Abstract
AbstractPolylactic acid fibrils (PLAf) were employed as a fiber component in papermaking. The addition of 5 wt % of PLAf to bleached kraft birch pulp increased the tensile index of the resulting 100 g/m2paper sheets by 20 % in comparison to sheets produced without PLAf. By heat-treating the paper sheets containing 5 wt % PLAf, a 35 % higher tensile index in comparison to sheets produced without PLAf was achieved. SEM imaging showed that the heat-treatment caused the PLAf to melt, which formed a film on the fiber web. The PLAf was ultrasonicated in an attempt to make its surface more hydrophilic and anionic and thus more compatible with cellulose. Chemical additives (cationic polyacrylamide, polyethylene imine and polyethylene glycol) were added to the PLAf/cellulose pulp mixture in order to increase the binding between the ultrasonicated PLAf and cellulose. Ultrasonication caused the PLAf length to decrease and the PLAf surface charge changed by 36 %, indicating that the PLAf became significantly more anionic. Neither ultrasonication of PLAf nor the chemical additives improved the paper sheets’ stretchability. Polyethyleneimine as an additive in an amount of 1 % increased the tensile index of heat-treated sheets made with 5 wt % of PLAf by 19 %.
Highlights
Cellulose and polylactic acid (PLA) are bio-based and biodegradable polymers (Shen et al 2014)
PLA is used for the matrix and cellulosic fibers are used for reinforcement (Iwatake et al 2008, Nakagaito et al 2009)
Fines are fibrils and particles smaller than 0.2 mm in length. These fiber analysis results show that the ultrasonication affected the physical structure of the Polylactic acid fibrils (PLAf)
Summary
Cellulose and polylactic acid (PLA) are bio-based and biodegradable polymers (Shen et al 2014). It is possible to manufacture PLA from extracts produced in a lignocellulosic biorefinery (Shen et al 2014). PLA has been widely studied in the context of lignocellulosic materials, and it has many potential applications in this area. In paper-based packaging applications, PLA can be used to coat paper to polyethylene (Shen et al 2014). Because PLA is a biodegradable and bio-based plastic whose production can potentially be integrated with cellulose pulping, it is an interesting material to study in the context of papermaking
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