A fast and non-destructive alternative to the burnout method for paperboard quality inspections using phase-contrast X-ray imaging, TAPPI Journal February 2023

Application: Phase-contrast X-ray imaging could be directly applied on paperboard to produce “burnout-like” images, skipping the burning procedure.

Author: R. Rezasson, T. Zhou, A. Burvall, J. Lindgren, C. Fröjdh, H. M. Hertz, B. Norlin

ABSTRACT: An X-ray based quality inspection method for paperboard was implemented and tested as a fast and non-destructive alternative to the burnout method. An argument against X-ray imaging for inspection of paper and paperboard has been that X-ray absorption is low in paper. To overcome this limitation, we used phase-contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI), which gives higher contrast than conventional attenuation-based imaging for low-absorbing materials such as paper. The suggested PCXI method was applied to previously prepared and quality rated samples using the burnout method. A strong similarity between the burnout images and the PCXI images was observed. In conclusion, further development of the phase-contrast X-ray method would provide an interesting option for replacing or complementing the standard burnout method.