Dispersion and Beating of Bacterial Cellulose and their Influence on Paper Properties

Three dispersion instruments (a standard laboratory disintegrator, PFI beater, and ultrasonic cell disrupter) were tested to determine their effects on the dispersion of bacterial cellulose (BC) wet films. After treatment with a standard 10000 r disintegrator treatment, there was still a large number of undispersed fiber bundles in the BC suspension. The BC films were dispersed well after PFI beating revolution at 30000 r, and the cationic charge demand of the BC suspension reached 2.4 × 10-4 eq·g-1. The ultrasonic cell crusher was altogether unsuitable for BC dispersion. The ultrasonic cell crusher only separated the BC from the bundles. The properties of the resulting paper indicated that the physical strength of paper containing BC dispersed by the PFI beater was higher than that of the sample produced via standard laboratory disintegrator. Well-dispersed BC was distributed evenly among the plant fibers, which benefitted the combination of BC and plant fiber to improve the physical properties of the paper sheets.