Papermaking Characteristics of Kudzu Root Fibers with Different Morphology

Kudzu kills and damages neighboring plants by smothering or encircling them. Kudzu was divided into male and female in appearance. At the utilizing standpoint of kudzu, the leftovers from the roots extraction were pulped by two different pulping methods. Soda pulping was individually applied for male and female root leftovers, and kraft pulping was done for their mixed leftovers. Soda pulps made from the separate male and female root leftovers did not show any big difference in the contents of both extractives and lignin before bleaching. However, after bleaching, the decrease in extractives and lignin of each pulp occurred. Kraft pulping made under strong alkaline treatment contributed to the higher reduction in the contents of extractives and lignin even after bleaching. Starch content harmful in white water during papermaking was higher in soda pulp than in kraft pulp. Even though 10% of kudzu pulps was mixed in a papermaking stock, most of properties of the sheets containing bleached soda pulp and kraft pulp were exceedingly weaker than those containing bleached SW-BKP. In conclusion, irrespective of pulp types, kudzu root leftovers could be a minor resource to produce paper with special functionality when weaker fading resistance and lower strength were considered. KCI Citation Count: 0