Pulp and Papermaking Properties of Baccaurea ramiflora Lour.



Pratuang Puthson, Theerat Ardsamang, and Phichit Somboon

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Abstract

The potential of Baccaurea ramiflora Lour., an indigenous hardwood species, for use as an alternative raw material in the pulp and paper production was evaluated. The basic density and chemical composition of B. ramiflora wood were analyzed. Then, wood chip was pulped by kraft process, and subsequently bleached using elemental chlorine-free bleaching. Fiber characteristics, chemical and physical properties of the obtained pulps were throughout investigated. The result shows that the basic density of B. ramiflora wood was between 541–623 kg/m3, which could be classified in medium-density wood. The wood contained high content of acid-insoluble lignin (30.9%), whereas low pentosan (9.6%). The unbleached kraft pulp yield ranged from 40.1–48.5% with high kappa number (39.0–86.5) and low hexenuronic acid (15.4–81.2 μmol/g). The fiber length, fiber width, and fiber coarseness of unbleached pulp was 2.075 mm, 32.2 μm, and 0.182 mg/m, respectively. These values were higher than a range of tropical hardwoods. Moreover, the unbleached pulp contained a high content of primary fines (22.4%). After fines removal, the fiber fraction had higher holocellulose and cellulose content, whereas lower lignin, kappa number, acetone extractives, and ash content. Due to low lignin content, the fiber fraction was easier to bleached than the whole pulp and could be achieved an ISO brightness of 88% without oxygen delignification. Both bleached pulp and bleached fiber fraction contained low viscosity (450–470 mL/g) and low hexenuronic acid (0.1–0.3 μmol/g). The B. ramiflora pulp had a faster response on beating, compared to the fiber fraction. However, the strength of handsheets could be improved by the removal of fines fraction and the bleaching. The maximum tensile, burst and tear indices were of 56.0 Nm/g, 3.5 kPa*m2/g and 17.8 N*m2/g, respectively, while the maximum folding endurance was 180 double folds.