Fiber fines for fabricating lignocellulose films and the effect of lignin

• Published in: Bioresources Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 4417 - 4433
• Main Authors: Pourjafar, Mohammad, Khosravani, Amir, Behrooz, Rabi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Raleigh North Carolina State University 01.05.2020
• Subjects: Bagasse; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Bleaching; Cellulose; Composite materials; Degree of polymerization; Environmental impact; Fourier transforms; Ionic liquids; Laboratories; Lignin; Lignocellulose; Liquor; Polymerization; Pulping; Solvents; Surface roughness; Tensile strength; Ultraviolet radiation; Viscosity; Wood
• ISSN: 1930-2126; 1930-2126
• DOI: 10.15376/biores.15.2.4417-4433

Excess lignocellulose fines in some fiber processing mills cause issues and hurt product quality. To use this type of biomaterial as a resource, surplus fines can be separated and dissolved with solvents for further transformation. Therefore, 1-butyl 3-methyl imidazolium chloride ionic liquid (IL) was used as a powerful green solvent for a rapid dissolution process. However, a low degree of polymerization (DP) of the cellulose in fines and the effects of lignin content and its structure on the process and film properties are controversial subjects. This study demonstrated that the three dimensional structure of lignin did not permit the raw bagasse fines (prior to pulping) to dissolve in the IL even after several hours. However, following decomposition of the lignin structure by pulping, the fiber fines were readily dissolved. Further, all the fabricated films from the fiber fines exhibited satisfactory strength properties, despite the fact that the cellulose had a low DP. The films from bleached fiber fines showed higher tensile strength than those containing lignin, although the cellulose chain was longer and had a higher DP for the latter. Lignin resulted in reduced transparency, and higher absorption of ultraviolet radiations, but it did not affect the surface roughness of the films.