A Statistical Model to Assess the Softness of Hygiene Tissue Paper Containing Alternative Fibers

Industrial standard tissue measurement techniques present challenges to correctly assess the softness of hygiene tissue products when containing alternative fibers such as wheat straw, switchgrass, miscanthus, bamboo, or sorghum fibers. To bridge this gap, the Sustainable and Alternative Fiber Initiative (SAFI) developed a statistical model that predicts the handfeel softness score for tissue products containing non-wood fibers. This model considers data from both the Fiber Quality Analyzer (e.g., fiber length) and the TSA (Tissue softness analyzer) parameters (e.g., TS7) to provide up to 98% correlation with handfeel values obtained from panel tests. The statistical model will enable the pulp & paper industry to assess softness adequately for hygiene tissue products containing alternative fibers.