Papermaking chemicals division
Product development to satisfy our customers' diverse needs
In our papermaking chemicals division, we typically work with chemicals such as sizing agents to control the water absorbency of paper, strengthening agents to add strength to paper, and surface coating agents to improve printing properties. Our R&D staff developing these products periodically visits our customers' paper mills with our sales staff to solve various problems there. We are developing chemicals that meet the demands of our customers, and we are proposing optimal methods for using these chemicals to tackle various issues and trends such as shifting to neutral pH and reducing the retention of papermaking systems caused by the increased reuse of waste paper and the increasing ash content caused by heavy use of fillers.
Development and proposal of a total wet end system
As the importance of considering global environmental issues continues to grow, Japanese businesses are all under pressure to streamline their operations and reduce costs so as to improve their profits. The pH value in paperboard manufacturing is getting higher due to the increased use of calcium carbonate resulting from the higher content of old corrugated containers and magazine papers. On the other hand, as the papermaking process has shifted to neutral pH operating conditions, we've seen negative influences on internal additives and retention in papermaking due to higher amounts of filler (calcium carbonate), higher speeds of paper machines, and higher content of recycled paper. To address these issues, we are proposing a total wet-end system that increases the efficacy of chemical additives while reducing the amount of aluminum sulfate. We are proposing this system not only in response to environmental concerns but also to satisfy to our customers' needs to improve quality and productivity.
Higher-performance paper through surface coating chemicals
Surface coating agents are applied to paper by equipment such as sizing presses. These coating agents have a retention close to 100%, and they make it possible to cut down internal additives, thereby reducing the incidence of problems in the papermaking system that are caused by internal additives. These coating agents should thus make it easier to adapt to changes in papermaking conditions and to reduce the total usage of chemicals. Accordingly, there is growing demand for surface treatment products such as surface sizing agents and surface strengthening agents.
As more recycled paper is used and the pH value in papermaking processes shift to neutral, our papermaking chemicals division has been developing surface coating agents that make it possible to adapt the functionality of paper products to meet the required performance, even in papermaking systems with a high content of calcium carbonate or DIP (deinked pulp). We are working to satisfy various demands of our customers for increased utilization of recycled pulp, reduction of effluent load, improved productivity, and reduced costs by supplying surface coating agents.
Main products
Internal sizing agents
Although the surface of pulp fibers is naturally hydrophilic due to the presence of hydroxyl groups in cellulose, the application of sizing agents makes it possible to control the water-absorption characteristics and improve the writing quality and printing properties of papers. Our papermaking chemicals division produces rosin-based sizing agents that satisfy the demands for stable operation and suppression of foaming or deposits in papermaking systems. These are marketed as HARSIZE, dispersed rosin sizes for acidic or weakly acidic papermaking, and NEUSIZE, dispersed rosin sizes for neutral papermaking systems. We also offer cationic synthetic sizing agents for use in neutral and alkaline papermaking conditions.
Paper Strengthen agents
Among paper and paperboard products, cardboard used for packaging needs sufficient strength, just as paper must be able to withstand the stresses of high-speed printing. Efforts have recently been made to increase the amount of recycled pulp in order to protect the environment, but as the ratio of recycled pulp increases, the strength of paper and paperboard decreases. The total consumption of waste paper for paper and paperboard manufacturing reached 18.79 million tons in 2006, and the utilization rate of waste paper for paper and paperboard reached 38.1% and 92.7%, respectively. Paper strengthening agents can give the required dry strength to paper and paperboard even when they are made with a large amount of recycled pulp. Our papermaking chemicals division develops and supplies amphoteric polymer products, HARMIDE series, which are suitable for papermaking systems covering a wide range of pH levels.
Surface coating agents
Surface coating agents are chemicals that can be applied to paper to provide various properties such as sizing characteristics, surface strength, compatibility with inkjet printers or offset printers, and non-slip capabilities. To meet the needs of a diverse range of customers, we have developed HARSIZE series as surface sizing agents and HARICOAT series as chemicals, which includes agents for improving the suitability of paper for printing, increasing the transparency of paper, and improving water-repellency and anti-slip properties.
Focusing on overseas markets to support global development
Plasmine Technology, Inc.
Plasmine Technology was established in Florida in 1990 for the purpose of manufacturing and selling papermaking chemicals in North America. Plasmine Technology manufactures and sells a wide range of papermaking chemicals including Rosin sizing agents, AKD sizing agents, Surface treatment agents, and Strengthen agents.
http://www.plasmine.com/
Hangzhou Hanghua-Harima Paper Chemicals Co., Ltd.
Hangzhou Hanghua-Harima Paper Chemicals Co., Ltd. was established in 1997 in Hangzhou for the purpose of manufacturing and selling papermaking chemicals in China, a nation undergoing rapid economic growth.
Hangzhou Hanghua-Harima Paper Chemicals manufactures and sells a wide range of papermaking chemicals, including dispersed rosin sizes, surface sizing agents and strengthening agents. In recent years, we have adapted to the rapid increase in the production of paperboard by increasing the output of dry paper Strengthen agents. We have also implemented a product development and follow-up system that uses locally based workers to help us better understanding the circumstances of our customers, in the same way we operate in Japan.