Sinke H. Osong

Processing of wood-based microfibrillated cellulose and nanofibrillated cellulose, and applications relating to papermaking: a review

Abstract As an emerging cellulosic nanomaterial, microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) have shown enormous potential in the forest products industry. The forest products industry and academia are working together to realise the possibilities of commercializing MFC and NFC. However, there are still needs to improve the processing, characterisation and material properties of nanocellulose in order to realise its full potential. The annual number of research publications and patents on nanocellulose with respect to manufacturing, properties and applications is now up in the thousands, so it is of the utmost importance to review articles that endeavour to research on this explosive topic of cellulose nanomaterials. This review examines the past and current situation of wood-based MFC and NFC in relation to its processing and applications relating to papermaking.

Paper strength improvement by inclusion of nano-ligno-cellulose to Chemi-thermomechanical pulp

Abstract So far, chemical pulp fibres have been utilized as conventional stock materials for nanocellulose production. The main aim of this work is to use stock materials from mechanical or chemi-thermomechanical pulping process to produce lignin containing nanofibres, which are referred to as nano-ligno-cellulose (NLC) in this study. The present study shows the influence on handsheets of chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP) fibres blended with NLC. For comparison reasons, nanocellulose (NC) from bleached kraft pulp (BKP) was produced in a similar approach as NLC. Both the NLC and the NC were blended with their respective pulp fibres and their corresponding handsheets properties were evaluated with respect to sheet density. It was found that the handsheets of pulp fibres blended with NLC/NC improved the mechanical properties of handsheets with only a slight effect in relation to the sheet density. Improvements in strength properties of handsheets such as z-strength, tensile index, tear index, burst index, Emodulus, strain at break, tensile stiffness, air resistance were observed.

Sustainable Design for the Direct Fabrication and Highly Versatile Functionalization of Nanocelluloses

Abstract This study describes a novel sustainable concept for the scalable direct fabrication and functionalization of nanocellulose from wood pulp with reduced energy consumption. A central concept is the use of metal‐free small organic molecules as mediators and catalysts for the production and subsequent versatile surface engineering of the cellulosic nanomaterials via organocatalysis and click chemistry. Here, “organoclick” chemistry enables the selective functionalization of nanocelluloses with different organic molecules as well as the binding of palladium ions or nanoparticles. The nanocellulosic material is also shown to function as a sustainable support for heterogeneous catalysis in modern organic synthesis (e.g., Suzuki cross‐coupling transformations in water). The reported strategy not only addresses obstacles and challenges for the future utilization of nanocellulose (e.g., low moisture resistance, the need for green chemistry, and energy‐intensive production) but also enables new applications for nanocellulosic materials in different areas.