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Engineered invasive plant cellulose fibers as resources for papermaking

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Abstract

Seven fast-growing invasive plant species were harvested in Slovenia and tested for their valorisation potential in the pulp and paper industry with the aim of sustainable substitution of commercial cellulose fibres. Cellulose fiber materials were isolated by filtration after solubilizing extractives, lignin and hemicellulose in a kraft pulping process. The chemical structure was thoroughly studied, as well as the optical, morphological and mechanical properties. All examined species (Ailanthus altissima, Fallopia bohemica, Fallopia japonica, Rhus typhina, Robinia pseudoacacia, Rudbeckia laciniata and Solidago canadensis) contain relatively high amount of C6 polysaccharides (> 35%), have notable hemicellulose content (30–40%), low ash content (< 2%) and can be easily delignified, while manufactured natural fibers exhibit convenient morphology (fiber length 0.47–0.88 mm; width 14.4–20.9 μm), optical (ISO whiteness 19.0–36.0%) and mechanical characteristics (tensile index 18.0–58.0 Nm/g; tear index 0.8–4.1 mN m2/g; and burst index 0.5–2.4 kPa m2/g indices), which makes them applicable to sustainable paper production. The pulp yields varied between 34–44%, where both darker herbaceous and brighter woody fibers were morphologically comparable to typical hardwoods. According to the observed properties Robinia pseudoacacia and Rudbeckia laciniata seem to be superior raw material for commercial papermaking products. The ubiquitous invasive plants pose a huge potential for the circular economy, especially in terms of their cascade valorisation of biorefinery by the isolation and valorization of hemicellulose, sugars, and lignins into added-value aromatic and aliphatic building blocks. However, promising yield of cellulose fibers of decent morphology and mechanical properties are reported in this study.

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Acknowledgements

The research was performed within the RDI project Applause: APPLAUSE—Alien Plant Species from harmful to useful with citizens' led activities« (contract number: UIA02-228), co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund and Urban Innovative Actions. Brett Pomeroy is acknowledged for English proofreading.

Funding

The research was financially supported by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund and Urban Innovative Actions within the project APPLAUSE—Alien Plant Species from harmful to useful with citizens' led activities (contract number: UIA02-228).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pulp and Paper Institute, Bogišićeva 8, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Tea Kapun, Janja Zule, Ema Fabjan & Blaž Likozar

  2. Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, 1001, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Brigita Hočevar, Miha Grilc & Blaž Likozar

  3. Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 113, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Blaž Likozar

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  1. Tea Kapun
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Conceptualization: BL and JZ; Methodology: JZ, TK and EF; Formal analysis and investigation: JZ, TK, EF and BH; Writing—original draft preparation: JZ, TK, EF and BH; Writing—review and editing: JZ, TK, EF, BH, MG and BL; Supervision: BL.

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Correspondence to Blaž Likozar.

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Kapun, T., Zule, J., Fabjan, E. et al. Engineered invasive plant cellulose fibers as resources for papermaking. Eur. J. Wood Prod. 80, 501–514 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-021-01779-y

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