Cellulose triacetate prepared from low-grade hardwood dissolving pulp and its insoluble residues in acetylation mediums

✍ Scribed by Shiro Saka; Keiko Takanashi

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 247 KB
• Volume: 67
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19980110)67:2<289::aid-app11>3.0.co;2-u

✦ Synopsis

As cellulose triacetate is prepared from low-grade hardwood dissolving pulp, a considerable amount of the insoluble residue was present in the acetylation medium of the acetic acid/acetic anhydride/sulfuric acid system. The characterization of this residue indicated that the insoluble residue is composed of cellulose triacetate and xylan diacetate, retaining a fiber structure of swollen form. To reduce the insoluble residues, reaction conditions for acetylation were investigated. As one of the remedies of reducing the insoluble residues, 17 different solvents were selected to add to the acetylation medium, and among these, dichloroacetic acid was found to be very effective for its reduction. The obtained cellulose triacetate could then reveal good thermal properties similar to that from high-grade dissolving pulps. Therefore, acetylation systems with an addition of an appropriate solvent can have a potential to industrially manufacture a high-quality cellulose triacetate from even low-grade hardwood-dissolving pulps, as observed in low-grade softwood-dissolving pulps.