The effect of humidity and temperature on paper properties

Abstract: The study was performed at Billerudkorsnäs at the section Box Lab which offers knowledge and solutions for packaging. Paper that can be used to create packaging interacts with the surrounding environment, but has only been tested for a few climates. This thesis aims to investigate more climates and see how paper is affected by humidity and temperature and try to determine the cause of the results. The methods used to measure this was primary tensile test and moisture content analysis but also a test to evaluate creep was performed in climates with high humidity. From this, the mechanical properties of the paper were calculated. The test was performed in a climate chamber and the choice of methods was limited by what could be performed in the climate chamber. The materials tested were chosen to give a good representation of what is commonly used in the containerboard business. The climates for testing were selected from the ability of the climate chamber as well as interesting climates for the company. The results show that the papers are weakest at high RH, but the results indicate that the temperature solely impacts the properties of the paper. The highest moisture content does not necessarily mean the lowest value for a chosen property. The causes for the results are not clear since the patterns found are not bound to a certain quality but rather to paper in general. Therefore, more research on the area is suggested to try to determine what causes the material to react to temperature.