Fundamental understanding of removal of liquid thin film trapped between fibers in the paper drying process: A microscopic approach

Abstract

In the fabrication of paper, a slurry with cellulose fibers and other matter is drained, pressed, and dried. The latter step requires considerable energy consumption. In the structure of wet paper, there are two differ-ent types of water: free water and bound water. Free water can be removed most effectively. However, removing bound water consumes a large portion of energy during the process. The focus of this paper is on the intermediate stage of the drying process, from free water toward bound water where the remaining free water is present on the surfaces of the fibers in the form of a liquid film. For simplicity, the drying process considered in this study corresponds to pure convective drying through the paper sheet. The physics of removing a thin liquid film trapped between fibers in the paper drying process is explored. The film is assumed to be incompressible, viscous, and subject to evaporation, thermocapillarity, and surface tension. By using a volume of fluid (VOF) model, the effect of the previously mentioned parameters on drying behavior of the thin film is investigated.