PREPARATION OF DISSOLVING PULP FROM SUGAR-CANE BAGASSE, AND ITS ACETYLATION UNDER HOMOGENEOUS SOLUTION CONDITION

Optimized conditions for preparation of dissolving pulp from sugar can e bagasse are: sulfuric acid prehydrolysis for 90 minutes at 120 degre es C, followed by sodium hydroxide pulping for 120 minutes at 165 degr ees C, in the presence of 0,05% anthraquinone catalyst, followed by a four-stage conventional chlorine-based bleaching. The or-cellulose con tent, ash content, and degree of polymerization of the produced dissol ving pulp are: > 95%, < 0.15% and 780, respectively. It was acetylated under homogeneous solution condition, its reaction with acetyl chlori de in 9% LiCl/N,N-dimethylacetamide, in the presence of pyridine, or N ,N-dimethyl-aniline catalyst, yielded acetate esters whose degree of a cetylation is 2.65 +/- 0.10, with no degradation of the natural polyme r.