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Alkaline Delignification of Cactus Fibres for Pulp and Papermaking

Applications

Article  in  Journal of Polymers and the Environment · March 2017

DOI: 10.1007/s10924-017-0968-7

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J Polym Environ
DOI 10.1007/s10924-017-0968-7
ORIGINAL PAPER
Alkaline Delignification of Cactus Fibres for Pulp
and Papermaking Applications
Faten Mannai1,5 · Mohamed Ammar1 · José Garrido Yanez2 · Elimame Elaloui1,3 ·
Younes Moussaoui3,4   
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017
Abstract  Stable aqueous suspensions with high cellulosic
contents and low fractions of lignin have been prepared
from Cactus fibres via chemical delignification of the Cac-
tus biomass feedstock with a sodium hydroxide–anthraqui-
none (soda–AQ) mixture. In order to optimize the reaction
parameters, various temperatures between 120 and 170 °C
and reaction times between 60 and 180  min were exam-
ined. The optimal yield of the resulting alkaline pulps (cor-
responding to the complete reaction of the raw materials)
was equal to 41.4%, while the morphological parameters of
individual cellulose fibres (such as length, width, and frac-
tion of fine elements) were determined using a MorFi ana-
lyser. The estimated degree of polymerization, water reten-
tion value, total charge, and drainability of the produced
pulps confirmed their suitability for papermaking appli-
cations; as a result, paper sheets were manually prepared
using a Rapid-Köthen sheet former apparatus. The mor-
phological analysis of the produced paper was conducted
using a scanning electron microscopy technique, and its
structural and mechanical properties were evaluated with
the standard laboratory testing equipment. The obtained
results indicate that the paper fabricated from Cactus fibres
* Younes Moussaoui
y.moussaoui2@gmx.fr; y.moussaoui2@gmail.com
1
Materials, Environment and Energy Laboratory (UR14ES26),
Faculty of Science, University of Gafsa, 2112 Gafsa, Tunisia
2
University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Institute of Engineering
University Grenoble Alpes (Grenoble INP), LGP2,
38000 Grenoble, France
3
Faculty of Sciences, University of Gafsa, 2112 Gafsa, Tunisia
4
Physical Organic Chemistry Laboratory (UR11ES74),
Faculty of Science, University of Sfax, 3018 Sfax, Tunisia
5
Faculty of Sciences, University of Gabes, Gabes, Tunisia
via the soda–AQ delignification process exhibits homog-
enous morphology as well as satisfactory mechanical and
structural properties.
Keywords  Cactus fibres · Chemical composition · Pulps ·
Soda–AQ delignification · Paper characteristics
Introduction
Recent population growth, rapid industrialization, and fast
economic development have increased the demand for
natural fibre-based products such as paper, textile, boards,
and green composite materials. Diversity of resources,
low cost, availability, abundance, and easiness of process-
ing are the most important characteristics of natural fibres
produced from the vegetal biomass, which are synthesized
in the amount of more than 1­ 04 million tons every year on
our planet [1]. In particular, inexpensive cellulosic prod-
ucts (such as paper) play an important role in the human
life, as indicated by the relatively large size of the pulp
and paper industrial sector. Currently, more than 400 mil-
lion tons of paper is produced every year, and more than
1  million tons is used every day [2]. Previously, pulp and
paper companies utilized wood fibres (pulpwood) as raw
materials obtained from forest resources. However, such an
approach resulted in the exhaustion of this particular source
of natural cellulosic fibres and ecological imbalance. In
order to mitigate this problem, paper manufacturers around
the world are reusing recycled fibres and replacing wood
fibres with non-wood counterparts [3]. Hence, the selec-
tion of suitable raw materials is a critical factor that affects
the yield, easiness of processing, quality, and costs of the
pulping and papermaking processes [4]. Various delig-
nification procedures have been utilized for processing
13
Vol.:(0123456789)

non-wood pulps such as mechanical, chemical (kraft and
sulphite pulps), and chemi-thermomechanical ones in order
to compensate for the shortage of wood resources, isolate
the cellulosic fibrous fraction, and preserve the mechanical,
morphological, and optical properties of the resulting fibres
without damaging their native structure. The advantages of
the pulp produced from non-woody fibres include easy pul-
pability of the raw materials, applicability for manufactur-
ing special types of paper, and high quality of the bleached
pulp [5]. In fact, chemical pulps are characterized by the
highest production rate and represent almost pure cellu-
loses; they are produced by combining heat and chemical
treatment (Kraft pulp) of wood chips with a mixture of
sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide [6]. For instance,
in Europe, kraft pulps constitute more than 65% of the total
pulp production [7]. The soda–anthraquinone (soda–AQ)
and kraft–anthraquinone sulphur-free processes are similar
to the kraft pulping procedure, which utilize soda and anth-
raquinone catalyst (the latter reduces the processing time
and increases the pulp yield). The temperature and time
of pulping depend on the type, composition, and source of
lignocellulosic fibres. Moreover, pulp bleaching is often
performed to produce special sorts of paper (such print
and writing ones), while unbleached pulp can be used in
various packing applications (including paperboards, food
packaging, and large containment bags) [8].
During the last decade, several research groups work-
ing in the field of pulp and paper production have pro-
posed numerous lignocellulosic sources of fibres in order
to valorise new renewable raw materials other than wood
(hardwood and softwood). As a result, various non-woody
fibre resources were explored, including agricultural wastes
(grass, rice straws, wheat straws, sorghum stalks, sugar-
cane bagasse, reeds, bamboo, and kenaf) and annual plants
(tobacco, flax, sisal, and hemp) [4, 9]. Meanwhile, Tunisian
resources contain marine residues (such as Posidonia oce-
anica balls), agricultural residues (such as vine stems and
date palm rachis), and various annual plants (such as Stipa-
grostis pungens, Pituranthos chloranthus, Retama raetam,
Nitraria retusa, and Astagalus armatus roots), which can
potentially alleviate the shortage of fibres produced from
Alfa grass [10–15], the main raw material utilized in the
Tunisian papermaking industry.
In order to explore new sources of natural non-woody
cellulosic fibres, Opuntia ficus-indica non-forest plant has
been considered in this study. It represents a cactus from
tropical, subtropical, arid, and semi-arid regions, which
exists in the form of a shrub or a tree with a height of up
to 5 m and produces a sturdy trunk during aging [16]. This
particular species exhibits extraordinary water storage
capacity (its history, biological properties, and distribution
are described in detail by Jimenez-Aguilar et al. [17]) and
is called ‘Nopalitos’; it was originally found in Mexico and
13
J Polym Environ
later introduced to the Southern Europe, Mediterranean,
and North Africa regions [16]. In both Tunisia [18] and
Brazil [19], its planted areas constitute about 600,000 ha.
O. ficus-indica has received significant attention from
various researches and was extensively investigated because
of its pharmaceutical potential [20] as well as the presence
of phytochemicals and nutrients [21], ability of its coating
films to lengthen the shelf life of food [22], fatty acid com-
position [23], and the ability to decontaminate wastewater
through both the adsorption and coagulation–flocculation
processes [24]. In addition, it was used to manufacture
Cactus fibre/polyester [25] and Cactus fibre/polylactic acid
[26] biocomposite materials (which contained cellulosic
fibres obtained from cladodes) via rotational moulding.
In this work, the raw material characterization of Cac-
tus fibres was performed by examining their chemical and
elemental compositions, and the optimal parameters of the
paper preparation procedure based on soda–AQ delignifi-
cation were established. Fibrous suspension characteriza-
tion was performed by studying the morphology and other
characteristics of the produced fibres. Finally, laboratory
hand-sheet standards were manufactured and subjected to
structural and mechanical testing in order to compare them
to the paper prepared from Alfa steams.
Materials and Methods
Raw Material Preparation
Cactus cellulosic fibres obtained from O. ficus-indica plant
were used as raw materials in this study [the correspond-
ing stems were harvested in April 2014 from the El-Guettar
oasis near Gafsa, Southwest of Tunisia (34°19′53.04″N
8°57′3.6″E)]. During preparation, about 48% of the oven
dried (o.d.) trunk (epidermal cells) was eliminated. Sub-
sequently, the plant was cleaned several times by distilled
water to remove sand and other contaminants. The obtained
Cactus stems were cut into chips with lengths of 2–3 cm,
widths of 1–2 cm, and thicknesses of 1.5–2 cm using prun-
ing scissors (Fig.  1) and dried at an average humidity of
65% and average temperature of around 20 °C for 4 weeks.
The produced raw material was ground in accordance with
the T 264 cm-07 standards, and its 40-mesh fractions were
selected for chemical composition analysis.
Raw Material Characterization
Chemical Composition
Chemical analysis of the produced Cactus fibres was per-
formed according to the TAPPI standard methods and
adopted protocols. In particular, the ash fraction was
J Polym Environ
Fig. 1  Photographs of
the Cactus a stem and b
chips with dimensions of
2–3 × 1–2 × 1.5–2 cm3
determined by the calcination of organic substances at
525 ± 25 °C for 4  h in accordance with the T 211 om-07
standard. The Klason lignin, holocellulose, and α-cellulose
components of the Cactus fibres were quantified using the
TAPPI T 222 om-06 and T 203 cm-99 standard methods
and procedure described in Ref [27]. Three measurements
were performed during each experiment.
Elemental Analysis
The elemental analysis of the raw materials was conducted
using a ZEISS-ULTRA55 scanning electron micros-
copy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS)
instrument at an acceleration voltage ranging from 0.5 to
30 kV and resolution of 4.5 nm. Before analysis, each sam-
ple was coated with an Au/Pd layer.
Soda–AQ Pulping Process
The soda–AQ pulping (delignification) process utilized for
non-woody fibres has been described in detail by Mous-
saoui et al. [14]. In this work, 60 g of the dried Cactus chips
were delignified inside a rotating system consisting of 6
batch digesters (its “multi-shells” had a capacity of 1 L per
unit, and the liquor-to-solid ratio was equal to 10). The pro-
cessing time and temperatures were automatically selected
by the system, and the utilized digesters were equipped
with thermocouples to monitor possible changes in tem-
perature. In addition, a preliminary study was conducted to
select the optimal soda–AQ delignification parameters by
exploring different reaction conditions (see Table 1). Pulp-
ing laboratory conditions were realized without using mul-
tiple-criteria decision-making procedures (such as TOPSIS
and SAW methods [4, 28]). After processing, the obtained
unbleached pulps were first separated from the black liq-
uor and then from the unprocessed fraction via filtration
through a sieve with a 90-µm mesh followed by careful
Table 1  Main experimental parameters of the utilized soda–AQ del-
ignification process
Parameter Value
NaOH content (w/v%) 10, 15, 20
AQ content in o.d. fibres (w/w%) 0.1
Liquor-to-raw material ratio 1:10
Temperature (°C) 120, 140, 160, 170
Reaction time at constant temperature (min) 60, 120, 180
Temperature ramping rate (°C ­min−1) 2.4
washing several times with distilled water until reaching a
neutral pH.
Pulp Evaluation
The effect of temperature on the properties of the obtained
fibres was evaluated using various ad hoc methods. Pulp
yield was calculated as the dry weight of the produced
pulp divided by the dry weight of the initial raw material.
Very dilute sample (0.3 mg of pulp in 8 L distilled water)
suspensions were passed through the MorFi analyser (LB-
01) developed by Techpap-France and the Paper Technical
Centre to examine the main morphological parameters of
the produced fibres (lengths, widths, and fractions of fine
elements with lengths below 200 microns) using a CCD
camera. The degree of polymerization (DP) was determined
according to the procedure described by Sihtola et al. [29].
The viscosity of the fibrous suspensions (mPa s) in cupri-
ethylenediamine was measured according to the TAPPI T
230 om-99 standard. The water retention value (WRV) and
degree of fibre swelling were estimated using a previously
developed procedure [30]. The pulp drainability or Schop-
per-Riegler degree (°SR: ISO 5267-1) as well as the total
ionic charges of the obtained fibres (which correlated with
13
 J Polym Environ

the amount of the ionized chemical species in the produced
pulp) were determined by ‘Gran’s method’ [31].
Paper Production and Characterization
The dispersion of the fibrous suspensions was performed
using a standard disintegrator at a rotation speed of
3000 rpm and temperature of 20 ± 2 °C according to the T
205 sp-06 method. Pulp suspensions with concentrations of
2  g ­L−1 were used for the preparation of ten paper sheets
with diameters of 20  cm via the standard ISO 5269-2
method using a Franc Rapid Köthen sheet former appa-
ratus. According to the ISO 187 standard, the obtained
papers were conditioned for 48 h at a temperature of 23 °C
and relative humidity of 50% before testing. After that,
the morphological analysis of each sample was performed
using the ZEISS-ULTRA55 SEM–EDS apparatus. The
structural and mechanical properties of the produced paper
sheets were studied by measuring their basis weights (ISO
536), thicknesses (ISO 534), bulk, and air permeability
(ISO 5636-3) as well as the tensile strength (ISO 1924-3),
bursting strength (NF Q 03-053), and tear resistance (NF
Q 03-011). Afterwards, the bulk value and porosity of the
produced paper sheets were calculated.
According to Fig.  2, a very small fraction of the Kla-
son lignin (not exceeding 5 wt%) was present in the Cac-
tus stems (as opposed to other plants), indicating that
Cactus was not a woody plant. The total holocellulose
amount (64 wt%) was similar to that found in vine stems
and higher than the magnitudes obtained for banana stems
and P. oceanica balls, but lower than the holocellulose con-
tent measured for hardwood, palm oil empty fruit bunches
(POEFBs), date palm rachis, Alfa stems, and some annual
plants (in general, the holocellulose content can provide
information about the quality and quantity of the produced
pulp and paper [34]). The measured α-cellulose content was
surprisingly higher (around 53.6 wt%) than those obtained
for hardwood, softwood, Alfa stems, Eucalyptus citrio-
dora, date palm rachis, P. oceanica balls, vine stems, and
some annual plants (see Table 2); it was also acceptable for
papermaking applications and corresponded to paper with
enhanced strength. However, the ash content (indicating the
presence of inorganic materials in the raw fibres) was about
only 5.5 wt%. It was comparable to the values estimated for
Table 2  Chemical compositions of several lignocellulosic plants
(w/w)
Plant Ash Lignin Holocellulose Cellulose

Alfa stems [15] 3.7 22.3 – –

Results and Discussion Eucalyptus citriodora 0.8 22.7 – 48.2
[4, 28]
Raw Material Characterization Hardwood [32, 33] 1 16–24 79–80 43–47
Softwood [32, 33] 2–5 25–31 65–74 40–45
Chemical Composition POEFBs [34] 3.93 26.4 71.1 –
Date palm rachis [11] 5.0 27.2 74.8 45.0
Figure  2 shows the results of the chemical analysis of the Bambusa species [32] 2–3 24–25.7 73–74.9 –
Cactus fibres utilized in this work. For comparison pur- Posidonia oceanica balls 12 29.8 61.8 40
[11]
poses, the chemical compositions of some lignocellulosic
Vine stems [10] 3.9 28.1 65.4 35.0
raw materials (including wood, annual and perennial plants,
Banana stem [33] 7.1 11.1 43.6 –
and agricultural residues), which were previously used for
Annual plants [12, 13] 2–6.2 17–26 52–70 36–46
pulping and papermaking, are listed in Table 2.

Fig. 2  Chemical composition Ash

of the Cactus stems 5.5%
Hot water Cactus fibers
extracts 25%

Lignin
4.8%

Cellulose
Hemi-celluloses 53 %
11%

13
J Polym Environ

date palm rachis and some softwood plants and was sig-
nificantly higher than the ash contents measured for Euca-
lyptus Hardwood, Alfa stems, POEFBs, Bambusa species,
and vine stems; however, it was lower than the magnitudes
obtained for P. oceanica balls and banana stems. Moreo-
ver, the amount of hot water extracts was about 25 wt%.
Owing to the high cellulose amount and low lignin content
in the Cactus fibres, the latter appear to be more suitable
for papermaking applications than other lignocellulosic raw
materials described in this study.
EDS Elemental Analysis
The EDS elemental analysis of the Cactus fibres was per-
formed to ensure that the utilized raw material was silica-
free, which was extremely important for papermaking. The
resulting composition indicated the presence of several
chemical elements on the material surface, including sig-
nificant C and O levels as well as smaller amounts of other
atoms (such as Mg, Cl, K and Ca; see Fig. 3), which most
likely originated from various salts present in the gypsum
soil of that particular region (it should also be noted that
the Ca and Mg contents in Cactus were higher than those in
annual plants [13, 14]). The chemical analysis results also
revealed the presence of calcium oxalate (whewellite) crys-
tals [37].
Pulp Evaluation
Effect of Temperature and Processing Time on Pulp Yield
result, the temperatures of 120 and 140 °C were excluded
from the consideration because the corresponding con-
tents of the unprocessed raw materials were much higher
than the yields of fibrous suspension. At the same time, the
effective alkali contents of 10 and 15 wt% as well as the
processing time of 60 min were insufficient to obtain indi-
vidualized fibres during processing (since the raw material
was not properly delignified). Hence, the optimal experi-
mental conditions for extraction of individualized pulps are
summarized in Table  1. The pulp yields were calculated
as the ratios of the dried weights of the produced pulps to
the dried weights of the raw materials (the contents of the
unprocessed materials and corresponding yields are shown
in Fig. 4).
The obtained results indicate that the increase in tem-
perature decreases the overall pulp yield. After process-
ing for 2–3 h at a temperature of 160 °C, the resulting pulp
yield was close to 42.8%, which corresponded to 10.6%
of the unprocessed (rejected) materials. The pulp yield
obtained at 170 °C (after 2 h) was equal to 41.4%, while the
related content of the unprocessed materials was negligi-
ble (1%). Thus, the subsequent data reported in this study
were obtained using the optimal pulping conditions of the
soda–AQ delignification process listed in Table 3.
Total pulps yields Unprocessed materials
50
45.2
43.1 42.1
40
34.1

The delignification of the Cactus fibres was performed 30

Y (%)

using the soda–AQ process. A preliminary study was

conducted to optimize the delignification conditions; as a 20

10
10 6
1 0.4
0
a b c d

Fig. 4  Pulp yields obtained a at 160 °C after 2  h, b at 160 °C after

3 h, c at 170 °C after 2 h, and d at 170 °C after 3 h

Table 3  Optimal conditions utilized during the Cactus soda–AQ

pulping process

Parameter Value

NaOH content (wt%) 20

AQ concentration (o.d.) (%) 0.1
Liquor-to-raw material ratio 1:10
Temperature (°C) 170
Time (min) 120
Temperature ramping rate (°C ­min−1) 2.4
Fig. 3  An EDS spectrum obtained for the Cactus fibres

13
 J Polym Environ

In addition, the optimal pulp yield was compared with Fibre Characteristics
the magnitudes obtained for other soda–AQ delignified
pulps (see Table 4). In particular, the yield measured for The quality of obtained pulps can be related to the mor-
POEFBs was significantly higher than those obtained for phological parameters of the produced fibres. Table 5 lists
the other pulps. However, the yield of the Cactus pulp in the dimensions of the fibres extracted under the optimum
this study was much higher than the yield measured for conditions, which were compared to the dimensions of
the date palm leaves processed under similar conditions several fibrous suspensions obtained via different pulping
without refining. It was also higher than the magnitudes processes. The length and width of the unrefined Cactus
obtained for Astragalus armatus and R. raetam annual fibres were 764 and 38 µm, respectively, indicating that the
plants (30 and 35%, respectively) and slightly lower than corresponding raw material could be used in the production
the pulp yield of other annual plants such as Alfa (43.5% of hand sheets (the width magnitude was most likely over-
after kraft processing) [38]. Hence, the value of the pulp estimated due to the fibre swelling caused by the hydra-
yield obtained in this study was greater than the pulp tion of cell walls). A comparison of the data obtained for
yields reported for most annual plants and agricultural different plants indicates that the produced Cactus fibres
crops (30–35%) [13]. Due to the low content of lignin in were higher, longer, and thicker than the fibres obtained
the raw material, the Kappa number of the produced Cac- from vine stems, unbleached and bleached Alfa steams,
tus pulp was not calculated. POEFBs, date palm rachis, P. oceanica balls, olive trees,
S. pungens, and P. chloranthus; however, their lengths were
similar to those of the hardwood-like Eucalyptus fibres.
Thus, the studied Cactus pulp contained about 16.3 wt%
of fine elements, which was higher than the amounts esti-
Table 4  A comparison between the Cactus pulp yield and the values mated for vines stems, Eucalyptus, and P. oceanica balls,
obtained for other plants after soda–AQ processing and lower than the contents of fine elements in other pulp
fibres. Therefore, the results obtained using the MorFi ana-
Pulp Pulping conditions (soda Yield (%)
content, temperature, process- lyser suggest that the produced Cactus pulp can be a suit-
ing time) able raw material for papermaking.
The drainability of the Cactus soda–AQ pulp (°SR) was
Cactus stems (This work) 20%, 170 °C, 120 min 41.1
higher (17) than those of other raw materials such as date
POEFBs [34] 17%, 162 °C, 90 min 48
palm rachis (14) [11] and unrefined unbleached Alfa pulp
Date palm leaves [39] 20%, 165 °C, 120 min 29.5
(16) [15], which confirmed the relatively high quality of the
Vine stems [10] 12%, 140 °C, 120 min 45
Cactus fibres (see Table 6). In addition, the viscosity of the
Stipagrostis pungens [12] 5%, 140 °C, 120 min 43
obtained soluble pulps represented by the degree of polym-
Astragalus armatus [14] 5%, 140 °C, 120 min 30
erization (DP) of the Cactus fibres was around 600, which
Retama raetam [13] 5%, 140 °C, 120 min 35
was higher than that of Leucaena varieties (509) [41] and

Table 5  Dimensions obtained Natural fibre Pulping process Fibre length Fibre width Fraction of
for the Cactus fibrous (µm) (µm) fine elements
suspensions (in comparison (%)
with the sizes of other natural
pulp fibres) Cactus stems (This work) Soda–AQ 764 38 16.3
Vine stems [10] Soda–AQ 590 24.6 9.2
Eucalyptus [26] Kraft 770 20.9 12.2
Alfa stems (­ UNBAPa) [15] Alkaline 630 19.2 25.1
Alfa stems (­ BAPb) [15] Alkaline 590 18.7 26.2
POEFBs [34] Soda–AQ 625 21.5 –
Date palm rachis [11] Soda–AQ 690 22.3 30.8
Posidonia oceanica balls [11] Soda–AQ 550 21.3 7.5
Olive trees [40] Organosolv 450 – 2.94
Stipagrostis pungens [12] Soda–AQ 606 22.3 24.3
Pituranthos chloranthus [13] Soda–AQ 580 22.9 28.5
a
 Unbleached Alfa pulp
b
 Bleached Alfa pulp

13
J Polym Environ

Table 6  Schopper degree (°SR), water retention value (WRV), and unrefined Alfa pulp (see Table 7). The obtained basic
degree of polymerization ­(DPv), and total charge obtained for the weight (65.2  g ­m−2) was comparable to that of the Alfa
Cactus soda–AQ pulp
steam paper, while the corresponding bulk value (2.07 cm3
°SR WRV (%) Total charge (µeq g­ −1) DPv ­g−1) was slightly lower than that of the Alfa paper (2.36 cm3
­g−1) due to the lower thickness of the Cactus paper (the lat-
17 63.7 22 600
ter be significantly enhanced by refining [15]). However,
the measured elongation of the Cactus paper was slightly
higher than that of the Alfa paper, and its air permeability
lower than the other reported values. The WRV obtained was significantly lower. The braking length (1.5  km) was
for the Cactus pulp was very close to that of woody pulps 60% lower than that of the Alfa paper (3.75 km), the Young
(around 63%), which could be explained by the inner fibril- modulus (1.8 GPa) was close to that established for Alfa
lation of the fibres due to the presence of charged moieties
with a total charge of 22 μeq g­ −1. Hence, the obtained pulp
Table 7  Properties of the papers produced from the Cactus pulp and
characteristics indicate the suitability of the studied Cactus other lignocellulosic fibres
fibres as potential raw materials for hand sheet production.
Paper proprieties Cactus Alfa stems [15]
fibres (This
Paper Properties work)

Morphological Analysis Structural properties

 Basis weight (g ­m−2) 65.2 65
The morphological SEM analysis of the fabricated hand  Thickness (µm) 135.0 153
sheets was performed in order to evaluate the suitability  Bulk value ­(cm3 ­g−1) 2.07 2.36
of the Cactus soda–AQ pulp for papermaking applica-  Permeability ­(cm3/s Pa m­ 2) 229.2 859
tions (their surface and cross-sectional views are shown  Porosity (%) 68.6 –
in Fig.  5). The fibres depicted on the sheet surface are Mechanical properties
long, swollen, well separated, homogeneous, and strongly  Elongation (%) 0.55 0.51
linked together, while the hydration of the fibre cell wall  Specific energy (mJ ­g−1) 535 –
is denoted by the largest void area (Fig. 5a). Fine elements  Burst index (kPa ­m2 ­g−1) 5.8 4
were evenly distributed across the paper surface, and sev-  Tear index (mN m ­ 2 ­g−1) 12.0 9.2
eral thick fibres could be observed as well.  Young modulus (Pa × 109) 1.83 1.8
 Breaking length (km) 1.57 3.75
Structural and Mechanical Testing  Dry zero-span breaking length (km) 12.65 10.7
 Wet zero-span breaking length (km) 7.7 8.8
Structural and mechanical parameters of the produced  Internal bond strength (J ­m−2) 68.52 –
Cactus hand sheets were estimated and compared with  Short-span compressive strength 1.32 –
(kN ­m−1)
those of the paper fabricated from the Tunisian unbleached

Fig. 5  SEM images of the

hand sheets fabricated from the
Cactus fibres: a a surface and b
a cross-section

13

stems, and the tear index (12 mN m ­ 2 ­g−1) and bust index
2 −1
(5.8 kPa ­m ­g ) were both significantly higher than those
obtained for the Alfa paper. Thus, the morphological, struc-
tural, and mechanical characteristics of the Cactus fibres
suggest their possible applications for producing paper
from non-woody plants.
Conclusion
Owing to the renewability of Cactus plants in Tunisia, Cac-
tus fibres can be potentially utilized as a suitable source
of cellulosic fibres for papermaking. In this work, various
chemical pulps were obtained via soda–AQ processing, and
their yields were comparable to those of the pulps produced
from other raw materials, while their homogenous mor-
phological properties confirmed the high quality of indi-
vidual cellulosic fibres. In addition, the good structural and
mechanical characteristics of the unrefined fibres indicate
that the Cactus-based fibres are suitable for papermaking
applications due to their intrinsic properties and low costs.
Moreover, the total yield of the pulp produced from the
Cactus plants (containing about 52 wt% of the raw mate-
rials) was about 22%, which could be further reduced by
bleaching. Thus, the results obtained in this study indicate
that pulps for papermaking applications can be fabricated
from agricultural crops, which represent a good option for
the countries without forests.
Acknowledgements  The authors would like to express their deep
gratitude to Professor Mohamed Naceur Belgacem, director of Greno-
ble INP-Pagora, for his valuable advices and assistance as well as to
the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education for the financial support.
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