ALKALINE TREATMENT OF SUGAR-CANE BAGASSE - SWELLING AND PROPERTIES OFCHEMIMECHANICAL PULPS

Acid group content and swelling of the alkali treated bagasse are anal yzed as a function of alkali charge and temperature. The chemical acti on proceeds gradually and independent of temperature up to 4% NaOH. WR V of the fibrous fractions does not significantly change with refining and appears as similar to the WRV of the corresponding treated bagass e. This indicates that the level of pretreatment determines solely swe lling of the fibre wall. For the applied conditions, there exist clear relationships between swelling measured by WRV and the characteristic s of pulp, like integrity of fibres, tensile strength and scattering c oefficient.