Tween 80 enhancing cellulasic activation of hardwood kraft-based dissolving pulp

Abstract

Cellulase treatment is a promising approach to activate dissolving pulp in terms of viscosity and reactivity. However, the enzyme cost is still too high, which hinders the scale up application. In this study, Tween 80 was introduced into the enzymatic system for improving the cellulase efficiency by improving the enzyme accessibility and its stability. Results show that the cellulose chain scission rate was more than 2 times higher with the addition of Tween 80 (0.1 g/L) in comparison to the control, which is mainly attributed to decreased surface tension (by 28.0% with the addition of 0.1 g/L Tween) and increased relative cellulase activity (by 9% at 48 h and 55°C). As a result, Tween 80 assisted cellulase activation gave a higher cellulasic efficiency in terms of viscosity decrease and Fock reactivity increase. Other pulp properties (alkali solubility, molecular weight distribution) and pulp yield were all favorable, supporting the conclusion that the Tween 80- assisted cellulase treatment process has a great potential to improve the cellulase treatment performance of dissolving pulp.