Development of PVOH for Paper Application

Abstract

Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) is widely used as a paper strengthening agent, stabilizer and binder in the paper industry. PVOH also improves air permeability and grease resistance of paper because a good film forming property of PVOH decreases the paper porosity. This report will refer to the properties of the coated paper with an outstanding hydrophobic modified PVOH. The coated paper has better air resistance and higher water resistance compared to conventional PVOHs. Furthermore the reason for the good air resistance was investigated from the perspective of affinity between PVOHs and paper, surface tension of PVOH aqueous solution, and PVOH crystallinities. As a result, the PVOHs having the lower crystallinities provided the higher air resistance. The lower crystallinity should ease the shrinking degree on the drying process of PVOH aqueous solution and lead to a void-less film on the paper.