Use of sugar cane straw as a source of cellulose for textile fiber production

This paper reports the development of textile fibers from cellulose of sugar cane straw and commercial cellulose. Sugar cane straw pulps were obtained after alkaline pulping, using soda/anthraquinone (AQ). For the removal of residual lignin, pulps were submitted to chemical bleaching with hydrogen peroxide. Bleached pulps were used to obtain fibers with N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO). Straw and pulps were characterized for their chemical composition (cellulose, polyoses and lignin). Fibers were analyzed to evaluate maximum water uptake or swelling, weight loss and mechanical properties. Microstructure was analyzed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Pulping yield was 30%, and fibers showed water uptake capacity around 60–73%. The mass loss profile was about 25–26% in 30 days. Fibers obtained from commercial cellulose and straw presented tenacity values in the range of 4.1–4.3 cN/tex, which are compatible with commercial lyocell produced from wood pulp cellulose.

► This paper analyzed pulping yield conditions of cane straw for cellulose production.
► Fiber, swelling, weight loss and morphological characteristics were reported.
► Tenacity of straw cellulose fibers obtained is similar to lyocell commercial fiber.
► Technical advantages of agricultural byproducts used for fiber textile development.