This study investigated the addition of acrylic fiber to old corrugated container (OCC) pulp as a possible means of overcoming adverse effects of water-based pressure sensitive adhesives during manufacture of paper or paperboard. Such adhesives can constitute a main source of stickies, which hurt the efficiency of the papermaking
process and make tacky spots in the product. The highest amount of acrylic fiber added to recycled pulps generally resulted in a 77% reduction in accepted pulp microstickies. The addition of acrylic fibers also increased pulp freeness, tear index, burst strength, and breaking length, though there was a reduction in screen yield. Hence, in addition to controlling the adverse effects of stickies, the addition of acrylic fibers resulted in the improvement of the mechanical properties of paper compared with a control sample.
