Impact of bacterial cellulose on the physical properties and printing quality of fine papers

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), due to its inherent nanometric scale and strength properties, can be considered as a good candidate to be used in papermaking. This work explored the possibility of using it in the production of fine paper as a wet-end component and for the paper coating. Filler-containing handsheet production was per-formed with and without the presence of common additives typically used in the furnish of office papers. It was found that, under optimized conditions, BNC mechanically treated by high-pressure homogenization could improve all the evaluated paper properties (mechanical, optical and structural) without impairing the filler retention. However, paper strength was improved only to a small extent (increase in the tensile index of 8 % for a filler content of ca. 27.5 %). On the other hand, when used at the paper surface, remarkable improvements in the gamut area of >25 % in comparison to the base paper and of >40 % in comparison to starch-only coated papers were achieved for a formulation having 50 % BNC and 50 % of carboxymethylcellulose. Overall, the present results highlight the possibility of using BNC as a paper component, particularly when applied at the paper substrate as a coating agent aiming at improving printing quality.

Automated summary

This study found that mechanically treated bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) can improve the mechanical, optical, and structural properties of paper without affecting filler retention. However, the improvement in paper strength was only slight. Additionally, coating the paper surface with BNC can significantly enhance printing quality.