Fluff pulp (also called comminution pulp or fluffy pulp) is a type of

chemical pulp Pulp is a fibrous lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically, or mechanically isolating the cellulosic fibers of wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemicals or plant-based additives, pu ...

made from long fibre

softwood Scots pine, a typical and well-known softwood Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the sof ...

s. Important parameters for fluff pulp are bulk and water absorbency.

History

Fluff pulp was first developed for use in disposable

sanitary napkin A menstrual pad is an absorbent item worn in the underwear when menstruating, bleeding after giving birth, recovering from gynecologic surgery, experiencing a miscarriage or abortion, or in any other situation where it is necessary to absorb ...

s. Kotex's first advertisement for products made with wood pulp (Cellucotton) appeared in 1921.Inside the Museum of Menstruation 6
/ref> Disposable diaper producers also were early to convert to fluff pulp because of its low cost and high absorbency. Normal usage of fluff pulp in a diaper was about 55 percent. In the 1980s started the commercialization of air-laid paper, which gave better bulk, porosity, strength, softness, and water absorption properties compared with normal

tissue paper Tissue paper, or simply tissue, is a lightweight paper or light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled pulp (paper), paper pulp on a paper machine. Tissue paper is very versatile, and different kinds are made to best serve these purposes ...

. Also in the 1980s started the use of superabsorbents in diapers and reduced the need for fluff pulp and is now down to 15 grams or even less. The demand of the pulp in diapers has gone from being the absorbent of liquid to giving the products dry and wet strength.

Manufacture

More than 90% of the fluff pulps are fully bleached chemical softwood pulps, of which more than 90% are kraft pulps. The most common raw material source for fluff pulps are southern bleached softwood kraft ( SBSK) from

loblolly pine ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pi ...

. SBSK from other species and NBSK are also used to make fluff pulp. Thicker fibres are preferred to improve the bulk. Fluff pulp is normally made rolls ( reels) on a drying machine (a simplified

Fourdrinier machine A paper machine (or paper-making machine) is an industrial machine which is used in the pulp and paper industry to create paper in large quantities at high speed. Modern paper-making machines are based on the principles of the Fourdrinier Machin ...

). The objective of the drying/sheeting operation is to produce a uniform sheet (

paper density Paper density is a paper product's mass per unit volume. The density can be calculated by dividing the grammage of paper (in grams per square metre or "gsm") by its caliper (usually in micrometres, occasionally in mils). The "ISO 534:2011, ...

, moisture, and strength) to the converting operation. The pulp may be impregnated with debonders before drying to ease defibration. The worldwide production of fluff pulps amounts to about 3.5 million tons.

Applications

Fluff pulps are used as a raw material in the absorbent core of

personal care Personal care products are consumer products which are applied on various external parts of the body such as skin, hair, nails, lips, external genital and anal areas, as well as teeth and mucous membrane of the oral cavity, in order to make ...

products such as

diaper A diaper (, North American English) or a nappy (British English, Australian English, Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or containing waste products to p ...

feminine hygiene Feminine hygiene products are personal care products used for women's hygiene during menstruation, vaginal discharge, or other bodily functions related to the vulva and vagina. Products that are used during menstruation may also be called menstru ...

products, air-laid absorbent towelling, as such, or with superabsorbents and/or synthetic fibres. More than 80% of the pulps are used in baby diapers. The most demanding application of fluff pulps is in air-laid products, used in serving utensils, various towel applications in homes, in the industry, and in hospitals. Fluff pulp for air-laid products is defibrized in a

hammermill A hammer mill is a mill whose purpose is to shred or crush aggregate material into smaller pieces by the repeated blows of small hammers. These machines have numerous industrial applications, including: * Ethanol plants (grains) * A farm machi ...

. Defibration is the process of freeing the fibres from each other before entering the paper machine. Important parameters for dry defibration are shredding energy and

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

content.

References

Papermaking {{material-stub