• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2009

The use of fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) increases as the demand for the whiter and brighter printing papers increases. FWAs are used as internal and surface treatment chemicals. FWAs that are not used properly in the papermaking process, however, remain in the process water and may demage the paper quality and processes. In this study, a new idea to eliminate FWAs from the process water, consisted of the floc formation of FWAs with cationic chemicals, such as cationic polyelectrolytes and alum, and the removal of the floc by screening or sedimentation, was proposed. Flocculation of FWAs, that is the first step to remove FWAs from the process water, was investigated using turbidity and particle size measurement. Relationship between turbidity and particle size showed that the turbidity could reflect the particle size change of FWA flocs and was proper for the evaluation of flocculation phenomena. Poly-DADMAC was more efficient than PEI to induce the flocculation of FWAs. Alum was effective chemical for the flocculation and sedimentation of FWAs.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.117-121
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• 2006

Virgin bleached kraft pulp, CPO (computer printout) and white ledgers are main raw materials used in tissue mills. The utilization rate of recycled fibers and virgin pulp in South Korea tissue industry are 90% and 10%, respectively. To improve brightness of printing grades the use of 'fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs)' or 'optical brightening agents (OBAs)' has been increased. When recycling these papers for tissue production, it is unavoidable that FWAs contained in recycled papers flow into tissue production lines and remain in the products. And this draws great attention from the public. This study was carried out to develop a technology for the removal of fluorescent whitening agents from recycled fibers. Enzymatic removal of FWAs was evaluated as a method to remove FWAs from the recycled fiber. The ${\alpha}-amylase$ that degrades starched used for surface sizing of fine papers and contained substantial condition is needed to prevent the re-adsorption of FWAs on fibers. The temperature of pulp suspension was another important factor affecting on FWA removal. The higher the temperature, the greater the efficiency of removing FWAs was obtained. Optimum pH and temperature for the effective removal of FWAs were suggested to be pH 8.5 and $65^{\circ}C$, respectively. The enzymatic removal of FWAs showed a great synergistic effect when proper control in pH and temperature was made.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.3971-3976
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• 2012

A simple method was developed for the analysis of seven stilbene-type fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) in paper materials by ion-pair reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. These stilbene-type FWAs included two disulfonate, two tetrasulfonate, and three hexasulfonate compounds. After optimization of chromatographic conditions, the FWAs were satisfactorily separated using a reversed-phase column (RP-18) with the following isocratic mobile phase: methanol-water (60:40) containing 17.5 mM TBABr and 10 mM citrate buffer (pH = 7.0). The calibration plot was linear in the range from 5 to 500 ng/mL for two disulfo-FWAs and from 1 to 500 ng/mL for the other five FWAs. Precision levels of the calibration curve as indicated by RSD of response factors were 1.2 and 8.1%. Limits of quantitation (LOQ) ranged from 1.2 to 11 ng/mL.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.10-15
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• 2012

Fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) are used extensively in the paper industry to improve the optical properties. FWAs are neither photochemically nor thermally stable, and thereby the papers containing FWAs can be damaged by external heat. We observed that the CIE whiteness, ISO brightness and fluorescence index of the commercial papers decreased with the thermal treatment and thought that the thermal fastness of FWAs was the main factor affecting the thermal stability of the papers. Thus, the model papers treated with three types of FWAs were manufactured respectively and the thermal stability of FWAs was identified by determining ${\Delta}$ CIE whiteness and ${\Delta}$ fluorescence index.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.5-12
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• 2016

White waste papers are very important resources in the paper industry, but their use is limited because of the residual of fluorescent whitening agent (FWA). So the removal of FWAs from waste paper is an important task in the recycling process to improve the use of recycled resources. In this study, we focused on the FWAs used for surface treatments and carried out physical and chemical treatments to remove them from white waste papers. The white waste papers were disintegrated with a surfactant in different pH and temperature conditions, and then handsheets were made for the measurement of the fluorescence index, which is proportional to the amount of FWAs on papers. The effect of the flotation process on the removal of FWAs after disintegration was also investigated. The fluorescence index decreased as the disintegration time increased, but over a relatively long time, the fluorescence index increased again, which indicated the readsorption of the FWAs detached from the cellulosic fibers of the white waste papers. The lowest fluorescence index was shown when the waste papers were disintegrated with a 0.3% surfactant addition at pH 10 and at $45^{\circ}C$. However, the flotation treatment was not effective, because the flotation induced contact between the detached FWAs and the cellulosic fibers, and re-adsorption occurred.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2015

White ledger usually includes white office paper, computer paper, and copy machine paper. Because these grades need high optical properties, fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) are widely used in the papermaking process. FWAs are the most powerful and effective chemical used to obtain high CIE whiteness and ISO brightness in papers. The rising demand for white or ultra-white papers has increased the use of FWAs. However, FWAs used in white ledger can restrict its use, even though white ledger is widely used as a raw material in paperboard mills. Therefore, it is necessary to develop methods to control FWAs from white ledger to increase its use in paperboard mills. In this study, the behaviors of disulpho fluorescent whitening agent (D-FWA), tetrasulpo fluorescent whitening agent (T-FWA), and hexasulpho fluorescent whitening agent (H-FWA) during the recycling process were identified as a first step to remove FWAs from white ledger. We prepared four types of papers (dyed with D-FWA, T-FWA, and H-FWA), disintegrated these papers, and made handsheets. This recycling process was carried out three times in a laboratory. After each round of recycling, the hand-sheets' CIE whiteness and fluorescence index were measured, and the distribution of FWAs in the Z-direction was observed using CLSM images. FWA reductions in the model papers were calculated using fluorescence indices as a function of the number of recycling. FWAs in handsheets containing T-FWA and H-FWA decreased linearly as a function of the number of recycling, but D-FWA did not show a significant reduction in the fluorescence index after recycling. T-FWA and H-FWA showed similar distributions of D-FWA after recycling. Therefore, as much T-FWA and H-FWA as possible must be detached in the early processes of papermaking at paperboard mills.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.34-39
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• 2015

Fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) are widely applied in the papermaking process to improve the CIE whiteness and the ISO brightness of papers. Large amounts of FWAs are used in the paper and paperboard industry, but no standard method exists for quantitative FWA analysis. Therefore, a new method is needed to analyze the presence of FWAs in paper and paperboard to control their additions and applications. In particular, FWA analysis must concentrate on those used for surface treatment of paper because their use in surface applications has increased recently. The purposes of this study were to measure the optical properties of papers surface-treated with oxidized starch containing FWAs and to deduce the regression equations for the quantitative analysis of FWAs used for surface treatments. Surface sizing was carried out to treat the surface of a base paper with T-FWA and H-FWA, and the pickup weight of the surface sized paper was measured to determine the real weight of FWAs transferred onto the paper surface. After surface sizing and preconditioning, the paper was evaluated for CIE whiteness, ISO brightness, fluorescence index, and reflectance at 440 nm using an Elrepho spectrophotometer. The CIE whiteness and the ISO brightness increased linearly as FWA content increased. The fluorescence index and the reflectance showed linear relationships with T-FWA and H-FWA. Linear regression equations were determined for the quantitative analysis of FWAs used for surface treatments.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.5-13
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• 2016

This study investigated the effects of different factors on the migration of a fluorescent whitening agent (FWA) from paper treated with FWAs to non-fluorescent papers. FWA migration experiments were carried out in vertical and friction contacts between the papers dyed with FWAs and non-fluorescent papers. During the experiments, we identified the effects of the addition and types of FWAs, contact time, temperature, and relative humidity (RH) on FWA migration. The fluorescence indices of the non-fluorescent papers were measured before and after the migration experiments, and the Student's t test, a statistical tool, was utilized to compare results from different migration experiments. In vertical contact experiments, FWA migration to non-fluorescent paper was observed at $30^{\circ}C$ and 70% RH; this was attributed to the high moisture content of the paper. FWA migration did not occur significantly at $23^{\circ}C$ and 50% RH. In the friction contact experiments, FWA migrations were identified at both temperature conditions and RH percentages. The addition and types of FWAs did not increase the fluorescence index of non-fluorescent papers. Therefore, it was concluded that the moisture content of paper and the friction contact affected FWA migration from the papers containing internal and surface FWAs.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.259-266
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• 1998

There are three different types of gynecological applicator sets available in microSelectron-high dose-rate(HDR) System by Nucletron; standard applicator set(SAS), standard shielded applicator set(SSAS), and Fletcher-Williamson applicator set(FWAS). Shielding effect of a SAS without shielding material was compared with that of a SSAS with shielding material made of stainless steel(density ${\varrho}=8,000kg/m^3$) at the top and bottom of each ovoid, and of a FWAS with shielding material made of tungsten alloy(density ${\varrho}=14,000kg/m^3$ at the top and bottom of each ovoid. The shielding effects to the rectum and bladder of these two shielded applicator sets were to be measured at reference points with an ion chamber and specially designed supporting system for applicator ovoids inside of the computerized 3-dimensional water phantom. To determine the middle point of two ovoids the measurement was performed with the reference tip of ion chamber placed at the same level and at the middle point from the two ovoids, while scanning the dose with the ion chamber on each side of ovoids. The doses to the reference points of rectum were measured at 20(Rl), 25(R2), 30(R3), 40(R4), 50(R5), and 60(R6) mm located posteriorly on the vertical line drawn from M5(the middle dwell position of ovoid), and the doses to the bladder were measured at 20(Bl), 30(B2), 40(B3), 50(B4), and 60(B5) mm located anteriorly on the vertical line drawn from M5. The same technique was employed to measure the doses on each reference point of both SSAS and FWAS. The differences of measured rectal doses at 25 mm(R2) and 30 mm(R3) between SAS and SSAS were 8.0 % and 6.0 %: 25.0% and 23.0 % between SAS and FWAS. The differences of measured bladder doses at 20 mm(Bl) and 30 mm(B2) between SAS and SSAS were 8.0 % and 3.0 %: 23.0 % and 17.0 % between SAS and FWAS. The maximum shielding effects to the rectum and bladder of SSAS were 8.0 % and 8.0 %, whereas those of FWAS were 26.0 % and 23.0 %, respectively. These results led to the conclusion that FWAS has much better shielding effect than SSAS does, and when SSAS and FWAS were used for gynecological intracavitary brachytherapy in microSelectron-HDR system, the dose to the rectum and bladder was significantly reduced to optimize the treatment outcome and to lower the complication rates in the rectum and bladder.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.9-15
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• 2011

Fluorescent whitening agent (FWA) is a widely used chemical in paper industry, but a systematic and scientific method on FWA analysis has not been established. We performed the basic researches on the fluorescence analysis of FWA. The fluorescence of FWA was investigated using a spectrofluorometer and a spectrophotometer. When FWA solution was analyzed using the spectrofluorometer, we found that the peak wavelength of the fluorescence emission was about 440 nm and that of the fluorescence excitation was about 370 nm irrespective of FWA types. Papers dyed with an internal FWA were prepared in a laboratory and the reflectance and the fluorescence index were measured using the spectrophotometer. It was confirmed that the optimum peak wavelength of the reflectance was 440 nm and the fluorescence index calculated from the CIE whiteness with and without UV light under a light source D65 was the best indicator to measure the fluorescence of FWAs exiting in papers.