A facile sodium alginate-based approach to improve the mechanical properties of recycled fibers

Yuan-Yuan Bai; Yan-Hao Lei; Xiao-Jun Shen; Jing Luo; Chun-Li Yao; Run-Cang Sun

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.06.091

A facile sodium alginate-based approach to improve the mechanical properties of recycled fibers

Carbohydr Polym. 2017 Oct 15:174:610-616. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.06.091. Epub 2017 Jun 23.

Authors

Yuan-Yuan Bai¹, Yan-Hao Lei¹, Xiao-Jun Shen¹, Jing Luo¹, Chun-Li Yao², Run-Cang Sun¹

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: chunliyao2006@163.com.

PMID: 28821111
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.06.091

Abstract

The application of recycled fibers is steadily increasing in various paper products recently. It is necessary to improve the mechanical properties of paper products made from these fibers. An eco-friendly polymeric additive, sodium alginate (SA), was prepared from waste seaweeds and developed as functional additives. The properties of SA were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravity analysis, gel permeation chromatography, and compared with the commercial SA. Coupled with polyamideamine-epichlorohydrin (PAE), the extracted SA was used to enhance the mechanical properties of paper from recycled fibers. The surface and cross-section morphology of the paper were measured by scanning electron microscopy and discussed. Compared with the single addition of PAE, the SA-PAE binary system significantly improved the mechanical properties of paper sheets.

Keywords: Mechanical properties; Paper additives; Polyamideamine-epichlorohydrin; Recycled fibers; Sodium alginate.