Bamboo Pulp Research Articles

Alkaline Sulfite Anthraquinone and Methanol Pulping of Bamboo (Gigantochloa scortechinii)

Alkali ratios and cooking time of the alkaline sulfite anthraquinone (AQ) and methanol (ASAM) pulping process of bamboo (Gigantochloa scortechinii) were studied. Bamboo chips were cooked at three different levels of sodium hydroxide and cooking time, namely 14, 16, or 18% for 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Pulping parameters that remained constant were the use of 0.5% ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), with an 80/20 ratio Na2SO3/NaOH, 0.1% anthraquinone, 15% methanol, and a temperature of 170 °C in the cooking process. Samples prepared using 14% NaOH and 90 min of cooking time resulted in the highest pulp yield, 52.4%, and a Kappa number of 18.1. It seems that 16% sodium hydroxide and 90 min of cooking time are the most appropriate cooking conditions, giving a 49.1% pulp yield and 14.2 Kappa number. The quality of bamboo pulp produced by the ASAM pulping process was found to be beneficial for the use in paper and board manufacturing.

Silica Removal using Aluminium Sulphate and Sodium Aluminate during the Bamboo Cooking Process

The desilication effects of aluminium sulphate and sodium aluminate on kraft bamboo pulp during the cooking process were investigated in this study. Furthermore, the residual aluminium ion concentration in the resulting black liquor was measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) to evaluate the scaling properties of black liquor during the evaporation process. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis showed that aluminium salts could react with silica to form a silica-alumina compound, which can adhere to the fibre surface during the cooking process. As a result, the silicon content in the black liquor could be effectively decreased by the addition of aluminium sulphate and sodium aluminate. A silica removal ratio of 74% could be achieved when the loadings of aluminium sulphate and sodium aluminate were 2.0 wt.% and 1.5 wt.%, respectively. Finally, the concentration of aluminium ions was 7.31 ppm under optimised conditions. Based on these considerations, any amounts of aluminum ion passing into the black liquor are unlikely to contribute to scaling problems.

Fabrication of cellulose nanocrystal supported stable Fe(0) nanoparticles: a sustainable catalyst for dye reduction, organic conversion and chemo-magnetic propulsion

This article reports a single-step “green protocol” for the environmentally friendly synthesis of zerovalent iron (ZVI) nanoparticles supported on cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) fabricated from bamboo pulp. The high content of available hydroxyl groups on the CNC surfaces is utilized as an anchor point for the simultaneous reduction and stabilization of the CNC-supported ZVIs. In this approach, Na-CNCs act as corrosion inhibitors and enhance the catalytic activity of ZVI as it retains a zero state even after 5 days of exposure to air. Furthermore, CNC-supported ZVIs are found with narrow size distribution along with improved dispersion stability in water. The CNC-supported ZVIs successfully degraded the methylene blue, making it a potentially active and nontoxic biocatalyst for wastewater remediation. Moreover, it was also found to be active toward the hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol into 4-aminophenol. Furthermore, we observed the autonomous motion of CNC-supported ZVIs in the presence of peroxide fuel whose trajectories were found to be externally controlled under both magnetic fields and pH gradients. Interestingly, we can remotely tune the speed and controlled trajectory of CNC-supported ZVIs, making these motors a potential candidate for the next-generation nanomachines for sensors, imaging and drug delivery applications.

Enzyme and Alkali-Aided ECF Bleaching of Kraft Bamboo Pulp

Unbleached kraft bamboo pulp was pretreated by a xylanase and laccase (X/L) treatment, as well as a joint treatment of X/L and alkali, prior to element chlorine free (ECF) bleaching. In comparison with the control test, the joint treatment of X/L and alkali (X/L+0.1%) had more potential to reduce absorbable organic halide (AOX) levels (29.79%) and COD content (21.55%), in addition to improving bleached pulp properties (56.88% decrease in kappa number and 8.94 %ISO increased in brightness). Moreover, the treatment of X/L+0.1% removed more lignin and HexA than X/L treatment. The analysis of XPS indicated that the X/L treatment could noticeably remove the surface lignin of pulp, but the joint treatments of X/L and alkali could promote the production of superficial lignin. FTIR results showed that pretreatments only reduced part of the lignin and carbohydrate contents, but did not change their structures. The joint pretreatment of enzymes and diluted alkali (X/L+0.1%) had more appealing advantages to produce bleached kraft bamboo pulp.

Preparation of Cellulose Nanofibrils from Bamboo Pulp by Mechanical Defibrillation for Their Applications in Biodegradable Composites.

There is a growing interest in cellulose nanofibrils from renewable sources for various industrial applications. However, there is a lack of information on cellulose arising from bamboo pulps. Nanofibrils from refined bamboo pulps, including bleached, unbleached, and unrefined/unbleached, were obtained by mechanical defibrillation for use in biodegradable composites. The influence of industrial processes, such as pulping and refining of unbleached pulps, as well as of alkali pretreatments and bleaching of refined pulps, on the chemical composition of the samples was analyzed. Morphological, structural, thermal, optical and viscometric properties were investigated as a function of the number of passages of refined/bleached suspensions through a defibrillator. For the unbleached suspensions, the effects of refining and bleaching on the properties of nanofibrils were evaluated, fixing the number of passages through the defibrillator. Microscopic studies demonstrated that nanoscale cellulose fibers were obtained from both pulps, with a higher yield for the refined/bleached and refined/unbleached pulp, at the expense of the unbleached/unrefined pulps. The study showed that, in addition to the effectiveness of the pre-treatments, there was an increase in the production efficiency of nanofibrils, as well as in the transparency of the bleached suspensions, while viscosity, thermal stability and crystallinity had reduced levels as the number of passages through the defibrillator increased, showing a gradual improvement in the transition from the micro- to the nano-scale. The present study contributed to the different methods that are available for the production of bamboo cellulose nanofibrils, which can be used in the production of biodegradable composites for various applications.

Polyacrylamide grafted cellulose as an eco-friendly flocculant: Key factors optimization of flocculation to surfactant effluent

The discharge of effluents from surfactant manufacturers is giving rise to increasingly serious environmental problems. In order to develop the eco-friendly flocculation materials to achieve effective removal of pollutants from the surfactant effluents, the bamboo pulp cellulose from Phyllostachys heterocycla is employed as the skeleton material to synthesize an eco-friendly bamboo pulp cellulose-g-polyacrylamide (BPC-g-PAM) for flocculation. The BPC-g-PAM is used with the metal ions as the coagulant to treat the effluent from a surfactant manufacturer. The response surface methodology coupled with Box–behnken design is employed to optimize the key factors of coagulation–flocculation. The results show that the combination of Fe3+ with BPC-g-PAM achieves the best coagulation–flocculation performance like, the fast treatment time, minimum coagulant and BPC-g-PAM dosages compared with the other two combinations of Al3+ with BPC-g-PAM and Ca2+ with BPC-g-PAM. Therefore, the combination of Fe3+ with BPC-g-PAM is expected to promote its application for the pollution control in the surfactant manufacturers.

Effects of Alkaline Hydrogen Peroxide Pre-Extraction on Bamboo Lignin Chemistry and Other Bamboo Chemical Components

This paper aimed to investigate the reasons for improved properties of bamboo alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp (APMP), such as relatively high brightness and low post-colour number, by alkali hydrogen peroxide pre-extraction (AHPP) treatment. It was found that AHPP could affect the dissolution of 1% sodium hydroxide extractives, benzene-ethanol extractives, and acid-soluble lignin. The results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C-NMR) illustrated that carboxyl, syringyl, guaiacyl, acetyl, and methoxyl groups of the milled wood lignin (MWL) in bamboo were degraded slightly after AHPP treatment. However, some lignin-like structures, the links of α-O-4, β-O-4, and some carbohydrates such as xylan, α-glucose, β-glucose, α-mannose, and β-mannose in lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCCs) were degraded noticeably. The analysis of UV spectrophotometry indicated that AHPP treatment was conductive to the degradation of some chromophores in MWL. The degradation of MWL and LCC under simulated AHPP conditions showed consistency with the above results.

Combined effects of raw materials and solvent systems on the preparation and properties of regenerated cellulose fibers

To investigate the combined effects of materials and solvents on the preparation, structural and mechanical properties of regenerated cellulose fibers, four cellulosic materials (microcrystalline cellulose, cotton linter pulp, bamboo pulp and bleached softwood sulfite dissolving pulp) and six non-derivative solvents (NaOH/urea aqueous solution, N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride, N-methyl-morpholine-N-oxide, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) were used to prepare fibers with wet spinning method. The results showed that the dissolvability of solvent was the determining factor in cellulose dissolution, and the dissolving time was influenced by the raw materials’ properties, such as molecular weight, exposed area and hemicellulose content. The crystallinity and elongation at break of the fibers were almost fixed and not affected by the materials and solvents. However, the tensile strength of the fibers was directly proportional to the molecular weight of the raw materials, and varied with the type of solvents through cellulose degradation.

Metal Chlorides as Effective Catalysts for the One-Pot Conversion of Lignocellulose into 5- Chloromethylfurfural (5-CMF)

5-chloromethylfurfural (5-CMF) was produced from carbohydrates and lignocelluloses under the catalysis of Lewis acids. The millimole scale-up synthesis of 5-CMF from carbohydrates was successfully performed using metal chlorides or mixed metal chlorides as a catalyst in a heterogeneous system. The process involved the heating of the feedstock in a biphasic hydrochloric acid/organic solvent reactor over several hours. The process was later applied to raw biomass, which gave 5-CMF yields comparable to that of carbohydrates, based on the hexose content. It was found that mixed catalysts consisting of CrCl3 and ZnCl2 played an effective role in the transformation. The 5-CMF can be directly obtained in nearly 80% yield from the fructose under the mixed catalysts heterogeneous system. Bamboo pulp, eucalyptus pulp, and bagasse pulp were also directly converted into 5-CMF under this system at the yield of 32.7%, 36.2%, and 50.1%, respectively.

A comparison study on the preparation of nanocellulose fibrils from fibers and parenchymal cells in bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens)

Mainly composed of fibers and parenchymal cells with strikingly different chemical compositions and cell wall structures, bamboo represents an important alternative resource for bio-refinery. Therefore, this study proposes a potentially novel, low-energy consumption approach for producing high-quality nanocellulose fibrils (NCFs) made from bamboo at large scale. For this purpose, bamboo pulping sheets (mainly composed of fibers) and bamboo processing residues (mainly composed of parenchymal cells) were chosen as starting materials from which NCFs were isolated with a simple high-pressure homogenization process. Wet chemical analysis, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and microtensile tests were applied to investigate the effects different cell types had on the properties of prepared NCFs, as well as the amount of energy required to produce them. The results show that the energy required for isolating NCFs from parenchymal cells was significantly lower than that from bamboo fibers, while the quality of NCFs produced from the two types of cells were similar. In addition to the relative ease of the procedure and the low-energy required, as bamboo processing residues produced in a number of industrial bamboo applications normally contain a high ratio of parenchymal cells and can be obtained at relatively low costs, this represents a very promising source of raw material for the production of NCFs.

POLPA CELULÓSICA DE BAMBU PRODUZIDA PELO PROCESSO ETANOL/ÁGUA PARA APLICAÇÕES DE REFORÇO

http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509817470Organosolv pulping is the clean chemical process of using organic solvents to aid in the removal of lignin and hemicellulose from lignocellulosic raw materials. This method provides facility for solvent recovery at the end of the process. In this work, it was to produce bamboo cellulosic pulp by the organosolv process evaluating different temperatures and reaction times, and the pulps were analyzed aiming their future application in the reinforcement of composites. The production of bamboo pulp by the organosolv process was studied varying the cooking conditions at 1, 2 and 3 h and 150, 170 and 190oC of temperature, in order to achieve the ideal conditions of yield, chemical and morphological characteristics of the pulp for its potential application in the reinforcement of composites. The best results for delignification (kappa number of 38), with relatively lower fiber degradation (viscosity of 625 cm3 g-1), aspect ratio of 40.4 and the index zero-span of 204 Nm g-1, were achieved for the pulping process at 190oC for 2 h. These pulping conditions can be considered as the more appropriate in the range of time intervals evaluated in this work. The higher mechanical strength and the lower incidence of morphological defects in the fiber (6.0% of curls and 10.6% of kinks) can demonstrate the potential of organosolv bamboo pulp as a reinforcing element.

An Eco-friendly One-Step Synthesis of Dicarboxyl Cellulose for Potential Application in Flocculation

A simple one-step and homogeneous synthesis method of dicarboxyl cellulose for the flocculant application is developed via Schiff base route using the cellulose from Phyllostachys heterocycla. The bamboo pulp cellulose is dissolved in NaOH–urea solution and oxidized as dialdehyde cellulose by NaIO4, which is continuously reacted with the residual urea and NaOH in the original reaction system to synthesize dicarboxyl cellulose. This one-step method greatly reduces the complexity and heterogeneity of the traditional two-step synthesis procedure, and avoids greatly the environmental pollution caused by the cellulose solvent. The dicarboxyl cellulose is characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, which exhibits an excellent coagulation–flocculation capability to kaolin suspension with a turbidity removal of 99.5%.

Dissolution of cellulose from different sources in an NaOH/urea aqueous system at low temperature

The dissolution of different cellulose pulps from different sources such as wood, bamboo and ramie pulp in 7 wt% NaOH/12 wt% urea aqueous solution was investigated in the present article, as well as the structure and properties of the resultant regenerated films. All of the cellulose samples with molecular weight below 1.2 × 105 could be quickly and completely dissolved in NaOH/urea aqueous solution precooled to −12.5 °C in 2 min, regardless of the cellulose source, indicating the universality of cellulose dissolution in NaOH/urea solvent. The resultant cellulose solutions exhibited similar rheological behaviors, indicating a similar solution procedure of cellulose in NaOH/urea. These regenerated cellulose films exhibited similar structures and morphologies according to the results of the scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses, indicating a microporous structure with a pore diameter ranging from 100 to 300 nm, as well as a complete transition from cellulose I to cellulose II after the dissolution and regeneration process. Furthermore, all of the films had good mechanical properties and light transmittance as a result of the homogeneous structure. In view of the results mentioned above, the NaOH/urea solvent system displayed a strong cellulose dissolving capacity, exhibiting great potential for the further development and comprehensive utilization of cellulose from agricultural and forestry wastes. It is capable of increasing the applications of cellulose and has potential for further development.

Application of Artificial Neural Networks for predicting tensile index and brightness in bleaching pulp

The purpose of this study was to develop artificial neural network (ANN) models for predicting the effects of wood species, sodium perborate tetrahydrate (SPBTH) ratio, time, and beating degree on tensile index and brightness in bleaching pulp. Unbleached kraft-AQ bamboo and poplar pulps were exposed to first stage oxygen delignification for bleaching under 0,5 MPa, 3% NaOH and 12% consistency conditions. SPBTH bleaching was then carried out as the final stage. SPBTH bleached pulp was next beaten using two different degrees (55 SR° and 65 SR°). Tensile index and brightness data for training, validation and testing of the models were elicited from these experimental investigations. The models were established using the resulting data. The lowest R2 value was 0,98 among training, testing and validation data sets in the prediction of both tensile index and brightness. The networks therefore explain at least 98% of the experimental data for all data sets. The results indicate that ANN is a useful and effective tool for predicting tensile index and brightness. This study thus describes a novel and alternative approach to predicting tensile index and brightness in bleaching pulp compared to the literature.

Characterization of Structure and Property of the Monocarboxyl Bamboo Pulp Fibers

The oxidized bamboo pulp fiber yarns were prepared by the HNO3 /H3PO4-NaNO2 oxidation system. The effects of the oxidation concentration and reaction time on the weight loss, the carboxyl content and the breaking strength of the bamboo pulp fiber yarns were studied and the aggregation structure was investigated by Fourier transform infrared, X-ray and scanning electron microscopy. The results revealed an increase in carboxyl content and a decrease in breaking strength of oxidized bamboo pulp fiber yarns with increasing concentration of oxidant and reaction time. The breaking strength of oxidized bamboo fiber yarns was damaged seriously once the reaction time was more than 120 min or the concentration of oxidant was greater than 1.0%. The crystallinity of bamboo pulp fibers increased slightly under low oxidation degree but decreased with higher oxidation degree.

Effect of cellulose nanocrystal polymorphs on mechanical, barrier and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) based bionanocomposites

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) using different cellulose polymorphs have been fabricated from raw bamboo pulp. Their structural and morphological effects on the mechanical, barrier and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) have been investigated.

Investigation of bamboo pulp fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

AbstractMechanical pulp fibers (MPFs) and chemical pulp fibers (CPFs) from moso bamboo have been characterized in terms of their length and width distributions, and their reinforcing effects in unsaturated polyester (UPE) composites have also been investigated. CPF-UPE composites had much higher tensile strength, flexural strength, and flexural modulus than MPF-UPE composites. CPF-UPE composites also absorbed less water than MPF-UPE composites. Treatments of the fibers with a combination of 1,6-diisocyanatohexane (DIH) and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) significantly increased the tensile strength, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and water resistance of the resulting composites. Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses indicated that DIH-HEA was bound onto bamboo fibers (BFs) via carbamate linkages. The scanning electron microscopy images of the tensile-fractured surfaces of the composites revealed that the DIH-HEA treatments for BFs greatly improved the interfacial adhesion between the fibers and UPE resins.

Properties of Gigantochloa scortechinii Paper Enhancement by Beating Revolution


 
 
 The effect of bamboo portions and beating revolution on paper made from Gigantochloa scortechinii was determined. The bamboo was pulped using soda- anthraquinone (AQ) pulping comparing two pulping conditions (alkali 15 & 20%, temperature 160 & 170°C) for different bamboo portions consisted of top, middle and bottom. Hand sheets from unbeaten bamboo paper were made and the tensile index, tearing index, bursting index and folding endurance ranged from 16.35 - 32.54 Nm/g, 9.6 - 13.45 mN.m2/g, 0.81 - 1.54 kPa.m2/g and 3 - 9 double folds respectively. After that the bamboo pulp went through beating process and the tensile, tearing and bursting index and folding endurance for bamboo paper rose tremendously from 41.23 - 83.9 Nm/g, 16.64 - 27.13 mN.m2/g, 2.58 - 6.67 kPa.m2/g and 48 - 1769 double folds respectively. This revealed that bamboo paper strength can be enhanced by beating process without adding any additives.
 
 

Effect of DTPMPA on Bamboo Kraft Pulping

As a cooking additive, the impact of Diethylene Triamine Penta Methylene Phosphonic Acid (DTPMPA) on bamboo kraft pulping was studied. The effect of DTPMPA dosage at different maximum cooking temperature was discussed. The results showed that the cooking aids DTPMPA added in bamboo kraft pulping was able to reduce K value of pulp, improve the screened stock yield and brightness and reduce the alkali charge. The optimized bamboo kraft pulping conditions are: DTPMPA dosage 0.3%, alkali charge 17%, when sulfidity was 20%, maximum cooking temperature was 160°C and time at maximum temperature was 90min. Under the conditions of cooking, the screened yield is 41.53%, the K value is 15.4 and the bamboo pulp brightness is 26.8%.

Natural Bamboo (Neosinocalamus affinis Keng) Fiber Identification Using FT-IR and 2D-IR Correlation Spectroscopy

The objective of this study as to identify natural bamboo (Neosinocalamus affinis Keng) fiber through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), second derivative IR spectra, and two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy (2D-IR). Textile plant fibers, including natural bamboo, jute, and flax fibers, were collected, and isolated by hydrogen peroxide and glacial acetic acid becoming single fibers to avoid uncontrolled influence. All the chemically treated plant fibers showed generally similar IR spectral profiles. However, different numbers of peaks in the range of 1,300–1,200/cm and the variation in peak intensity at around 1,059/cm were observed for bamboo fiber differentiation. A few differences in their second derivative IR spectra between bamboo fiber and the other plant fibers also provided information for differentiation. Furthermore, the characteristic features of bamboo fiber were presented in 2D-IR correlation synchronous spectra in the range of 800–1,200/cm and 1,425–1,750/cm, which were obviously distinguished from other investigated fibers. In addition, the results showed that the distinction between bamboo fiber and bamboo pulp fiber could be easily carried out using FT-IR and 2D-IR spectroscopy because of their different chemical compositions and crystal lattice types of cellulose (I, II). Therefore, it is demonstrated that FT-IR combined with 2D-IR correlation spectroscopy can become a new approach for natural bamboo fiber identification.