PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL - Talc-Free specialty chemistry concepts for deposit, pitch and stickies control in modern pulp, paper and tissue systems. BIM Kemi - Paper Technology International 2026 - Book - Page 68

PAPER TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL - Talc-Free specialty chemistry concepts for deposit, pitch and stickies control in modern pulp, paper and tissue systems. BIM Kemi

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Image 4: An example of pitch contamination
and the impact it has on the fabrics, which
leads to breaks and sheet defects such as
holes.
Image 3: BIMPics image where pitch has been visualised by
staining the sample with a dye that binds to pitch. This makes it
possible to distinguish internal pitch from external pitch.
A colour camera analysis can be used to identify pitch. With
this method, internal pitch within the 昀椀bre can be distinguished from
external pitch on the 昀椀bre surface. Internal pitch appears in the
images as a red bead-like chain inside the 昀椀bre, while external pitch
appears as round, individual red particles.
Pitch can be visualised within the pulp by staining the
sample with a dye that binds to pitch. This makes it possible to
distinguish internal pitch from external pitch. A computer program
counts the different particles and generates an Excel table from the
data.
•
This enables quantitative numerical data to be obtained
on pitch levels.
•
Results are available immediately on site, and the
method can also be used for longer monitoring
campaigns, allowing the development of pitch levels to
be followed more accurately. (Image 6)
Based on the analytical results, it can be evaluated whether
additional BIM chemical programs are required at this later stage of
the process to ensure good runnability and consistent end-product
quality. In integrated mills, this represents a natural continuation of
the optimization work conducted on the 昀椀bre line. However, in mills
using market pulp that may not have been optimally treated during
pulp production, BIM’s work often effectively begins at the paper or
board machine.
In practice, similar types of chemical solutions can further
improve runnability and product quality at the machine stage.
However, the emphasis shifts: the balance between dispersion,
passivation, and 昀椀xation is optimized speci昀椀cally for machine
conditions. The objective is to minimize deposit formation, control
build-up in critical areas, and ensure a stable and predictable
process.
Tissue production and converting – where deposits directly
affect the customer
Tissue production is particularly sensitive to deposit
problems. Sheet formation is light, machine speeds are high and
tolerance for defects is low. In tissue systems, deposit-related issues
do not remain con昀椀ned to the machine; they propagate directly into
converting.
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Uncontrolled extractives and stickies can
lead to increased wire and felt contamination,
more holes and breaks, additional downtime for
fabric washing and complaints from converting
due to dusting, web breaks, and appearance
defects. These issues affect not only production
ef昀椀ciency but also the perceived quality of the
昀椀nal consumer product.
BIM Kemi’s talc-free tissue concepts are designed to
address this full cause-and-effect chain. By controlling extractives
early and maintaining stability throughout the system, the risk of
downstream converting problems is signi昀椀cantly reduced, protecting
both machine ef昀椀ciency and customer satisfaction.
The 昀椀nal Tissue product is often a combination of multiple
pulp streams, each chosen for an added bene昀椀t such as Strength
or Softness. Alongside this mixture of Hardwood and Softwood,
Tissue mills also process their own internal broke, which consists
of waste converted product, sticky tape, labels and core board, this
leads to tacky adhesive residues. Often, Tissue mills do not have an
integrated pulp mill, this limits the control they have over how talc
replacements are implemented.
This is where BIM Kemi can help, with BIM Pics analytical
tools, mill mapping of pulp and water streams can be done quickly
and provide the necessary data and information needed to offer
the best application of robust chemical systems to maintain
runnability and quality of the 昀椀nal product by preventing secondary
agglomeration and contamination of fabrics with problematic
deposits.
What mills gain from a well-designed talc-free
concept
When talc-free deposit control is implemented as a
system-wide concept, mills can expect improvements across several
areas:
Fibre line and pulp quality
Early removal and stabilisation of extractives reduce dirt and
spot risk, minimise pitch-related interruptions and improve overall
pulp cleanliness. Reduced inorganic content can also have positive
effects on strength properties, brightness, and equipment wear when
the chemistry is correctly applied.
In addition, the removal of talc from the 昀椀bre line addresses
important health and sustainability considerations. Eliminating
talc reduces operator exposure to mineral dust and simpli昀椀es
compliance with increasingly stringent occupational health
expectations. From a sustainability perspective, replacing a mined
mineral with targeted speciality chemistry supports reduced reliance
on mineral raw materials, lower solid loading in the system and
improved overall material ef昀椀ciency.

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