Abstract
Conditions for obtaining microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) by the thermocatalytic method from hardwood (birch, aspen) and softwood (pine) bleached sulphate pulp have been developed. After thermocatalytic treatment, cellulose polymerization degree has decreased to the so-called levelling-off degree of polymerization (LODP), which, in the case of birch, aspen and pine wood pulp, made up 450, 370 and 250 units, respectively. After grinding the destructed pulp in a ball mill, MCC powder samples were obtained with particles, the major part of which had sizes of 2-20 mm. in terms of physico-chemical indices investigated in this work, the obtained samples conform to the pharmacopoeia requirements. Dispersing the destructed pulp in water medium, at a sufficiently high cellulose concentration (³ 8%), MCC gel samples were prepared, with rheological properties typical for liquid crystalline polymers. The indices of the obtained hardwood and softwood MCC were compared.Download PDF