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Cellulose fiber from Tunisian Barbary Fig “Opuntia ficus-indica” for papermaking

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Abstract

In this work, Tunisian Opuntia ficus-indica was used as a raw material for papermaking. Analysis of the chemical composition of this raw material has shown that the extractive substances are relatively high, since their content is in the range of 36, 24, 30 and 9.8 %, in cold and hot water, in a 1 % sodium hydroxide solution and in an ethanol-toluene mixture, respectively. The content of α-cellulose is high (53.6 %) compared to other non-woody plants. The low proportion of lignin (4.8 %) allowed us to propose a very soft delignification process using a soda-hydrogen peroxide process. The yield of the pulp obtained after mechanical defibration was significantly high (80.8 %) compared to other conventional pulping processes. Finally, the laboratory handmade standard sheets prepared have very good structural and mechanical properties. These results demonstrated the suitability of this plant for papermaking applications. In fact, excellent fibers were prepared using very soft cooking conditions and without bleaching treatment, and high-performance papers were made thereof without refining.

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Acknowledgments

The authors want to express their profound gratitude to Prof. Mohamed Naceur Belgacem, Director of LGP2, for his advice and also to the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education for its financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials, Environment and Energy Laboratory (UR14ES26), Science Faculty of Gafsa, University of Gafsa, 2112, Gafsa, Tunisia

    Faten Mannai, Mohamed Ammar & Elimame Elaloui

  2. Genius of the Paper Processes, LGP2–UMR 5518, BP 65, 38402, St Martin d’Hères, France

    José Garrido Yanez

  3. Science Faculty of Gafsa, University of Gafsa, 2112, Gafsa, Tunisia

    Elimame Elaloui & Younes Moussaoui

  4. Physical Organic Chemistry Laboratory (UR11ES74), Science Faculty of Sfax, University of Sfax, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia

    Younes Moussaoui

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  1. Faten Mannai
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  2. Mohamed Ammar
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  3. José Garrido Yanez
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  4. Elimame Elaloui
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  5. Younes Moussaoui
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Correspondence to Younes Moussaoui.

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Mannai, F., Ammar, M., Yanez, J.G. et al. Cellulose fiber from Tunisian Barbary Fig “Opuntia ficus-indica” for papermaking. Cellulose 23, 2061–2072 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-016-0899-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-016-0899-9

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