CHEMICAL CELLULOSES DERIVED FROM PINUS-RADIATA WOOD PULPS FOR NITROCELLULOSE PREPARATION

The nitration capabilities of a range of chemical celluloses, including some containing the cellulose-II polymorph, were examined. The cellulose samples, derived from Pinus radiata wood by bisulphite, prehydrolysis-kraft or kraft pulping, were compared with a commercial nitration-grade cellulose and two bleached cotton linters samples. All samples on nitration gave nitrocelluloses (degree of substitution almost-equal-to 2.45) which had satisfactory stabilities and solubilities, with the exception of a P. radiata bisulphite cellulose which had a high pentosan value. The presence of cellulose-II in the samples was not an impediment to the nitration. High performance size exclusion chromatography of the nitrocelluloses showed that the molecular weight distributions of samples derived from the P. radiata celluloses were generally similar to that derived from a commercial nitration-grade cellulose.