Influence of Cationic Polyacrylamide Molecular Weight on the Retention of Mixed Talc and GCC Fillers of Different Particle Sizes

Key Points

• This research investigates how the molecular weight of cationic polyacrylamide affects the retention of mixed talc and GCC fillers with different particle sizes during paper formation.
• Utilized a wet-end process simulator (WEPS) for industrial sheet formation under vacuum dewatering and vibration conditions.
• Assessed the relationship between cationic polyacrylamide molecular weight (6-8 million) and filler particle size in paper quality analysis.
• Larger particle size talc resulted in higher agglomeration and poorer quality compared to smaller particle size GCC.
• Increasing cationic polyacrylamide molecular weight from 6 million to 8 million worsened paper quality due to restricted polymer adsorption.
• In a 50:50 mixture, higher ratios of 8 million molecular weight C-PAM increased talc retention, while higher ratios of 6 million increased GCC retention.