A fully bleached birch kraft pulp was treated with acidic hydrogen peroxide in the presence of ferrous ions (Fenton's reagent) and thereafter treated mechanically in a colloid mill to produce a product containing microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). The produced MFC products were chemically and morphologically characterized and compared with MFC products produced without pretreatment as well as with enzymatic hydrolysis. Fenton treatment resulted in an increase in total charge and number of carbonyl groups while the intrinsic viscosity decreased. The Fenton treated pulps were easier to process mechanically i.e. they reached a higher specific surface area at a given mechanical treatment time and the MFC produced had a stable water-fibre suspension for at least 8 weeks compared to enzymatic pretreated pulps and pulps not subjected to any pretreatment.
Microfibrillated celluloses (MFCs), produced by various pre-treatments of a fully bleached birch kraft pulp, were evaluated as strength enhancers in test sheets representing the middle ply of paperboard. The furnish consisted of hydrogen peroxide bleached high temperature spruce chemithermomechanical pulp (HT-CTMP), MFC and a retention system containing cationic starch and an anionic silica sol. The MFC was prepared via a mechanical treatment in a colloid mill after pretreatment with Fenton´s reagent, monocomponent endoglucanase or acidic hydrogen peroxide. Addition of 5% MFC, produced with Fenton pre-treatment, resulted in improved HT-CTMP properties with respect to increased tensile index (~35%), z-directional strength (~50%), tensile stiffness index (~25%) compared to HT-CTMP test sheets prepared without MFC addition. The strength improvement was linearly correlated to the density of the tests sheet, to the surface area (BET) and to the surface charge of the enzymatic or chemically pretreated MFCs.
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