Advanced Retention and Drainage Technology Offers Improved Performance and Operational Cost Savings

Papermaking has changed remarkably during the past 20 years, creating huge pressures on retention and drainage programs. During this time, technology has advanced from single PAM flocculants to inorganic microparticle-based programs and then to micropolymer-based programs. In today's evolving fine paper market, retention and drainage programs have to meet increased demands in many areas, such as increased speed, GAP formers, dilution headboxes, higher ash levels, reduced furnish quality, lower cost, and increased machine efficiency. Hercules recently introduced a new technology that offers performance and stability improvements and operational cost savings as compared to existing advanced technologies. $PerForm(R)$ SP Advanced Retention and Drainage Technology consists of a family of products based on a structured organic particulate that offers papermakers the ultimate flexibility for management of wet end chemistry. This paper compares $PerForm(R)$ SP Advanced Retention and Drainage Technology to inorganic microparticle and micropolymer technologies and provides multiple case histories on machines that demonstrate the benefits of the technology. In these case histories, the PerForm SP is shown to provide improved retention and drainage that results in improved performance and operational cost savings to the mill.