Influence of lignin content in cellulose pulp on paper durability

Paper degradation on a macroscopic scale is characterised primarily by yellowing, an increase in brittleness, and other destructive changes caused by the hydrolysis of glycoside bonds and oxidation reactions. Until now, lignin has been believed to cause these changes. However, contemporary analysis has not confirmed this assumption and has attributed low paper resistance to ageing with acidification owing to the production in acid environments that involve aluminium sulfate. In view of the common belief this manuscript presents studies on the accelerated ageing of papers with different lignin contents that are produced in neutral environments. To achieve the objective, artificially aged papers under conditions of increased humidity and temperature were investigated using chromatographic (SEC) and spectroscopic (FTIR and UV–Vis spectroscopy) techniques. Mechanical tests were used to determine the decrease in tensile properties of the samples. We observed no effects of the lignin content on the ageing rate of paper produced at neutral pH. This work also reveals the extent to which spectroscopic methods are useful for studying the papers containing lignin.