Impact of fiber initial water content on the water retention capacity of poplar APMP fibers during the thermal drying

摘要

The study investigated the impact of fiber initial water content (FIWC) on the poplar APMP fibers' water retention capacity. In this work, FIWC refers to the water content of samples before drying, obtained by the different centrifugation forces at the given conditions. The results showed that the water retention value of pulps increased with the decrease in FIWC when it was below 60%, with or without thermal drying. An analysis of the fibers showed a slight decrease in the average pore size took place with the decrease in FIWC for the never-dried pulps. Based on these findings, a mechanism of the impact of FIWC on the poplar APMP water retention capacity was proposed. The present work will be helpful for a better understanding of the thermal drying-induced hornification.