Seeking the Perfect Toilet Paper

“With our model, manufacturers can better manipulate the different elements—the chemicals, the pulp, the creping blade angle, the paper speed and so on—to produce the exact product grade they want, from standard grade toilet paper to ultra-premium bathroom rolls,” said Green.

“Previous simulation models were static and didn’t consider the velocity and impact of the dryer,” said Kui Pan, the PhD student who led the mathematical analysis.

The search for the ideal tissue paper is a top concern for the paper industry. Pan’s supervisor, Srikanth Phani, believes their discovery can help paper firms in this quest.

“Canada is a strong player in the billion-dollar global market for tissue products including bathroom rolls, facial tissues, and hygiene products. This new research can contribute to the growth of that industry,” added Phani.

The UBC team worked with scientists from Canadian research organization FPInnovations. The project has received support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and, more recently, from Kruger Products, Canada’s leading tissue manufacturer, and creping chemicals manufacturer Solenis.

The research was presented at the 24th International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Montreal on August 21-26.