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Fibre porosity development of dissolving pulp during mechanical and enzymatic processing

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Abstract

Dissolving grade pulps are used as raw material for manufacture of regenerated cellulose fibres and their use is constantly growing. Despite intensive research, there is still a need to develop cellulose dissolution-regeneration processes that would be economically viable, fulfil the pre-conditions of sustainability and would be able to meet the strict product quality requirements. The basis for creation of such a process is in deep understanding of the biomass structure and factors affecting the cellulose modification and dissolution. In this paper, the effects of the mechanical and enzymatic pre-treatments on the pore structure and alkaline solubility of dissolving grade pulp are discussed. Formation of micro- and macropores in the pulp fibres during mechanical shredding was found to correlate with the susceptibility of the fibres to enzymatic hydrolysis. The fibre porosity development during the processing was studied by a modified solute exclusion approach, which revealed differences between the effect of mild enzyme or acid hydrolysis on the pore structure of fibres. The dissolution of the modified fibres in NaOH/ZnO was evaluated and found to correlate with overall pore volume and accessible surface area analysed by the modified solute exclusion method.

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Acknowledgments

The project was partially financed by FIBIC/The National Technology Agency (TEKES). The technical assistance of Maija Järventausta, Leena Nolvi, Mariitta Svanberg, Eila Turunen and Nina Vihersola is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, 02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland

    S. Grönqvist, T. K. Hakala, T. Hänninen, T. Liitiä & A. Suurnäkki

  2. Tampere University of Technology, Materials Science, PL 527, 33101, Tampere, Finland

    T. Kamppuri & M. Vehviläinen

  3. Department of Forest Products Technology, Aalto University School of Chemical Technology, P.O. Box 16300, 00076 AALTO, Espoo, Finland

    T. Maloney

Authors
  1. S. Grönqvist
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  2. T. K. Hakala
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  3. T. Kamppuri
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  4. M. Vehviläinen
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  5. T. Hänninen
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  6. T. Liitiä
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  7. T. Maloney
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  8. A. Suurnäkki
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Correspondence to S. Grönqvist.

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Grönqvist, S., Hakala, T.K., Kamppuri, T. et al. Fibre porosity development of dissolving pulp during mechanical and enzymatic processing. Cellulose 21, 3667–3676 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0352-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0352-x

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