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a,*
a
Department of Botany, University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, GR 157 84, Athens, Greece
Department of Ecology and Systematics, University of Athens, Faculty of Biology, GR 157 84, Athens, Greece
c
OikoTechnics Institute, 33 Androutsou & R. Fereou St., GR 166 73 Voula, Greece
d
Chemistry Lab, Softex Papermill S.A., 1 Chartergaton St., GR 118 55, Athens, Greece
Received 3 August 2004; received in revised form 26 November 2005; accepted 16 January 2006
Available online 9 March 2006
Abstract
Freshwater algal biomass and orange and lemon peels were assessed as tissue paper pulp supplements. Cellulose and hemicellulose
contents of algal biomass were 7.1% and 16.3%, respectively, whereas for citrus peels cellulose content ranged from 12.7% to 13.6%
and hemicellulose from 5.3% to 6.1%. For all materials, lignin and ash content was 2% or lower, rendering them suitable for use as paper
pulp supplements. The addition of algal biomass to paper pulp increased its mechanical strength signicantly. However, brightness was
adversely aected by chlorophyll. The addition of citrus peels in paper pulp had no eect on breaking length, increased bursting strength
and decreased tearing resistance. Brightness was negatively aected at proportions of 10%, because citrus peel particles behave as coloured pigments. The cost of both materials is about 45% lower than that of conventional pulp, resulting in a 0.94.5% reduction in nal
paper price upon their addition to the pulp.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Freshwater algal biomass; Orange peels; Lemon peels; Paper mechanical properties; Paper pulp supplements
1. Introduction
World paper consumption was about 300 million tons in
1996/97 and is expected to rise above 400 million tons by
the year 2010 (Hurter and Riccio, 1998). In view of the
shortage of conventional raw materials for pulping and
the increasing demand for paper products, new raw materials for pulp production such as non-wood bers are being
investigated worldwide (Ververis et al., 2004). Some of the
new materials are either lamentous algae that can be used
as the main raw material for papermaking (Kiran et al.,
1980; Sakai et al., 1996; Chao et al., 2000) or algal biomass
used as a supplement in softwood or hardwood pulps
(Nicolucci et al., 1994). The major problems in producing
*
0960-8524/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2006.01.007
297
2. Methods
298
Materials
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
Conventional
a
pulp/algal biomass
pulp/algal biomass
pulp/algal biomass
pulp/orange peels
pulp/orange peels
pulp/orange peels
pulp/lemon peels
pulp/lemon peels
pulp/lemon peels
pulp/algal biomass/orange peels
pulp/algal biomass/lemon peels
pulp/orange peels/lemon peels
97.5/2.5
95/5
90/10
97.5/2.5
95/5
90/10
97.5/2.5
95/5
90/10
90/5/5
90/5/5
90/5/5
Table 2
Cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and ash contents of organic materials
Materials
Algal biomass
Orange peels
Lemon peels
Chemical components
Cellulose
(%)
Hemicelluloses
(%)
Lignin
(%)
Ash
(%)
7.10 0.2
13.61 0.6
12.72 0.5
16.30 0.5
6.10 0.2
5.30 0.2
1.52 0.2
2.10 0.3
1.73 0.2
1.80 0.1
1.50 0.1
1.92 0.2
: Standard deviation.
BURSTING STRENGTH
BURST INDEX (KPa m2/g)
mass was about three times higher than that of citrus peels.
Due to the relatively low cellulose content of the organic
materials compared to that of the bleached commercial
pulp, it was decided to keep their maximum proportion
at 10% when mixing with the pulp. It is worth noting that
all the materials contained low (2% or less) lignin and ash
and this makes them suitable as pulp supplement materials.
299
1.8
1.5
1.2
0.9
0.6
A10
A5
A5- O10
O5
L5
O5 L2.5 02.5
CP
ORGANIC MATERIALS/COMBINATIONS
TEARING RESISTANCE
TEAR FACTOR (mN m2/g)
BREAKING LENGTH
2.8
2.3
1.8
1.3
A10
A5
L5
CP O2.5
ORGANIC MATERIALS/COMBINATIONS
110
100
90
80
70
A10
A5 A2.5 A5O5
A5L5
O5
L5
O10
ORGANIC MATERIALS/COMBINATIONS
300
BRIGHTNESS
BRIGHTNESS
90
80
70
60
Process
Cost ()/ton
Drying/packing
Grinding (down to 20 lm)
Transportation (distance: 150 km)
100
140a
10
Total
250
50
CP L2.5
O
2.5
L5
O5
A5
A5L5
A5- A10
O5
ORGANIC MATERIALS/COMBINATIONS
301