Bio-damaged wood processing in microcrystalline cellulose production

Bio-damaged wood was studied as a potential raw material for the production of hydrolytic degradation cellulose products. Conditions for obtaining fine-dispersed microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) based on hydrolytic treatment of cellulose from bio-damaged wood were determined. A comparative analysis of the quantitative values of the degree of polymerization of default commercial cellulose and cellulose from damaged wood was performed. The objective of the work was to study the possibilities of obtaining MCC from bio-damaged wood possessing quantitative characteristics close to those obtained from the commercial wood, reducing the concentration of inorganic acid during the hydrolytic degradation. The experimental analysis showed that with an increase in the pulp refining degree from 15 °SR to 75 °SR, the time for the hydrolysis process decreased from 150 to 90 min, the temperature of chemical treatment decreased from 100 °C to 80 °C, and acid concentration by 0.5 N. The polymerisation degree of microcrystalline cellulose, regardless of the type of raw material, also decreased with an increase in the refining degree.