The impact of volatile compounds released by paper on cellulose degradation in ambient hygrothermal conditions

The reactivity towards cellulose of various volatile compounds commonly released by paper was studied. Sheets of Whatman No. 1 (W1) and No. 40 (W40) were exposed to various concentrations of these compounds in vapour phase ranging from 20 to 80 ppm in closed vessels for 52 days in controlled ambient conditions, after which they were hygrothermally aged. The measured properties of the paper were copper number, degree of polymerization, zero-span breaking length, pH and yellowness index. The results showed that hydrogen peroxide was the most aggressive among the volatile compounds tested as it severely degraded W1 cellulose. The exposure of W1 to formic acid led to significant degradation, designating this volatile organic compound (VOC) as the most reactive toward cellulose among the carboxyl and carbonyl functionalized VOCs tested. On the other hand, acetic acid was found comparatively less reactive. Nitrogen oxides, which were produced up to 3 ppm from a side-reaction of the carboxylic acids with the magnesium nitrate used to control the relative humidity in the closed vessels, appeared to contribute significantly to the degradation despite their low concentration. Antagonistic effects were evidenced in binary vapour mixtures where the presence of aldehydes (formaldehyde and acetaldehyde) counteracted substantially the degradation induced by the most reactive compounds. It was also shown that acetaldehyde, hexanal and furfural in individual exposures had little to no reactivity. Upon exposure to formaldehyde, the rate of glycosidic bond cleavage of cellulose induced by the ageing of W1 was significantly reduced.