Method for processing wood fibers

A method for processing wood fibers comprising:

• providing a refiner comprising a first refining member including first refiner bars and a second refining member including second refiner bars, the first refining member being spaced from the second refining member to define a refining space therebetween, the first and second refiner bars being separated by first and second refiner grooves, each of the first and second refiner grooves having a floor surface;
• rotating at least one of the first refining member or the second refining member such that the first and second refining members move relative to one another;
• and
• supplying a slurry of wood pulp comprising wood fibers to the refiner such that the wood pulp slurry passes through the refining space, wherein the at least one member is rotated at a power level sufficient to create a refining intensity within the refining space of at least about 3 Newtons so as to cause a significant number of long wood fibers in the wood pulp slurry to have their lengths reduced;
• wherein a frequency at which the first refiner bars cross the second refiner bars is from about 1500 Hz to about 3500 Hz.

A method for processing wood fibers comprising:

• providing a refiner comprising a first refining member including first refiner bars and a second refining member including second refiner bars, the first refining member being spaced from the second refining member to define a refining space therebetween, the first and second refiner bars being separated by first and second refiner grooves, each of the first and second refiner grooves having a width;
• rotating at least one of the first refining member or the second refining member such that the first and second refining members move relative to one another;
• and
• supplying a slurry of wood pulp comprising wood fibers to the refiner such that the wood pulp slurry passes through the refining space, wherein the at least one refining member is rotated at a power level sufficient to create a refining intensity within the refining space of at least about 3 Newtons so as to cause a significant number of long wood fibers in the wood pulp slurry to have their lengths reduced;
• a ratio of the width for at least a majority of the refiner grooves of the first and second refining members to a length-weighted mean fiber length of the softwood fibers before entering the refining space is at least 2.