Abstract
In this article an attempt to fibrillate aspen bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp (BCTMP) fibre in an environmentally friendly way is reported. The effects of various NaOH, KOH, urea and ethanol aqueous solutions at lowered temperature were tested for pre-treatment. The pre-treatment was followed by vibration milling aiming to peel off outer cell wall layers and to fibrillate S2 layer of the aspen wood fibre. The effects of the treatments were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that it is possible to fibrillate BCTMP aspen fibres by using alkaline aqueous solutions at low temperatures followed by a mechanical treatment. A strong dependence on fibrillation of cellulose on temperature, time and alkali concentration was established. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.22.3.7412
Highlights
Photosynthetic organisms such as plants, algae, and some bacteria produce more than 180 billion tonnes of organic matter each year due to the photosynthesis; cellulose makes up half of this biomass [1]
The effectiveness of chemical pre-treatment followed by vibration milling was evaluated by the changes in fibre’s morphology and fibrillation using scanning electron microscopy
Even changes after certain treatments are caused by chemical interaction on molecular structure of aspen bleached chemi-thermo mechanical pulp (BCTMP) fibres’ chemical constituents, it is possible to visualise the result of these changes by looking closely at the fibres’ morphology, delamination, opening of internal layers, external and internal fibrillation
Summary
Photosynthetic organisms such as plants, algae, and some bacteria produce more than 180 billion tonnes of organic matter each year due to the photosynthesis; cellulose makes up half of this biomass [1]. It consists of microfibrils that are bundles of elementary crystallites bridged by amorphous phases. Two D-glucopyranose units form a cellubiose unit that is the repeating unit in the cellulose chain. The polymer chains are bond together in twisted rope-like structures by intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The most abundant cellulose form is native cellulose known as cellulose I which has two distinct crystalline forms, cellulose Iα and cellulose Iβ. Cellulose I can be transferred irreversibly to stabile crystalline form of cellulose II by regeneration and mercerization process by using NaOH [1]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
