Utilization of Hemicellulose and Cellulose Byproducts of Northern States

Abstract

This proposal is a discovery research program for utilizing polycarbohydrate waste materials and byproducts of North American industries for producing different kinds of carboxymethylcellulose (sodium carboximethylcellulose) for use as a binding agent. The unique idea includes processing CMC formation from the initial cellulose or hemicellulose raw materials, straight through to the application. This can sufficiently decrease the costs of CMC materials from one side, and optimize the necessary properties of CMC products for a particular application. This research will be based on the following high volume hemicellulose and cellulose materials: 1) paper mill sludge (PMS, byproduct of paper mill plants); 2) waste wood molasses (WWM, byproduct from the industry of hardboards); 3) sawdust and wood flour (SWF).