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

BENITEZ, J.B.; FELISSIA, F.E.; VALLEJOS, M.E.; AREA, M.C.

Montevideo

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

Facultad de Química. Universidad de la República

A strategyfor a sustainable economic growth is the gradual transition from conventionaleconomy areas to others based on the use of renewable and sustainable biomassfeedstock for the production of bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts. Moringaoleifera, currently cultivated in Paraguay, Brazil and Bolivia, is commerciallyknown by the nutritional value of its seeds, leaves, stems, and flowers, forhuman and animal consumption. It is a fast growth tree that adapts to a wide rangeof 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. Whenfibers are processed with a significant amount of lignin, the product is calledmicrofibrillated lignocellulose (MFLC). MFLC production by mechanicalfibrillation requires intensive treatment of the fibers, so chemical orenzymatic treatments can be applied before mechanical fibrillation to reduceenergy consumption.A bleachedeucalyptus commercial pulp was microfibrillated by a treatment including 10000revolutions in a PFI mill and 2 h in a high shear stress mill. This MFC wasused as dry strength additive in laboratory sheets of the same eucalyptusbleached pulp, replacing 5% by weight of the sheet with this material. Obtainedresults indicate a two or three fold increase in air flow resistance, burstindex, tensile and tear strength when compared with sheets without theadditive. However, a high percentage of MFLC was lost in the white water in theformation of sheets. The aim of this study was to apply different percentagesof MFLC together with a synthetic polymer as retention aid, on a brown kraftpulp of pine (kappa number 88) used to linerboard manufacture (base pulp). MFLCwas obtained from Eucalyptus grandis (EG) and Moringa oleifera (MO) soda - AQpulps, 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) toShopper 70, and the refined pulps were microfibrillated on a high shear stress mill(Mika brand) at 35,000 rpm for 1 h [1].Laboratorysheets were prepared adding 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5% of MFLC and 0.1%, of the polymerto the base pulp. This could show that the application of MFLC, which causes animportant increase of strength in short-fiber sheets, has a mild contributionon the strength long-fiber sheets, already high. Moringa oleifera proved to bean interesting raw material for the production of MFLC at PYME level, suitable forsilvopastoral projects.