Ageing of Mineral Oil Impregnated Cellulose by Acid Catalysis

Acid catalyzed ageing of oil impregnated kraft paper has been studied experimentally. Five different carboxylic acids (formic, acetic, laevulinic, stearic and naphtenic acid) have been added to mineral oil to arrive at a neutralization value of 0.4 mg KOH/g. Thereafter, kraft paper of two different humidities has been allowed to equilibrate with the oil. The results show that the lower the molecular weight of the carboxylic acids is the more is absorbed by the paper. Furthermore, a clear synergy for the paper ageing rates between moisture and the lower molecular weight acids is found, while for the higher molecular weight acids almost no effects were found. It is concluded that present techniques for measuring acidity of oils do not reflect these detailed conditions. It is suggested to introduce a new measuring technique for neutralization value where water rinsing is used to identify the content of low molecular weight, water soluble acids.