Softening agent pre-treated fibers

Abstract

A paper product includes fibers, such as cellulosic fibers, that are pre-treated with a softening agent. The softening agent is added to a fiber slurry and then is allowed to cure onto the fibers, typically by drying. The pre-treated fibers are then diluted, re-slurried, and incorporated into the fiber stream of a paper machine to form a fibrous web. The fibrous web can then be converted into a paper product, such as a personal care paper product, which exhibits improved softness with minimized slough.

1 . A paper product comprising at least one fibrous web which comprises pre-treated cellulosic fibers, wherein said pre-treated cellulosic fibers have been cured with a softening agent prior to incorporation into said paper product.  
   
   
       2 . The paper product of  claim 1  comprising about 10% to about 50% of said pre-treated cellulosic fibers.  
   
   
       3 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said at least one fibrous web comprises pre-treated cellulosic fibers having a Water Retention Value below 0.9 g/g.  
   
   
       4 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said at least one fibrous web has a tensile strength that is reduced by at least 50% compared to the same fibrous web comprising untreated cellulosic fibers.  
   
   
       5 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said softening agent is selected from the group consisting of wet strength resins, sizing agents, latex emulsions, cross-linking agents, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       6 . The paper product of  claim 5  wherein said wet strength resin is selected from the group consisting of glyoxylated polyacrylamide, dialdehyde starch, aldehyde containing, polyamide-polyamine-epichlorohydrin, polyethylenimine resins, aminoplast, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       7 . The paper product of  claim 5  wherein said sizing agent is selected from the group consisting of alkenyl succinic anhydride, alkyl ketene dimer, amylopectin starch, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       8 . The paper product of  claim 5  wherein said latex emulsion is a complex formed from a hydrophobic polymer anionic styrene butadiene latex emulsion at a solids content of about 50% by weight and a quaternary amine imidazoline softener at a solids content of about 80% by weight.  
   
   
       9 . The paper product of  claim 5  wherein said cross-linking agent is chosen from the group consisting of styrene-butadiene copolymers, polyvinyl acetate copolymers, vinyl-acetate acrylic copolymers, ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymers, acrylic polymers, nitrile polymers, dispersed polyolefins, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       10 . The paper product of  claim 1  further comprising a debonding agent.  
   
   
       11 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said pre-treated cellulosic fibers are not distributed uniformly throughout said soft paper product.  
   
   
       12 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said pre-treated cellulosic fibers are distributed discretely within said soft paper product.  
   
   
       13 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said pre-treated cellulosic fibers have a curl index less than 0.2.  
   
   
       14 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said pre-treated cellulosic fibers comprise substantially hardwood fibers.  
   
   
       15 . The paper product of  claim 14  wherein said hardwood fibers comprise Eucalyptus fibers.  
   
   
       16 . The paper product of  claim 1  wherein said at least one fibrous web is a multi-layered fibrous web having two outer layers, wherein at least one of said two outer layers comprises said pre-treated cellulosic fibers.  
   
   
       17 . A method for making a paper product comprising: 
 providing a fiber slurry comprising water and cellulosic fibers;    adding a softening agent to said cellulosic fibers;    allowing said softening agent to cure with said cellulosic fibers to form pre-treated fibers;    diluting said pre-treated fibers with water;    re-slurrying said pre-treated fibers and water to form a pre-treated fiber slurry;    incorporating said pre-treated fiber slurry into a fiber stream of a papermaking machine;    forming a fibrous web comprising said pre-treated fibers on said papermaking machine; and    converting said fibrous web into a paper product.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising adding a debonding agent to said fiber stream.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17  wherein said paper product comprises about 10% to about 50% of said pre-treated cellulosic fibers.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17  wherein said fibrous web further comprises synthetic fibers.