Agricultural Residues as Raw Materials for Pulp and Paper Production: Overview and Applications on Membrane Fabrication

Abstract

The need for pulp and paper has risen significantly due to exponential population growth, industrialization, and urbanization. Most paper manufacturing industries use wood fibers to meet pulp and paper requirements. The shortage of fibrous wood resources and increased deforestation are linked to the excessive dependence on wood for pulp and paper production. Therefore, non-wood substitutes, including corn stalks, sugarcane bagasse, wheat, and rice straw, cotton stalks, and others, may greatly alleviate the shortage of raw materials used to make pulp and paper. Non-woody raw materials can be pulped easily using soda/soda-AQ (anthraquinone), organosolv, and bio-pulping. The use of agricultural residues can also play a pivotal role in the development of polymeric membranes separating different molecular weight cut-off molecules from a variety of feedstocks in industries. These membranes range in applications from water purification to medicinal uses. Considering that some farmers still burn agricultural residues on the fields, resulting in significant air pollution and health issues, the use of agricultural residues in paper manufacturing can eventually help these producers to get better financial outcomes from the grown crop. This paper reviews the current trends in the technological pitch of pulp and paper production from agricultural residues using different pulping methods, with an insight into the application of membranes developed from lignocellulosic materials.

Cold‐active microbial enzymes and their biotechnological applications

“…Biopulping is an environment friendly process that employs biological methods in lieu of chemical agents to separate lignin from cellulose fibres within wood chips, with the aim of reducing use of chemicals and enhancing sustainability (Worku et al., 2023 ). It involves the microbial pretreatment of wood chips with the concept centred on the colonization of wood by microbes that selectively degrade lignin while largely preserving cellulose (Ferraz et al., 2008 ; Mendonça et al., 2008 ).…”

“…Conventional pulping methods heavily rely on the utilization of toxic chemicals like sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium sulfide (Na 2 S), which can result in adverse environmental consequences. In contrast, biopulping predominantly uses fungi, enzymes, and biological methods to break down lignin, promoting an environmentally friendly approach (Worku et al., 2023 ). However, in the context of biopulping, there are instances where controlled and limited chemical usage may persist.…”

Critical Review on the Synthesis of Levulinate Esters from Biomass-Based Feedstocks and Their Application

“…It can be produced from both C5 carbohydrates and C6 carbohydrates. − The acid-catalyzed system conversion of raw biomass such as oil palm fronds, , wheat straw, , bamboo, , paper pulp, , wood chips, , and switchgrass , to LEs was also developed. LEs can be prepared through effective hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass into C5/C6 carbohydrates and then undergo catalytic dehydration into LA with furan-derived compounds (furfuryl alcohol (FFA) and 5-HMF) as intermediates and then LA alcoholysis into LE products over the acid catalyst (Figure ).…”

Proximate Chemical Analysis and Effect of Age and Height of Oxytenanthera abyssinica on Fiber Morphology and Chemical Compositions for Pulp and Paper Production Potential

“…As a result, non-woody plants like bamboo could serve as an alternate source of pulp and papermaking raw materials. According to various authors, pulp from non-wood sources has many benefits, including simple pulping capabilities, suitable fibers paper, and high-quality bleached pulp [7]. It can be utilized as a viable replacement for ever-diminishing forest timber resources.…”