Improvement of methods for dissolving pulp and nanofiber production from bamboo biomass with regard to environmental friendliness | |
| Author | Ghimire, Shubhuti Kiran |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-17-23 |
| Subject(s) | Bamboo-pulp industry Wood-pulp--Bleaching |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The study was conducted to improve environmental friendliness of the method for the production of dissolving pulp from bamboo biomass (Bambusa tulda). This method can also be extended to production of such valuable material as cellulose derivative, nanocellulose. The research was aiming at the totally chlorine free bleaching sequence (O2-Psa-Ep-Psa-Ep) while improving the quality of dissolving pulp for its further use in synthesis of nanocellulose. B. tulda biomass was subjected to three different pretreatment methods. The optimum condition was obtained for autohydrolysis and was concluded to be 150°C for 90 min followed by soda cooking with anthraquinone (30% AA and 0.1% AQ) for 120 min at 160°C. As the result, the kappa number, brightness and viscosity the pulp were found to be 15.8, 42.5% ISO and39.4 cP, respectively. Similarly, for Thermomechanical pulping (TMP) the prehydrolysis condition was found to be 150 °C for 90 min with the washing for additional 30 min. The cooking condition was the same as that of autohydrolysis with the pulp analysis being as follows: kappa number 10.3, brightness 45.5% ISO and viscosity 22.3 cP. The bleaching sequence adopted was O2-Psa-Ep-Psa-Ep, which enhanced the environmental friendliness of the overall process, as the dosages were maintained to be minimal. The improved bleaching contributed to better pulp properties, namely, viscosity 5.4cP and 5cP, brightness of 82.8% ISO and 85.5% ISO with alpha cellulose levels of 90.9% and 87.6% for autohydrolysis and TMP, respectively. The improvement contributed to an enhanced synthesis of the nanofibers when compared with other sources. Overall, it can be stated that there is a solid possibility of using bamboo biomass as a raw material for the production of dissolving pulp and the consequent synthesis of nanocellulose. |
| Year | 2017 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shipin, Oleg; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ohi, Hiroshi ;Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2017 |