Microfibrilated Lignocellulose (MFLC) from Soda-AQ Pulp de Moringa oleífera and Eucaiyptus grandis by Mechanical Fibrillation

AREA MARIA CRISTINA; FELISSIA FERNANDO; VALLEJOS MARIA E.; BENITEZ JULIETA BEATRIZ

Espoo

Congreso; IX Iberoamerican Conference on Pulp and Paper Research CIADICYP 2016.; 2016

ALTO UNIVERSITY (AALTO) VTT

Pulp and paper industry has a huge potential to adapt its processes for the production of micro and nano materials from cellulose. The microfibrillated lignocellulose (MFLC) has aroused great interest because of its potential to modify barrier properties and strength of various materials in a wide range of industrial applications. Moringa oleifera is known commercially because of the nutritional value of its seeds, leaves, stems, and flowers for human and animal consumption and medicinal properties. It is a fast growing species which adapts to a wide range of soils. It is currently cultivated in Paraguay, Brazil, and Bolivia because of the great interest in their products. Moringa is a lignocellulosic resource from which high-value products can be obtained by applying processes based on the concept of forest biorefinery. The aim of this work was to obtain MFLC from a soda-AQ pulp of Moringa oleifera (MO), comparing its behavior with that of a conventional soda-AQ pulp of Eucalyptus grandis (EG). Soda-AQ delignification was carried out using 20% NaOH, 0.1% AQ (% dry weight) at a temperature of 170°C, and liquid/solid ratio of 5.5:1. Time was varied to achieve the same Kappa number. Both pulps were subjected to two stages of mechanical fibrillation. The first stage consisted of refining up to 70°SR in a PFI laboratory refiner. Subsequently, the refined pulps were microfibrillated on a high shear stress mill (Mika brand) at 35,000 rpm. Samples were extracted at different times for 1 hour to observe the evolution of changes in the fibers in an image analyzer incorporated into the optical microscope. Both soda-AQ pulps averaged 18 Kappa but MO needed twice as long as EG (45 y 90 min, respectively). However, to obtain 70°SR Shopper, MO required half of revolutions than EG in the PFI refiner (2000 and 4000 rpm, respectively). The images obtained along microfibrillation in the Mika mill show a more rapid development of microfibrillation for MO. Moringa oleifera appears as an interesting option for the production of MFLC for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in combination with silvopastoral ventures. The MFLC obtained could be used as additive in the manufacture of linerboard or in higher added value cellulosic products.