Paper-based materials, such as paperboard, are commonly used as packaging materials. Inaddition to the advantage that wood as a raw material is renewable, there are also many otherbenefits of paperboard. From a mechanical point of view, paperboard has a high bendingstiffness compared to its relatively low weight and has a high foldability, which both areproperties of significance in the design of packages. However, a distinct drawback withpaperboard is its significant sensitivity to moisture. The moisture reduces the mechanicalproperties of the paperboard and consequently reduces the performance of the package. Thisthesis is starting with an investigation of the relation between moisture and differentmechanical properties on a continuum material level, and then these relations are applied onthe packaging design level through experimental testing and simulations. In Paper A, a material characterization was performed on a series of five paperboards withdifferent grammages from the same producer. Five types of mechanical tests to characterizethe paperboards’ material properties were performed: • In-plane tensile test, • Out-of-plane tensile test, • Short-span Compression Test (SCT), • Bending stiffness test, • Double-notch shear test. All tests were performed at several levels of relative humidity (RH). Linear relations betweenthe mechanical properties normalized with their respective value at 50 % RH and moistureratio were found. Paper B examined whether the linear relationships discovered in Paper A are true also forother paperboard series as well. Therefore, 15 paperboards from four producers wereinvestigated in this study, at the same levels of RH as before. Here, the in-plane stiffnessesand strengths and SCT-values were evaluated as a function of moisture. When also themoisture ratios in the investigated paperboards were normalized, it turned out that allpaperboards followed the same linear relationship between normalized mechanical propertyand normalized moisture ratio. Additionally, a bilinear elastic-plastic in-plane model wasdeveloped, that can predict the stress-strain relation of an arbitrary paperboard at an arbitrarymoisture level, and without requiring any mechanical testing except at standard condition(50% RH, 23 °C). In Paper C, this relation was used to estimate input material parameters for simulating a BoxCompression Test (BCT) at different moisture levels. The result showed that it was possibleto accurately predict the load-compression curve of a BCT when moisture was accountedfor. / Som förpackningsmaterial betraktat är pappersbaserade material, som exempelvis kartong,väldigt intressanta material. Utöver att råvaran trä är förnyelsebar finns även många andrafördelar med kartong. Ur ett mekaniskt perspektiv är kartong exempelvis väldigt styv iförhållande till sin vikt och har generellt väldigt hög vikbarhet, vilket båda är egenskaper somlämpar sig väl för en förpackning. En klar nackdel med kartong är dess känslighet för fukt.Fukten reducerar kartongens mekaniska egenskaper, vilket följaktligen leder till attförpackningens prestanda försämras. I den här licentiatavhandlingen undersöktes initialtsambanden mellan fukt och mekaniska egenskaper på materialnivå, för att sedan överförasambanden till förpackningsnivå genom experimentell provning och simuleringar. I Artikel A utfördes en materialkaraktärisering på en kartongserie innehållande femkartonger med varierande ytvikter från samma tillverkare. Fem typer av mekaniska provgenomfördes för att karaktärisera kartongernas respektive materialegenskaper: • Dragprov (i planet), • Dragprov (ut ur planet), • Korta kompressionsprov (SCT), • Böjstyvhetsprov, • Skjuvprofilsprov. Samtliga prov utfördes vid flera olika nivåer av relativ fuktighet (RH). Linjära relationermellan mekanisk egenskap normerad med motsvarande värde vid 50 % RH och fuktnoterades. I Artikel B undersöktes huruvida de linjära sambanden som upptäcktes i Artikel A stämmeräven för andra kartongserier. 15 kartonger från fyra producenter undersöktes därför i dennastudie vid samma fukthalter som tidigare. I den här studien undersöktes endast dragprov iplanet, samt SCT. När även fuktkvoterna i de undersökta kartongerna normerades visade detsig att alla kartonger följde samma linjära relation mellan normerad mekanisk egenskap ochnormerat fuktinnehåll. Utöver detta utvecklades en bilinjär elastisk-plastisk i-planet-modellsom kan prediktera en godtycklig kartongs spännings-töjningsförhållande för godtyckligfuktnivå, utan att någon mekanisk provning utöver standardklimat (50 % RH, 23 °C) behöver genomföras. I Artikel C utnyttjades det linjära sambandet mellan mekanisk egenskap och fuktkvot genomatt prediktera de ingående materialegenskaperna som användes vid simuleringar avboxkompressionsprovning vid olika fuktnivåer. Simuleringarna jämfördes med experimentellprovning och visade sig kunna prediktera experimentella resultat vid olika fukthalter bra. / <p>QC 20220510</p>

For all kinds of paperboard packages, the bending stiffness of the paperboard is a crucial property. In multi-ply folding boxboard (FBB) grades, this is obtained by placing different stocks in the outer and centre plies of the board. In the outer plies, a stock with a high tensile stiffness is used, typically made from refined kraft pulp fibres. In the middle ply/plies a stock with more bulky properties is placed, typically comprising of a high proportion of CTMP (chemi-thermomechanical pulp). CTMP fibres are stiffer and more inflexible with poor bonding abilities resulting in low strength properties. To increase the bonding strength in the middle ply, broke, containing chemical pulp is added, and sometimes refined chemical kraft pulp as well. Both fibres and fines, i.e. smaller fibre fragments, in a pulp have a significant contribution to the properties of the product. Fines produced during refining of chemical pulp are especially beneficial for increasing the strength. To achieve pulp fraction with higher fines content the pulp can be fractionated with a micro-perforated screen basket; a fine fraction produced from a screen with very small holes will contain a large proportion of fines. By adding such a fine fraction to a middle ply stock, the bulk properties of the main pulp, for example a CTMP, can be conserved as less refining of this pulp is required to achieve the targeted strength properties. However, a drawback is that the fine fraction usually has a very low mass concentration after the screening process as a lot of water pass through the screen together with the fines and fibre fragments. The excess water must be removed to maintain the water balance of the papermaking process. Further, the larger volumes require extra pumping capacity. A resource-efficient production of a fine fraction must target a high fine fraction mass concentration and a high content of fines and short fibre fragments in order to be implemented industrially. The focus of the present work was on separation efficiency (i.e. the difference in fibre length distribution caused by screening) and process efficiency (i.e. the concentration of the fine fraction) for production of a fine fraction of chemical pulp by screening, and the utilisation of the fine fraction as strength agent. Pilot-scale fractionation trials with a pressure screen with different microperforated screen baskets were performed in order to evaluate how the separation efficiency and process efficiency were affected by parameters such as feed concentration, pulp type (hardwood or softwood kraft pulp), hole size of the screen, and refining treatment prior to screening. The trials were evaluated using fibre length distributions, flow rates and concentrations of viii the feed flow and the fractions. Here, two complementary quantitative measures, Proportion in fine fraction (for process efficiency) and Fine fraction enrichment (for separation efficiency), were developed. To evaluate the strength enhancing effect of the obtained fine fraction, a lab scale study was performed where the fine fraction of a highly refined pulp was compared with the highly refined pulp as strength agent for a CTMP. The results of this study were verified in a pilot paper machine trial. In a second pilot paper machine trial, sheets with different CTMP proportions in the middle ply were studied in order to find out if the bulk could be increased while maintaining strength, by using a fine fraction made from refined chemical pulp. Regarding process efficiency, it was found that the most important parameter to obtain a high fine fraction concentration was a high feed concentration. Further, a higher fine fraction concentration for a given screening process was also obtained when using hardwood pulp and refining the pulp prior to the screening process. A higher feed concentration also had a positive effect on the separation efficiency. Small holes and a smooth surface of the screen basket were also important to improve the separation efficiency. It was shown that, when used as a strength agent in a CTMP pulp, the fine fraction of highly refined kraft pulp was twice as efficient as the highly refined kraft pulp, when added at equal mass proportion. However, both in the lab and pilot trial the strength increase was accompanied by a decreased bulk. This was expected, and to avoid this the proportion of the bulky CTMP had to be increased. The pilot paper machine trial with an increased CTMP proportion in the middle ply and a fine fraction of refined kraft pulp as strength agent demonstrated that it was possible to produce sheets with an increased bulk and maintained z-strength. / Böjstyvheten är en viktig egenskap för alla sorters hårda förpackningar. I flerskiktskartong får man böjstyvhet genom att ha ytterskikt med hög dragstyvhet tillverkade av fibrer från kemisk massa och ett mittskikt med hög bulk från styva fibrer, ofta med en stor andel CTMP (kemitermomekanisk massa). CTMP-fibrer är styva men ger lägre styrka i arket. För att öka styrkan i mittskiktet tillsätter man utskott (kasserad kartong) som delvis innehåller kemisk massa, och ibland även ren högmald kemisk massa. Både fibrer och finmaterial (fines) har stor betydelse för slutproduktens egenskaper. Fines som skapas vid malning av kemisk massa är särskilt effektiva för att öka styrkan. Genom att fraktionera massa med en mikroperforerad sil kan man få en finfraktion med högt finesinnehåll. Mikroperforerade silar är effektiva för längdfraktionering av massa; fines anrikas i den fraktionen som passerar silen medan långa fibrer stannar i den andra fraktionen. Genom att använda en sådan finfraktion i mittskiktet kan man få tillräcklig styrka och samtidigt behålla mer av bulken från CTMP:n genom att man inte behöver mala den för att få styrka. En nackdel är att finfraktionen vanligtvis har väldigt låg masskoncentration eftersom mycket vatten passerar silen tillsammans med fines och fiberfragment. Detta extra vatten måste tas bort för att vattenbalansen i papperstillverkningsprocessen ska bibehållas. Dessutom kräver den större volymen ökad pumpkapacitet. För att kunna använda en finfraktion industriellt behövs en effektiv produktion med hög koncentration och högt finesinnehåll. Fokus i det här arbetet lades på separationseffektivitet (skillnaden i fiberlängdsfördelning som resultat av silningen) och processeffektivitet (koncentrationen i finfraktionen) för tillverkning av en finfraktion av kemisk massa genom silning samt dess utnyttjande som styrkehöjande tillsats i ett mittskikt av kartong. För att utvärdera hur separationseffektiviteten och processeffektiviteten påverkas av parametrar som koncentrationen i flödet in till silen, typ av kemisk massa (gjord av lövved eller barrved), hålstorlek i silen samt malningen av massan, gjordes fraktioneringsförsök i pilotskala med en trycksil med olika mikroperforerade silkorgar. Resultatet av fraktioneringen utvärderades med hjälp av fiberlängdsfördelningar, flöden och koncentrationer i flödet till silen och de två fraktionerna efter silen. För utvärderingen togs två olika utvärderingsmetoder fram: Proportion i finfraktionen (för processeffektivitet) och Finfraktionsanrikning (för x separationseffektivitet). För att utvärdera hur effektiv en finfraktion av kemisk massa var som styrkeadditiv i ett CTMP-ark gjordes labbförsök där tillsats av högmald kemisk massa jämfördes med tillsats av enbart en finfraktion av den högmalda kemiska massan. Resultaten verifierades med ett försök på en pilotpappersmaskin. I ett följande försök på pilotpappersmaskinen tillverkades ark med ökat CTMP-innehåll för att öka bulken, och med en tillsats av en finfraktion av kemisk massa som styrkeadditiv. När det gäller processeffektivitet var hög koncentration i flödet till silen den viktigaste parametern för att få hög koncentration på finfraktionen. Detta var också positivt för separationseffektiviteten, färre av de längre partiklarna hamnade i finfraktionen. Vidare blev finfraktionens koncentration högre för lövvedsmassa. En finfraktion som ska användas som styrkeadditiv ska vara tillverkad av mald massa, malning av massan var också fördelaktigt för finfraktionens koncentration. Små hål och en slät yta på silkorgen var också positivt för separationseffektiviteten. Som styrkeadditiv i CTMP var finfraktionen av högmald kemisk massa dubbelt så effektiv som den högmalda kemiska massan vid lika stor tillsats. Men i både labbförsök och pilotförsök minskade bulken när styrkan ökade. Det var väntat eftersom att ersätta en del av originalmassan som har hög bulk, med en finfraktion eller högmald massa, som båda har mycket lägre bulk, alltid minskar bulken på arket. För att undvika en bulkförlust måste massasammansättningen i arket ändras. Försöket på pilotpappersmaskinen med ökat CTMP innehåll och en finfraktion av mald kemisk massa som styrkeadditiv visade att det är möjligt att tillverka ett ark med högre bulk och bibehållen styrka.

The characteristics of products made from pulp can be modified through different methods. If the pulp is refined either laboratory or industrially, the fibres in the pulp become more flexible and therefore creates stronger bonds to each other, which results in a final product with a higher strength. The refining process also causes the formation of small fibre pieces that are called fines, which also contribute to the increased strength. The major component in pulp is cellulose, which can be chemically modified to materials with changed properties. Periodate oxidation of cellulose results in dialdehyde cellulose that can be further reduced with sodium borohydride to obtain dialcohol cellulose, which is a material with a higher ductility compared to regular cellulose. In this thesis, different pulp compositions and their influence on the production of dialcohol cellulose (DALC) were investigated. The aim of the study was to find out how the ductility of paper sheets made from DALC were affected by the presence of fines in the pulp. Nine different pulp compositions were prepared for the modification: unrefined pulp, unrefined pulp with added fines, industrially refined pulp, dewatered industrially refined pulp, and pulp refined 1000, 3000, 5000, 10 000 and 15 000 revolutions with a PFI Mill. Paper sheets were made with a Rapid Köthen sheet former and the mechanical properties of the sheets were tested with a Zwick Roell tensile tester. The surface of the sheets were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results obtained from the tensile tests showed that DALC made from unrefined pulp and DALC made from pulp highly refined with a PFI Mill, resulted in sheets with a high strain-at-break. For each increased degree of refining with the PFI Mill, the resulting DALC sheets showed an improved elongation and tensile strength. When DALC was produced from industrially refined pulp and from unrefined pulp with added fines, the resulting sheets had a lower strain-at-break. These findings indicate that the presence of fines in the pulp do have a negative effect on the ductility of the resulting DALC sheets.

Xylan is the main hemicellulose in birch, eucalyptus, and most other hardwood species. During kraft pulping a series of chemical reactions and physical processes involving xylan take place. The processes studied in this thesis are the following: dissolution, degradation, redeposition onto the fibres, side group conversion, and cleavage of side groups off the xylan back bone. The side group in native xylan consists of methylglucuronic acid, which is mainly converted into hexenuronic acid during kraft cooking. Hexenuronic acid affect the pulp in terms of increased brightness reversion and deteriorated bleachability. The kinetics of the side group cleavage and conversion reactions were analysed using various analytical tools. The study revealed that the most commonly used methods for methylglucuronic acid measurements are not as accurate as has been claimed in the literature. A modification of two of the methods was suggested and evaluated. A common practice used to minimise the hexenuronic acid content involves use of a high cooking temperature. The kinetic study showed that the degree of substitution of pulp xylan is only slightly affected by temperature, and that the observed effects are likely to be more associated with the xylan content of the pulp than with the hexenuronic acid content of the xylan. For the dissolved xylan, however, the degree of substitution showed a high temperature dependency and moreover it was always higher than in the pulp. Xylan itself is known to have the capacity to increase the strength of the manufactured pulp. This knowledge was applied by exchanging cooking liquors between birch kraft cooks, in which a high amount of xylan is dissolved, and spruce cooks, which contain very small amounts of native xylan. This seems like an attractive alternative for softwood kraft cooking, since both the tensile strength and stiffness increased significantly. The magnitude of the strength increase was correlated with the molecular weight of the added xylan and with the increased surface charge of the fibres. / QC 20101111

Graphic paper is experiencing severe competition from other materials and, most of all, from other media. This means there is a great need to improve paper quality while reducing raw material and production costs. Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) treatment (i.e., consecutively adding cationic and anionic polyelectrolytes to the charged surface of wood fibres and fines, to form layers of these polyelectrolytes on the fibres/fines) has in recent years been found to offer great potential both to introduce new properties and to improve the mechanical properties of papers made of the treated fibres. The main objective of this thesis was to develop a strategy for the PEM treatment of cationic and anionic starch to improve the mechanical properties of paper made of thermomechanical pulp (TMP), since PEM treatment of fibres has displayed great potential to improve the mechanical properties of sheets made of chemical pulp. Mechanical pulp, however, has a large fine material content. Since the fine material is highly charged, polyelectrolyte consumption would be unacceptably high if the entire pulp were PEM treated, so we applied PEM treatment only to a fibre fraction of the pulps in most trials in the present work. The polyelectrolytes used for PEMs have so far mostly been well-defined, expensive ones unsuitable for use in standard paper grades; to develop a more economically realistic alternative, we used cationic and anionic starches. PEM formation on SiO2 surfaces from three differently charged cationic and anionic starches was first evaluated at three different salt levels using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and stagnation point adsorption reflectometry (SPAR). The starch combinations displaying the highest potential for stable PEM formation at higher salt concentrations were then evaluated on an entire TMP pulp, as well as on a fraction of the pulp to reduce the amount of starch needed for PEM formation. The results indicate that it is possible to form PEMs from cationic and anionic starch on a SiO2 surface. The charge density, salt concentration, and combination of starches all influenced PEM formation. PEM formation on mechanical fibres produced large improvements in the mechanical properties of the sheets made of the treated fibres, and the tensile index, stretch-at-break, Z-strength, and Scott bond values all increased. Fractionating the pulp and PEM treating only a fraction of the pulp, the long fibre and middle fraction, produced large decreases in the amount of starch needed and large improvements in the mechanical properties of the sheets when no fine material was subsequently added. As untreated fine material was subsequently added, the improvement in mechanical properties decreased. PEM formation produced almost no reduction in formation and only a slight increase in sheet density. / Grafiskt papper är under hård konkurrens från andra material och, framför allt, andra media.  På grund av detta finns det ett stort behov av att förbättra papperskvalitén samtidigt som råmaterial- och produktionskostnader sänks. Polyelektrolyt-multiskikt (multiskikt) på massa (dvs. växelvis adsorption av katjoniska och anjoniska polyelektrolyter till träfibrer och finmaterial) har på senare år visat sig ha bra potential både för att ge nya egenskaper och för att förbättra de mekaniska egenskaperna hos papper gjorda av behandlad fiber. Huvudsyftet med denna avhandling var att utveckla en strategi för multiskiktsbehandling med katjonisk och anjonisk stärkelse för att förbättra de mekaniska egenskaperna hos papper gjort av behandlad termomekanisk massa (TMP). Multiskiktsbehandling av fiber har visat stor potential för att ge förbättrade mekaniska egenskaper till ark gjorda av behandlad kemisk massa. Mekanisk massa innehåller dock en stor andel högladdat finmaterial som kan öka mängden polyelektrolyt som krävs för multiskiktsbehandling, därför multiskiktsbehandlas bara en fraktion av massan i de flesta experiment i detta arbete. De polyelektrolyter som använts för multiskikt har hittills mest varit väldefinierade och dyra, och därmed opassande för användning i vanliga papperskvalitéer. För att utveckla ett mer realistiskt alternativ så användes katjonisk och anjonisk stärkelse i detta arbete. Multiskiktsuppbyggnad på SiO2-ytor av tre katjoniska och tre anjoniska stärkelser med olika laddningsdensitet utvärderades först vid tre olika saltnivåer genom att använda kvartskristal‑mikrogravimetri (QCM-D) och reflektometri (SPAR). Stärkelsekombinationerna som uppvisade störst potential för en stabil multiskiktsuppbyggnad på högre saltkoncentrationer blev sedan utvärderade på en hel TMP-massa, men även på en fraktion av massan för att minska mängden stärkelse som krävdes för multiskiktsuppbyggnad. Resultaten visar på att det är möjligt att bygga upp multiskikt av katjonisk och anjonisk stärkelse på en SiO2-yta. Laddningsdensiteten, saltkoncentrationen och kombinationen av stärkelser var faktorer som påverkade multiskiktsuppbyggnaden. Multiskiktsuppbyggnad på mekaniska fibrer gav stora förbättringar av de mekaniska egenskaperna hos ark gjorda av behandlad fiber, och dragindex, töjning, Z-styrka och Scott bond-värde ökade. Fraktionering av massan och multiskiktsbehandling av endast en del av massan, långfiber- och mellanfraktion, innebar att mycket mindre stärkelse behövdes och gav stora förbättringar av de mekaniska egenskaperna hos arken om inget obehandlat finmaterial tillsattes efteråt. Då obehandlat finmaterial tillsattes så blev förbättringarna hos de mekaniska egenskaperna mindre. Multiskitsuppbyggnad gav nästan ingen reduktion av formationen och endast en liten ökning i arkdensitet.

In the wish to replace oil-based chemicals and materials with such based on biodegradable and renewable resources, this work has been performed. In a biorefinary concept, waste birch bark from paper pulp mills and timber production has been evaluated as a potential source for polyesters.  In the present thesis investigations are made on synthesis of epoxy-functionalized polyesters from the birch outer bark aliphatic suberin ω-hydroxy fatty acid, cis-9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid. Studies of accessibility and reactivity of cellulose have been performed as a first step to enable covalent attachment or grafting of the epoxy-functionalized polyesters to cellulose.  Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435) is reported to be an efficient catalyst for condensation polymerization of cis-9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid to form poly(9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid) with high molecular weight (Mw). Performed in toluene in the presence of molecular sieves a Mw of 20000 (reaction time 68 h, Mw/Mn 2.2) was obtained. Performed in bulk without any drying agent a Mw of 15000  was obtained at a much shorter reaction time (reaction time 3h, Mw/Mn 2.2). Further the same lipase has been used for succesful co-polymerizations of cis-9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid with lactones. By combining condensation and ring-opening polymerization, epoxy-functionalized linear polyesters and cyclic oligomers have been synthesized. For example, co-polymerization of cis-9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxy-octadecanoic acid and ε-caprolactone performed in toluene in the presence of molecular sieves gave mainly cyclic oligomers, especially at shorter reaction times. Co-polymerization performed in bulk gave linear polyesters with a Mw of 35000 (reaction time 24 h, Mw/Mn 6), irrespective molecular sieves were added or not.  The epoxy-functionalized polyesters could be used for surface modification of pulp fibres and cellulose fibrils, which further can be used for production of new valuable composite materials with improved features. Knowledge of how different processing conditions affect the structure of cellulose is an important tool in the work to achieve successful grafting of produced polyesters to cellulose fibres/fibrils. CP/MAS 13C-NMR spectroscopy has been used to study structural changes caused by the dissolving pulp process. An irreversible increase in average fibril aggregate width from raw pulp to final pulp during the process is shown. This increase in aggregate width could negatively influence the reactivity of the cellulose.

Paper materials are renewable and recyclable and are often used for packaging applications, e.g., as in corrugated fiberboard boxes. From an engineering perspective, paper materials can be used to construct packaging with low weight but with high relative strength. However, compared to other packaging materials, it can be a challenge to design paper-based packaging for distribution chains with demanding conditions. Boxes made from paper can be sensitive to exposure of moisture, duration of load, and dynamic forces. Along the distribution chain, boxes can be exposed to forces that could potentially cause failure before the boxes intended service life is fulfilled. Therefore, it is important to know how to predict the failure distribution for a specific combination of packaging and distribution chain so that materials with the right properties can be chosen for a given purpose and the risk of failures can be minimized. In this project, we have investigated a statistical material model developed by Bernard D. Coleman. It is based on three material parameters that describe the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of a fiber-breaking behavior for an arbitrary load history. The model has been shown to work for fiber network systems subjected to constant load and constant load rate (CLR). Our purpose was to investigate if it is applicable for fiber network systems of higher structural hierarchy and for more complex load histories. To investigate this, we have performed compression tests with CLR on four different types of corrugated fiberboard and determined the material parameters. Afterward, we performed compression tests for a more complex load history. A periodic, triangular-shaped, load curve was chosen for cyclic testing. Finally, we used the material parameters from the CLR tests to determine the CDF for the periodic load cases. We compared the result with an empirical CDF. The CDFs showed to be in relatively good agreement, but there were some differences. We found that our measurements turned out to produce load history data that deviated from the intended load history. The material parameters were also shown to be less accurate than expected. Due to these deviations, we could not expect a perfect agreement between the CDFs. Therefore, we can not with certainty state that Coleman’s theory is applicable for varying load histories. However, despite the difficulties to experimentally achieve the intended load history, the results showed good agreement in several cases, and the deviations from the theory could possibly be explained by the load history deviations. To be certain, more accurate measurements with higher accuracy need to be done.

Environmental issues are more and more present in our societies. Pollution engendered by plastic waste have drastically increased these past decades, causing several threats to the ecosystem. Therefore, the need of new biodegradable plastics to replace the actual petroleum-based ones is urgent. Cellulose could be a potential substitute since it is a biopolymer, abundant on Earth. However its properties have to be enhanced to be competitive towards actual plastics. The aim of the project is therefore to get a better understanding of cellulose-cellulose interactions. It focuses on the adhesion between cellulosic surfaces. Contact adhesion measurements have been performed on cellulose beads, with different treatments. All the beads had the same size and same concentration. Some of them were native whereas others were charged (600 µeq/g). Half of the native beads were surface modified with a starch coating or a Layer by Layer technique using cationic starch and an anionic polyelectrolyte (EXPN64 or FennoBond 85E). The project included preparation of the surface modified beads, pull-off tests, where load and position were recorded as a function of time, as well as measurements of the contact area. It was found that a higher energy was needed to separate charged and surface modified beads, especially the ones modified with EXPN 64, compared to native beads. The project have also shown that the types of beads influenced the contact area and the strength. However a trend was sometimes difficult to find. The data and results obtained in this project could be further re-used to enlarge the study field and investigate the influence of other parameters (size, concentration) on the adhesion of cellulose beads. / Miljöfrågor är mer och mer närvarande i våra samhällen. plastavfall har ökat drastiskt de senaste decennierna och orsakat flera hot mot ekosystemet. Därför är behovet av ny biologiskt nedbrytbar plast för att ersätta de petroleumbaserade brådskande. Cellulosa kan vara en potentiell ersättare eftersom det är en biopolymer. Emellertid måste dess egenskaper förbättras för att vara konkurrenskraftiga gentemot petroleumbaserad plast. Syftet med projektet är därför att bättre förstå cellulosa-cellulosa-interaktioner. Den fokuserar på vidhäftningen mellan cellulosaytor. Kontaktvidhäftningsmätningar har utförts på cellulosapärlor med olika behandlingar. Alla pärlor hade samma storlek och koncentration. Vissa av dem var naturliga medan andra laddades (600 µeq/g). Projektet inkluderade beredning av ytmodifierade pärlor, utdragningstester, där belastning och position registrerades som en funktion av tiden, samt mätningar av kontaktområdet. Det visade sig att högre energi behövdes för att separera laddade och ytmodifierade pärlor, särskilt de modifierade med EXPN 64, jämfört med tonativa pärlor. Projektet har också visat att typerna av pärlor påverkade kontaktområdet och styrkan. Men en trend var ibland svår att hitta. Uppgifterna och resultaten som erhållits i detta projekt kan vidare användas för att förstora studiefältet och undersöka påverkan av andra parametrar (storlek, koncentration) på vidhäftningen av cellulosapärlor.

Biodegradable polymers are emerging as a new solution to satisfy the increasing demand of greenenvironmentally friendly material. At the same time, the interest for lighter and stronger structures never stops growing. In this paper, we report the production steps to achieve cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) composite filaments via a new green synthesis route known as wet spinning. This new technique avoids the traditional harmful viscose process and produces biodegradable CNF filaments with interesting mechanical properties. This approach is then applied to produce never seen before composite CNF filaments using a three-layered head extruder. In order to obtain conductive filaments, PEDOT/PPS is successfully mixed with CNF to produce in-situ composite filaments. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force measurements and tensile tests are employed to characterize the properties of the filaments. / Biologiskt nedbrytbara polymerer börjar framträda som en lösning för det ökade behovet avmiljövänliga material. Samtidigt så växer intresset för lättare och starkare strukturer. I denna rapport tar vi upp produktionsstegen för att uppnå nanofibril komposit cellulosa fibrer (CNF), med hjälp av en ny grön polymerisation mest känd som ”wet spinning”. Med denna nya teknik så behövs inte dem traditionella miljöfarliga viskosprocesserna och man producerar biologiskt nedbrytbara CNF filaments med intressanta mekaniska egenskaper. Denna metod appliceras sen för att producera en komposit som aldrig setts innan. CNF fibrer som består av tre lager ”head-extruder”. För att få fibrer med ledningsförmåga så mixas PEDOT/PPS med CNF för att producera ”in-situ komposit fibrer”. Svepelektronmikroskop (SEM), atomkraftsmikroskopi och töjningstester används för att karaktärisera egenskaperna av fibrerna.

This thesis deals with the wetting by oil mixtures of two different model cellulose surfaces. The surfaces studied were a regenerated cellulose (RG) surface prepared by spin-coating, and a film consisting of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) of Poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) and a carboxymethylated Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC). After coating or covalently modifying the cellulose surfaces with various amounts of fluorosurfactants, the fluorinated cellulose films were used to follow the spreading mechanisms of the different oil mixtures. The viscosity and surface tension of the oil, as well as the dispersive surface energy of the cellulose surface, are essential parameters governing the spreading kinetics. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and dispersive surface energy measurements were made on the cellulose films treated with fluorosurfactants. A strong correlation between the surface coverage of fluorine, the dispersive surface energy and the measured contact angle of the oil mixtures was found. For example, a dispersive surface energy less than 18 mN/m was required in order for the cellulose surface to be non-wetting (θe &gt; 90º) by castor oil. Significant parts of this work were devoted to the development of cellulose surfaces for the wetting studies. The formation of a PEM consisting of PEI and MFC was studied and the total layer thickness and adsorbed amount were optimized by combining Dual Polarization Interferometry (DPI) with a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D). The adsorption behaviour as well as the influence of the charge density, pH and electrolyte concentration of PEI, and electrolyte concentration of the MFC dispersion on the adsorbed amount of MFC were investigated. Results indicate that a combination of a high pH, a fairly high electrolyte concentration for PEI solution together with low or zero electrolyte concentration for the MFC resulted in the largest possible adsorbed amounts of the individual PEI and MFC layers. The structures of the two cellulose surfaces were characterised with atomic force microscopy measurements and a difference in terms of surface structure and roughness were observed. Both surfaces were however very smooth with calculated RMS roughness values in the range of a few nanometers. The adsorption behaviour of water-dispersible fluorosurfactants physically adsorbed at various concentrations onto the two model cellulose surfaces was investigated using DPI. The aggregate structure of an anionic fluorosurfactant, perfluorooctadecanoic acid, dispersed in water was studied by Cryo Transmission Electron Microscopy (Cryo-TEM). The fluorosurfactants had an adsorption and desorption behaviour in water which was dependent on the fluorinated chain length and the aggregation form of the fluorosurfactant. Perfluorooctanoic acid and a commercial cationic fluorosurfactant with a formal composition of CF3 (CF2)nSO2NH(CH2)3-4N(CH3)3+I- was found to desorb from the MFC and RG surfaces upon rinsing with water, whereas perfluorooctadecanoic acid was strongly adsorbed to the surfaces. It is essential for a fluorosurfacatant to be strongly adsorbed to the cellulose surface even after rinsing to yield hydrophobic and lipophobic (oleophobic) properties with a large contact angle for oils and water. / QC 20101103