Abstract
A fundamental study was carried out to explore the properties of canola stalks with regards to pulp and paper production. In this study the morphological properties, chemical composition, and soda pulping properties of canola stalks were investigated. The mean values of length, diameter, and cell wall thickness of canola stalks fibers were measured as 1.17 mm, 23.02 mm, and 5.26 mm, respectively. The morphological properties analysis indicated that despite the thicker cell wall, the morphological properties of canola stalks fibers were comparable to those of non-woods and hardwoods fibers. The holocelluloses, alpha-cellulose, lignin, and ash contents of canola stalks were determined to be 73.6, 42.0, 17.3, and 8.2 wt%, respectively. The hot water and dilute alkali extractives of canola stalks were determined as 18 and 46.1 wt%. In comparison to most other non-wood papermaking raw materials, soda pulping of canola stalks required higher chemical charge and cooking time. Soda pulping of canola stalks gave a low yield bleachable grade pulp. The strength properties of bleached canola stalks soda pulp appeared to be similar to those of common non-wood papermaking resources. The overall results showed that canola has a promising potential to be used in pulp and paper production.Download PDF