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Enhancing the selective separation of hemicelluloses from cellulosic fibers in NaOH/ZnO aqueous solution

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Abstract

To achieve a breakthrough in the application of cold caustic extraction, it is necessary to limit the amount of alkali and to dissolve the hemicelluloses sufficiently. A NaOH/ZnO aqueous solution system was used to separate hemicelluloses from bleached bamboo pulp efficiently and selectively. The NaOH/ZnO process proved to be more successful in the removal of hemicelluloses. Under the conditions of 0.5% ZnO concentration, the NaOH/ZnO aqueous solution system decreased the hemicelluloses content to 4.99%, which was lower than 7.46% of the control sample treated with NaOH alone at the same 7% NaOH concentration. Correspondingly, the NaOH/ZnO system led to an increase in alpha-cellulose content with significantly improved hemicelluloses removal efficiency and selectivity. As a result of the NaOH/ZnO process, a higher degree of polymerization was observed, and the cellulose I structure was always maintained, which provided good benefits for the subsequent utilization of cellulose.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support from Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 3177063) and Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology (Grant No. 2021H6005).

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  1. College of Life Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China

    Qiuyan Chen

  2. College of Materials Engineering, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China

    Qiuyan Chen, Xiaojuan Ma, Jianguo Li, Hai Huang, Shilin Cao & Liulian Huang

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Chen, Q., Ma, X., Li, J. et al. Enhancing the selective separation of hemicelluloses from cellulosic fibers in NaOH/ZnO aqueous solution. Wood Sci Technol 57, 375–387 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-022-01437-3

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