Isolation of cellulose and lignin from Acacia crassicarpa and Eucalyptus pellita wood by prehydrolysis soda cooking with 2-methylanthraquinone as a green additive

• Published in: Wood science and technology Vol. 57; no. 1; pp. 253 - 273
• Main Authors: Utami, Syelvia Putri, Sari, Esty Octiana, Chem, Mouylin, Ohi, Hiroshi, Evelyn, Nakagawa-Izumi, Akiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acacia crassicarpa; Anthraquinone; Anthraquinones; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biorefineries; Black liquor; Bleaching; Brightness; Cellulose; Ceramics; Composites; Cooking; Eucalyptus; Eucalyptus pellita; Glass; Hardwoods; Hemicellulose; Life Sciences; Lignin; Machines; Manufacturing; Molecular weight; Natural Materials; Original; Processes; Pulp; Wood; Wood Science & Technology
• ISSN: 0043-7719; 1432-5225
• DOI: 10.1007/s00226-022-01446-2

Wood is widely used as a biorefinery feedstock. Eucalyptus pellita and Acacia crassicarpa, planted in Indonesia, have enormous potential for producing valuable cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin products. The prehydrolysis process was effective in separating xylo-oligomers from these woods. As an additive to next-stage soda cooking, 2-methylanthraquinone accelerated lignin removal and stabilized cellulose yield. This study clarified the advantages of 2-methylanthraquinone as a green additive compared to that of soluble anthraquinone in the prehydrolysis soda cooking process. Several doses of 2-methylanthraquinone and active alkali were also examined. The results showed that 0.06% 2-methylanthraquinone addition at 17% active alkali significantly decreased the kappa number of the prehydrolysis soda pulp from 19.3 to 9.8. The addition of 2-methylanthraquinone increased the pulp yield and brightness to 41.0 and 45.1%, respectively, compared to that without 2-methylanthraquinone addition (40.2% and 41.7%). A good-quality cellulose was obtained for E. pellita after bleaching, as a dissolving pulp with 95.2% α -cellulose content, 90.4% pulp brightness, 9.8 mPa·s pulp viscosity, and 0.07% ash content. Owing to 2-methylanthraquinone addition, the weight-average molecular weight of the dissolved lignin decreased from 1950 to 1415 g/mol for A. crassicarpa . Lignin was separated from the soda cooking black liquor in yields of approximately 88.8 and 85.6% based on the wood lignin value for E. pellita and A. crassicarpa , respectively.