Process for making wet-laid structures containing individualized stiffened fibers

A process for continuously making a densified-form fibrous sheet comprising crosslinked cellulosic fibers which characteristically flocculate in an aqueous slurry and which has a high propensity for flocculating when an aqueous slurry of said fibers is deposited on a forming wire in a papermaking-type apparatus, said process comprising the steps of:

• a. providing an aqueous fibrous slurry comprising from about 70% to about 95%, by weight, of said crosslinked fibers, said fibers having been air dried and crosslinked while individualized and unrestrained with a crosslinking agent selected from the group consisting of C.sub.2 -C.sub.8 dialdehydes, C.sub.2 -C.sub.8 dialdehyde acid analogues having at least one aldehyde group, and oligomers of said dialdehydes and dialdehyde acid analogues, said fibers having been contacted with a sufficient amount of said crosslinking agent that between about 0.5 mole % and about 3.5 mole % of crosslinking agent, calculated on a cellulose anhydroglucose molar basis, have been reacted with said fibers to form intrafiber crosslink bonds, and so that said fibers have a water retention value of from about 25 to about 60, from about 30% to about 5%, by weight, of highly refined, uncrosslinked cellulosic fibers having a freeness level not greater than 300 ml CSF and water;
• b. depositing said slurry on a traveling foraminous forming wire in a papermaking-type apparatus whereupon the free water in said slurry drains through said traveling foraminous forming wire;
• c. downwardly directing a plurality of showers of water directly onto the slurry as draining progresses, said showers being oriented in the cross machine direction and being spaced from each other in the machine direction, said showers also being of progressively lesser flow rates and velocities but having sufficient flow rates and velocities to substantially disperse flocculations of said fibers and inhibit further formation of flocculations of said fibers to provide fibers in substantially unflocculated form;
• and then
• d. setting said fibers in a densified sheeted form while said fibers are substantially unflocculated by pressing them against said formation wire with a screen covered cylindrical roll.