex formulation showed a deterioration of water vapour transmission rate with increased stretching. The mean WVTR of hydroforming with 10.4%-stretching was 30.6 g/m2/day. It is not thought that pressing during hydroforming damaged the Hard latex barrier as much, which can be confirmed by the pinholes test. Pinholes test demonstrated good performance and comparable to an unstretched barrier. Because comparisons between the different polymers were impractical, it was not possible to state if the glass transition temperature was important for the improvement seen by stretching in the tensile tester. But it can be argued that Hard latex has a more structured and rigid structure, allowing for a greater degree of reorientation. Soft latex, on the other hand, has less stiffness and thus less reorientation. The result of this study is that when stretching is done in both tensile testing and hydroforming, 8 w/w% nanoclay (bentonite) with Hard latex (styrene-butadiene) can be used advantageously in FibreForm packaging if stretchability is desired while maintaining barrier properties against water vapor. / Sammanfattning Idag har förpackningar fått en betydande roll i matindustrin såväl som andra industrier. Vid bestrykning på förpackningar och papperssubstrat så är det vanligt med pigment- eller barriärbestrykning. Vid pigmentbestrykning så tillförs optiska egenskaper till förpackningen, såsom exempelvis förbättrad tryckbarhet. Vid barriärbestrykning tillförs huvudsakligen kemisk skydd mot exempelvis vatten, vattenånga, fetter eller gaser, och innebär för matförpackningar bland annat att hållbarheten blir längre för livsmedlet. Genom fortsatt utveckling av barriärbestrykningar på förpackningar så förväntas även förpackningens roll i samhället att bli större. I denna laborativa studie undersöks möjligheterna kring töjbara barriärer på papperssubstrat, med fokus på vattenångaresistans.  De formuleringar som togs fram bestod av en latex med låg glasövergångstemperatur (Tg), kallad Soft latex med implementerad nanolera samt en latex med en Tg kallad Hard latex med implementerad nanolera. Soft latex var en Polyolefin dispersion med Tg -30°C, och Hard latex var en Styren-butadien latex med Tg = 0°C. 8 w/w% nanolera var den halt som bedömdes ge förbättringar i de mekaniska samt barriäregenskaper som eftersöktes för de båda latex. För denna studie valdes Bentonit som nanolera, på grund av dess plana samt dess fjälliga (flaky) struktur.  Töjbarheten hos de framtagna barriärformuleringarna testades med töjning i dragprov först i maskin-riktning (MD) och sedan tvär-riktning (CD) samt töjning med hydroforming, med töjning på 3,8/6,7/10,4% för respektive metod. Efter töjning av respektive metod bestämdes överföringshastigheten av vattenångpermabilitet (WVTR) genom barriären. En jämförelse gjordes mellan töjning i dragprov och hydroforming för att få en ökad förståelse kring WVTR-prestationen beroende på metod av töjning.  Soft latex visade en oförändrad vattenångaresistans efter 10,4%-töjning i dragprovaren. Detta tros bero på att nanoleran försvårar vattenångan att genomträngas trots töjning. Vid elektronmikroskop (SEM) kunde det ses att dispersionen av nanolera med Soft latex inte var bra, och därför var inte förbättringarna lika tydliga. Den sämre dispersionen av nanolera i matrisen beror på att Polyolefin saknar polära grupper i dess ryggrad (backbone) samt är väldigt hydrofobt, till skillnad från Bentonit som är hydrofilt. Trots sämre dispersion av nanolera och en töjning på 10,4% i MD + CD, så förbättrades vattenånga permeabiliteten (WVP).För hydroforming var prestationen av Soft latexformuleringen gällande WVTR dåliga, och vid Pinholes test fanns det uppenbara pinholes.  Hard latex visade en tydlig förbättring av WVTR efter 10,4%-töjning i dragprovaren, som tros bero på en omorientering av nanoleran i polymer matrisen vid töjning, vilket kan bekräftas av elektronmikroskop (SEM) där viss omorientering är synlig. Dessutom sågs en tydlig förbättring i WVP trots en lägre barriärtjocklek.För hydroforming var WVTR-värdena liknande till endast Hard latex och 0% nanolera.  Vid töjning var jämförelser beroende på de olika glasövergångstemperaturerna hos polymererna inte möjlig, och därför inte heller möjligt att konstatera ifall glasövergångstemperaturen var viktig för den förbättring som setts trots töjning i dragprovare. Men det kan hävdas att Hard latex har en mer strukturerad och stel struktur, vilket möjliggör en större grad av omorientering. Soft latex däremot, är mindre styvt och mindre ordnat, därav åstadkoms en mindre omorientering.  Resultaten av denna studie är att när stretching görs i både dragprovning och hydroformning, kan 8 w/w% nanoclay (bentonit) med Hard latex (styren-butadien) vara fördelaktig i FibreForm-förpackning om töjbarhet önskas samtidigt som barriäregenskaperna mot vattenånga bibehålls.

Due to the rapid development of technology, electrical products are being shipped all over the world. The electronic components have gotten greater in capacity but are smaller in size, making them sensitive to electrostatic discharge (ESD). ESD packaging protects sensitive components from electrostatic discharge and electrical fields. There are different types of packaging solutions depending on the sensitivity of the product. Rigid packaging of insulating paperboard, impregnated with a thin, conductive carbon layer was used in this study. The conductive material is supposed to lead the static electricity away from the product, to the packaging which is insulated, where it safely can discharge. The inside of the packaging, normally dressed in a foam to protect the device inside, is supposed to be replaced with paperboard. The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate whether or not an ESD-packaging can be created by coating a paperboard with a dispersion containing nanographite and nanocellulose. Solid Bleached Board is a paperboard made by the mill Iggesund Paperboard, used for graphical products and packaging of high quality. Paperboard is made from cellulose, an environmentally sustainable raw material from the forest. Classifications of materials used in ESD packaging-solutions are divided into how quickly electricity moves through the material. Carbon is normally within the range of 10^2 to 10^6 Ω for sheet- and volume resistance. Maximal charge and maximal electrical discharge of the packaging are by standard not supposed to exceed 100 V and 50 nJ. Two different nanographite dispersions with different binders (polyvinyl alcohol and cellulose nanofibres) have been made. These have been coated onto the paperboard using a bench-coater. Measurements of ESD- and paperboard-properties have been performed onto the paperboard. The measured values were within the range of what was considered acceptable to be able to create an ESD packaging. The prototype was designed materially with solid bleached board, coated with a dispersion made of 220g nanographite, 22g cellulose nanofibres and 3791g water with a solid content of 8,2%. The design has been developed with the company's existing packaging in mind together with information about the already existing ESD packages. The results from the measurements show that it is fully possible to create and produce ESD-packaging, but needs further testing after this thesis. Societal, ethical and environmental aspects have been considered during the entire study. / På grund av den snabba tekniska utvecklingen transporteras elektriska produkter över hela världen. Elektroniska komponenter har fått större kapacitet men är mindre i storleken vilket gör dem känsliga för elektrostatisk urladdning (ESD). ESD-förpackningar skyddar känsliga komponenter från elektrostatisk urladdning och elektriska fält. Det finns olika typer av förpackningslösningar beroende på produktens känslighet. Styva förpackningar av isolerande kartong, impregnerade med ett tunt, elektriskt ledande kolskikt användes i denna studie. Det ledande materialet leder den statiska elektriciteten bort från produkten, till förpackningen som är isolerad, där den säkert kan urladdas. Förpackningens insida, som normalt är klädd med ett skum för att skydda produkten inuti, är tänkt att ersättas med kartong. Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka om en ESD-förpackning kan skapas genom att bestryka ett kartongark med en dispersion innehållande nanografit och nanocellulosa. Homogen helblekt kartong (Solid Bleached Board, SBB) är en kartong tillverkad av pappersbruket Iggesund Paperboard, som används för grafiska produkter och förpackningar av hög kvalitet. Kartong är tillverkad av cellulosa, ett miljövänligt och hållbart material från skogen. Klassificeringar av material som används i ESD-förpackningar är indelade i hur snabbt elektricitet rör sig genom materialet. Kol ligger normalt inom intervallet 10^2 till 10^6 Ω för yt- och volymresistans. Maximal uppladdning och maximal elektrisk urladdning av förpackningen ska inte överstiga 100 V och 50 nJ. Två olika dispersioner med olika bindemedel (polyvinylalkohol och cellulosa nanofibrer) har tillverkats. Dessa har bestrukits på kartongen med en bänkbestrykare. Mätningar av ESD- och kartong-egenskaper har utförts på kartongen. Mätdata låg inom det intervall som ansågs vara acceptabelt för att kunna skapa en ESD-kartong. Prototypen, sample B, är designad materiellt med homogen helblekt kartong, bestruken med en dispersion gjord av 220g nanografit, 22g cellulosa nanofibrer och 3791g vatten med en torrhalt på 8,2%. Designen har utvecklats med företagets befintliga förpackningar i åtanke tillsammans med information om de redan existerande ESD-förpackningarna. Resultaten från mätningarna visar att det är fullt möjligt att skapa och producera ESD-kartong, men det kräver ytterligare tester efter denna studie. Samhälleliga-, etiska- och miljöaspekter kommer att beaktas under hela studien.