Silicones have a positive effect on virtually every aspect of the paper industry. From pulp processing to paper finishing, label making, and paper recycling, silicones add value, improve productivity, and lessen the impact of paper-making operations on our environment.
Silicones are polymers that include silicon together with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and sometimes other chemical elements. Some common forms include silicone oil, silicone grease, silicone rubber, and silicone resin.
Professor Frederick Stanley Kipping (1863-1949) was the chemist who pioneered the study of the organic compounds of silicon (organosilicons), and coined the term silicone.
Since then, a wide variety of products rely on silicones as an important component or ingredient, such as paper, make-up, paint, electronics, cables and toys. Silicones can lubricate or adhere, repel water or absorb it, remain rigid in extreme heat or pliable in freezing cold. Silicones come in many forms – from pourable liquids to rock-hard solids – which enables designers and manufacturers to use them in all kinds of products and processes.
Silicones enable manufacturers to provide safer working environments and create products that make the world a safer place. More than 60 years of industrial and consumer use and thousands of laboratory studies have confirmed it: when used properly in the applications for which they were designed, silicones are safe for people, manufacturing processes, and the environment.
Why do silicones excel in all kinds of paper industry applications?
- In pulping, silicone process aids reduce the amount of heat and harsh chemicals required to “cook” the wood chips, which lowers energy and material costs and reduces fibre damage.
- Silicone defoamers control foam and improve pulp drainage, which improves process efficiency and reduces bleaching requirements.
- Silicone process aids do not contain dibenzodioxin or dibenzofurans and do not form harmful byproducts; they do not add to biological oxygen demand (BOD) in water systems and have proven safe for wastewater treatment operations.
- Silicone release coatings give label and tape makers an almost limitless array of substrate, processing, performance, and application options.
- Silicone pressure-sensitive adhesives adhere reliably to low-energy surfaces. They also withstand extreme temperatures, chemical attack, and long-term exposure to weather and UV light.
- Water-based, solventless, and solvent-reducing silicone formulations help pulp, paper, and label and tape manufacturers worldwide address cost, safety, and environmental protection issues.
- Silicone technology for de-inking and micro-“stickies” control make paper recycling easier and more cost effective.
Source: Dow Corning