Sari Asikainen

Comparison of pulp species in IONCELL-P: Selective hemicellulose extraction method with ionic liquids

Abstract In our recent studies, it was demonstrated that the IONCELL-P process selectively dissolves hemicelluloses from bleached birch kraft pulp in a mixture of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([emim][OAc]) and water as a solvent system. The IONCELL-P method refines paper-grade pulp to dissolving pulp with <5% hemicelluloses and allows isolation of polymeric xylan without yield losses or polymer degradation. This paper is a comparative study where paper-grade pine, birch, and eucalyptus pulps are subjected to the IONCELL-P process with two [emim]-based ionic liquids (ILs), i.e. [emim]acetate and [emim]dimethylphosphate. Also, the effect of an endoglucanase pretreatment was investigated to check whether 1) the pulp viscosity could be adjusted for the following process steps before the hemicellulose extraction and 2) the decreasing pulp viscosity would open the fiber structure and thus enhance the extraction. Under optimum conditions, the birch xylan content could be reduced from 25.4% down to 1.3% and for eucalyptus from 16.6% to 2.4%. Pine pulp xylan and glucomannan were decreased from 8.1% and 7.1% to 0.9% and 2.2%, respectively. The residual hemicellulose contents of the pine pulp could be further decreased with a hemicellulase pretreatment. The selectivity of the dissolution towards hemicelluloses was better for hardwoods. Adjusting the pulp viscosity by endoglucanase prior to the IONCELL-P process reduced the selectivity as short-chain cellulose molecules were extracted along with the hemicelluloses.

Simultaneous bench scale production of dissolving grade pulp and valuable hemicelluloses from softwood kraft pulp by ionic liquid extraction

Ionic liquid extraction of wood pulp has been highlighted as a highly potential new process for dissolving pulp production. Coproduction with a polymeric hemicellulose fraction was demonstrated in bench scale from softwood kraft pulp using extraction with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIM OAc) and water. In total, the recovered pulp and hemicellulose fraction together yielded 95.5 wt.% of the pulp input. The extracted pulp had a remarkably high purity with an R18-value of 97.8%. The hemicellulose fraction consisted of galactoglucomannan, arabinoxylan and some cellulose and was precipitated from the ionic liquid-water mixture. After hydroxypropylation of the hemicellulose fraction, films were prepared and barrier and strength properties were compared to films from other polysaccharides. Reduced oxygen and water vapor permeation and good strength properties were demonstrated when compared to corresponding films from hydroxypropylated xylan from cold caustic extraction. The films have potential for applications in food packaging and edible films.

The effect of cellulose molar mass on the properties of palmitate esters.

Nowadays one of the growing trends is to replace oil-based products with cellulose-based materials. Currently most cellulose esters require a huge excess of chemicals and have therefore, not been broadly used in the industry. Here, we show that decreasing the molar mass of cellulose by ozone hydrolysis provides cellulose functionalization with less chemical consumption. To reveal the differences in reactivity and chemical consumption, we showed esterification of both native cellulose and ozone treated hydrolyzed cellulose. Based on the results, the molar mass of the starting cellulose has a significant effect on the end products degree of substitution and properties. Furthermore, molar mass controlled palmitate esters form mechanically strong, flexible and optically transparent films with excellent water barrier properties. We anticipate that molar mass controlled cellulose will provide a starting point for the greater use of cellulose based materials, in various application, such as films and composites.