Cotton linter pre-treatment methods using electron beam and sulfuric acid were investigated to prepare high quality regenerated fibers for fabrics. So far, NaOH was used to reduce the degree of polymerization (DP) of the cotton linter for ease of dissolving by cellulose solvent. Two pre-treatment methods were developed to reduce the consumption of the chemicals (NaOH) and to control the DP of cellulose more precisely. Changes in α-cellulose contents and brightness by the pre-treatments were also important concerns. Both electron beam irradiation and sulfuric acid were shown to be effective on controlling the DP of cellulose and to reduce the chemical consumption, but reduced α-cellulose contents as well in this study. Sulfuric acid pre-treatment, which needed additional washing process after the pre-treatment when comparing to the electron beam irradiation method, gave the highest brightness and the highest reduction of α-cellulose content.
The reduction of metal ion from the cotton linter for the preparation of NMMO (N-methylmorpholine N-oxide)-based dissolving pulp was investigated. The NMMO-based dissolving pulp was usually used for the manufacture of high quality fabrics, and need to have high alpha cellulose content and high brightness. NMMO, which is environmentally friendly, and reusable after recovering process, is very sensitive to the metal ions such as Cu, Fe, Mg, and Cr. Electron beam, sulfuric acid, acetic acid, and ozone treatment before bleaching were used and the concentration changes of the metal ions were compared to that of EDTA, a chelating agent. It was found that both acid treatments (sulfuric and acetic acid) were very effective and comparable to EDTA treatment at the same dosage in metal ion reduction, but electron beam and ozone treatment were not. The sulfuric acid treatment turned out to be effective in metal ion reduction, and most inexpensive.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.