Application of MFLC from Moringa oleifera and Eucalyptus grandis in a brown kraft pine stock for linerboard

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

Montevideo

Workshop; Workshop on Insights and Strategies Towards a Bio-Based Economy; 2016

Facultad de Ingeniería. Universidad de la República. Uruguay

A strategy for a sustainable economic growth is the gradual transition from conventional economy areas to others based on the use of renewable and sustainable biomass feedstock for the production of bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts. Moringa oleifera, currently cultivated in Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia, is commercially known by the nutritional value of its seeds, leaves, stems, and flowers, for human and animal consumption. It is a fast growth tree that adapts to a wide range of soils, generating great interest in its cultivation. Eucalyptus grandis (EG) is, instead, an installed forest resource widely grown in South America. Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) has aroused great interest as a biomaterial, as it has a wide range of potential applications in various industries. When fibers are processed with a significant amount of lignin, the product is called microfibrillated lignocellulose (MFLC). MFLC production by mechanical fibrillation requires intensive treatment of the fibers, so chemical or enzymatic treatments can be applied before mechanical fibrillation to reduce energy consumption. A bleached eucalyptus commercial pulp was microfibrillated by a treatment including 10000 revolutions in a PFI mill and 2 h in a high shear stress mill. This MFC was used as dry strength additive in laboratory sheets of the same eucalyptus bleached pulp, replacing 5% by weight of the sheet with this material. Obtained results indicate a two or three fold increase in air flow resistance, burst index, tensile and tear strength when compared with sheets without the additive. However, a high percentage of MFLC was lost in the white water in the formation of sheets. The aim of this study was to apply different percentages of MFLC together with a synthetic polymer as retention aid, on a brown kraft pulp of pine (kappa number 88) used to linerboard manufacture (base pulp). MFLC was obtained from Eucalyptus grandis (EG) and Moringa oleifera (MO) soda - AQ pulps, treated by two stages of mechanical fibrillation. EG (kappa number 17) and MO (kappa number 19.5) pulps were refined in a laboratory refiner (PFI) to Shopper 70, and the refined pulps were microfibrillated on a high shear stress mill (Mika brand) at 35,000 rpm for 1 h [1]. Laboratory sheets were prepared adding 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5% of MFLC and 0.1%, of the polymer to the base pulp. This could show that the application of MFLC, which causes an important increase of strength in short-fiber sheets, has a mild contribution on the strength long-fiber sheets, already high. Moringa oleifera proved to be an interesting raw material for the production of MFLC at PYME level, suitable for silvopastoral proyects.1.Benitez, J.B., Vallejos, M.E., Area, M.C., Felissia, F.E., Microfibrillated lignocellulose (MFLC) from soda-AQ pulp of Moringa oleifera and Eucalyptus grandis by mechanical fibrillation. CIADICYP 2016, Helsinki, Finland, 5-8 September 2016.