Sugar-cellulose composites. I: The incorporation of simple saccharides into paper as cellulose substitutes

Abstract

The placement of simple saccharides within the micropores of the cell wall of never-dried pulp fibers to create a cellulose substitute is proposed as a means of reducing the fiber content, and hence the cost, of paper. The nature of the interaction between entombed monosaccharides, disaccharides, disaccharides, and trisaccharides and the cellulose matrix is discussed in terms sizes of the micropores and together with the extent and stereochemistry of the potential multiple hydrogen bonding between these two materials. This paper reports on methods for preparing such sugar-cellulose composites in which (a) a commercial never-dried softwood pulp was either prefilled with glucose or sucrose, as exemplars of monosaccharides and disaccharides, and converted into handsheets or (b) conventionally prepared wet handsheets were filled by a treatment with sugar solutions of various concentrations before the pressing stage of a standard papermaking procedure. Application : these findings demonstrate that, by a variety of practical methods, some of the pulp in a papermaking furnish can be replaced by lower-cost and abundantly available simple sugars. This replacement will reduce the overall cost of papermaking.