Retention of precipitated calcium carbonate in old corrugated container furnishes

Filler does not have traditional use in linerboard manufacture. Recent rese arch and mill experience show that moderate use of filler in linerboard can be beneficial. Addition of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) filler in recycled old corrugated container (OCC) furnish will improve appearance and printability and save fiber materials without noticeable sacrifice of stre ngth. Stickies and wax will be less problematical when using PCC in OCC. Th is work studied PCC retention and fines retention in three different OCC fu rnishes. Different retention systems investigated included cationic polyacr ylamide, anionic polyacrylamide, microparticle, and nonionic poly(ethylene oxide) plus phenol/formaldehyde resin. Results showed that the latter is th e most effective retention system.