Abstract:
In the production of parchment paper, unhairing is indispensable. The traditional unhairing with sulfides causes severe pollution. Herein, enzymatic dehairing was used in the production of parchment paper. The research result showed that the unhairing with
WB600-KerT enzyme was safe and caused excellent fiber dispersion. The tensile strength and tear strength of enzyme-dehairing parchment were higher than that of sodium sulfide dehairing parchment, and significantly higher than that of cardboard, coated paper and other paper types. Afterwards, enzymatic unhairing parchment exhibited remarkable resistance to light aging. The color change value of enzyme-dehairing parchment paper was significantly lower than that of sulfide-dehairing parchment, cardboard and coated paper. This can be attributed to the fact that, during the UV light continuous radiation, amide bond of enzyme-dehairing parchment paper undergoes a large number of breaks, so that it has a better aging resistance. Additionally, the higher fiber dispersion of the enzymatic unhairing parchment has positive influence on permeability of ink molecules. This results in better paper flatness, smoother writing experience, and improved handwriting clarity compared to sulfide-unhairing parchment.