Green Method for Production of Cellulose Multifilament from Cellulose Carbamate on a Pilot Scale

• Published in: ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering Vol. 2; no. 10; pp. 2363 - 2370
• Main Authors: Fu, Feiya, Zhou, Jinping, Zhou, Xuemei, Zhang, Lina, Li, Daoxi, Kondo, Tetsuo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 06-10-2014
• Subjects: Cellulose multifilament; NaOH/ZnO aqueous solution; Cellulose carbamate; Fiber-spinning; Microwave-assisted synthesis
• ISSN: 2168-0485; 2168-0485
• DOI: 10.1021/sc5003787

In the cellulose industry, the viscose process is still occupying the leading position, although this process generates several environmentally hazardous byproducts. Here we report a novel method for the production of cellulose multifilament from cellulose carbamate (CC) on a pilot scale. In this method, CC was first prepared efficiently by microwave heating; it was then dissolved in NaOH/ZnO aqueous solutions through a freezing–thawing process. Wet spinning of the CC solution was performed on a pilot-scale machine. The cellulose multifilament displayed a dense circular microstructure and excellent physicochemical properties. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the multifilament in dry state were 2.58 cN/dtex and 12.1%, respectively. Moreover, the process could utilize most of the conventional equipment for the viscose method, which could have a great impact on the current cellulose industries.