Achnatherum inebrians straw as a potential raw material for pulp and paper production

Cellulosic pulps were prepared from Achnatherum inebrians straw using soda, soda anthraquinone (soda-AQ), and Kraft pulping processes. The main chemical compositions in A. inebrians straw are 70.5% holocellulose, 41.6% alpha-cellulose, and 18.2% lignin, similar to those in other non-wood materials. The conditions of a liquid/solid ratio of 4.5:1, a time-to-maximum temperature of 100 min, a maximum temperature of 165 °C and a time-at-maximum temperature of 40 min were used in all pulping processes. The results showed that the pulp yield was 35.12–37.01%, the kappa number was 13.23–17.67, drainage index was 19–21 °SR and the viscosity of pulps was 846–898 mL/g. Tear index, tensile index, burst index and brightness of the paper were 5.27–5.83 mN m2/g, 16.58–18.11 mN/g, 1.76–2.37 kPa m2/g and 40.7–43.1% ISO respectively. It is indicated that A. inebrians straw can be used as an alternative raw material for pulping.