Tailored hemicellulose in non-wood fibers for tissue products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11795619-B2
Application number	US-202217590481-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2022
Priority date	Apr 28, 2017
Publication date	Oct 24, 2023
Grant date	Oct 24, 2023

Abstract

A tissue sheet includes softwood fibers and treated non-wood fibers from plants in the Poaceae family, wherein the treated non-wood fibers have less than 15 percent hemicellulose. Also, a tissue sheet consists essentially of softwood fibers and treated non-wood fibers, wherein the treated non-wood fibers have less than 15 percent hemicellulose. Customizing the tensile index and Canadian standard freeness (CSF) of fibers in a tissue sheet includes treating non-wood fibers by removing a portion of hemicellulose from the non-wood fibers; forming a tissue sheet comprising softwood fibers and the treated non-wood fibers; and adjusting the portion of hemicellulose removed from the non-wood fibers to achieve a desired the tensile index and Canadian standard freeness (CSF) of the treated non-wood fibers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a tissue sheet comprising the steps of:
dispersing a plurality of softwood fibers in water to form a first fiber slurry;
treating a plurality of non-wood fibers derived from one or more plants in the Poaceae family with a hemicellulose enzyme to yield treated non-wood fibers having less than 15 percent hemicellulose and a Canadian Standard Freeness (CSF) greater than about 350 ml;
dispersing the treated non-wood fibers to form a second fiber slurry;
dispersing the first and second fiber slurries onto a forming fabric to form a wet tissue web;
dewatering the wet tissue web to form a partially dewatered tissue web; and
drying the partially dewatered tissue web to form a dried tissue web.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-wood fibers are derived from the group consisting of wheat, corn, miscanthus, bamboo, and combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of dispersing a plurality of eucalyptus fibers to form a third fiber furnish slurry and dispersing the third fiber furnish onto a forming fabric with the first and second fiber furnishes to form a wet tissue web.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of dispersing a plurality of hardwood fibers to form a third fiber furnish slurry and dispersing the third fiber furnish onto a forming fabric with the first and second fiber furnishes to form a wet tissue web.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second fiber slurries are dispersed onto the forming fabric in layers to form a wet tissue web having two outer layers and at least one inner layer.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein an outer layer comprises treated non-wood fibers and the at least one inner layer comprises softwood fibers.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the at least one inner layer comprises treated non-wood fibers.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treated non-wood fibers have at least 50 percent less hemicellulose than the same non-wood fibers without treatment.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treated non-wood fibers have at least 70 percent less hemicellulose than the same non-wood fibers without treatment.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dried tissue web has a lower tensile index compared to a tissue sheet comprising softwood fiber and eucalyptus fiber in the place of the treated non-wood fiber.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treated non-wood fiber has a Water Retention Value (WRV) less than about 3.5.

Assignees

• Kimberly Clark Co

Inventors

• Wei Ning
• Shannon Thomas G

Classifications

• D21H11/12 Primary

  Pulp from non-woody plants or crops, e.g. cotton, flax, straw, bagasse · CPC title

• D21H27/002 Primary

  Tissue paper; Absorbent paper (D21H21/22, D21H27/02, D21H27/20 take precedence; toilet paper A47K10/00; absorbent pads for physiological fluids A61L15/16; making on paper-making machines D21F11/00) · CPC title

• D21H27/38

  at least one of the sheets having a fibrous composition differing from that of other sheets · CPC title

• D21H27/00

  Special paper not otherwise provided for, e.g. made by multi-step processes · CPC title

• D21H27/02

  Patterned paper (patterned coatings D21H19/66; embossing B31F1/07; prepared on the paper-making machines D21F11/00) · CPC title