Improved Reactivity of Bamboo Dissolving Pulp for the Viscose Process: Post-Treatment with Beating

Chemical and enzymatic modifications intended to improve the reactivity of dissolving pulp rapidly decrease its yield. In this study, a beating post-treatment intended to increase the reactivity of bamboo dissolving pulp was investigated. Beating post-treatment can create microfibrils on the surface of fibers. The reactivity of unrefined bamboo dissolving pulp prepared via pre-hydrolysis and a subsequent kraft cooking and Op-H-P (oxygen delignification enhanced with H2O2 and sodium hypochlorite) bleaching process was very low. The reactivity increased drastically as the Canadian standard freeness (CSF) of the bamboo dissolving pulp was decreased (i.e., the degree of beating increased). The CSF decreased to 236 mL from its original, higher freeness. The average fiber width was larger and the curling and kink indexes were lower in the pulp of CSF 236 mL compared to those of pulps with greater freeness. However, there was little impact of beating on the crystallinity index of bamboo dissolving pulp.