Utilisation of pulverised coal fly-ash as filler and rice straw as fibrous raw material for manufacturing of special grade paper

This innovative research study is based on utilisation of two solid waste materials, pulverised coal fly-ash and rice straw for manufacturing of laminate base paper. Fly-ash can prove to be a very good filler for laminate grade coloured base papers and other specialty papers where very high opacity is sought but whiteness is not important. The paper samples with 22% filler have opacity of 99.6% ISO, burst strength of 1.4 KPa.m2/g, and tear strength of 3.82 mN.m2/g. The cost of production of paper will decrease significantly. The study provide economical and environment friendly use of solid wastes.

Keywords: rice straw, silica, fly-ash, specialty paper, opacity