Karl Kroyer demonstrates his new invention - "Air laid paper".
Karl Kroyer 1964
Mrs. Borud worked all night and all next day on
a special wedding gown made of paper. It must be ready in time.
Her husband's employer Karl Kroyer had invited the Elsinore International Journalist Congress to witness the event of the year. The scene was set. Light dimmed. Mrs. Borud appears on top of the stairs bathed in light while she slowly, slowly strides her way down. She looks marvellous in the wedding gown - completely made of our new dry-formed non-woven air-laid paper. No one was allowed to get closer than five meters -and Oops, lights out and she disappeared.
Next the day the world knew the fantastic story
of paper textile. Letters were pouring in, but the price for touching
a paper sample and told how it is made was 25.000 USD.
An American company Grace negotiated better terms.
If they were disappointed they should be allowed to have research of
their own choice for the money. They got disappointed by what they saw
and asked for a total sucrose process in stead. This took "Inventions
on Demand" a big step forward.
Air-laid paper is a textile-like nonwoven fabric
made from fluff pulp. Unlike the normal papermaking, air-laid
paper does not use water. Fibres are carried and formed by air. The raw material
is long fibered softwood fluff pulp. The pulp are hammer milled freeing the fibres from
each other before entering the wire of the paper machine. Normally an air-laid
paper consists of about 85 % fibre. A binder have to be applied as
spray or foam, which preferably can be activated and cured
by heat. The process is based on the technology originally developed by Karl
Kroyer in Denmark. It was originally conceived as a way to make paper
without the use of water.It is now 40 years since Karl Kryer invented the air-laid technique - a method to produce paper by using air instead of water. This adds to the paper a variety of properties such as absorbent properties. The production is environmentally friendly. Since then the use of air-laid products produced with this technology has exploded. Here in Denmark we have made all the machines, but most products have so far been fabricated abroad. A new Danish company "Danish Air laid Technology A/S" will remedy this situation.
In more recent times, the earlier work by M&J Fibertech and DanWebforming, both also located in Denmark, has resulted in turn-key machine systems that allow the production of multilayer webs based on cellulose fluff pulp, synthetic fibres or mixtures.
The formed webs may be thermally bonded, latex emulsion bonded or both systems may be used. Napkins, diapers, tablecloth made by the air-laid technique is huge industry today.