Rapid prediction of native wood pulp properties by Fourier transform Ramanspectroscopy

The feasibility of using Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy for rapid ass essment of various pulp properties was examined using two Eucalyptus specie s, including samples of various ages and colours, which are of importance a s a plantation source. Pulp properties, namely pulp yield, sheet density, b urst factor; breaking length, tear factor; unbleached brightness and Kappa number were measured. The application of 2nd derivatives transformation of Raman spectroscopic data revealed highly significant correlations between m easured and Raman predicted values for all traits with correlation coeffici ent (r) > 0.998 in the calibration (for known samples) and r > 0.882 in the prediction (for unknown samples), respectively. Consequently, this rapid m ethod has suggested its validity for analyzing Eucalyptus native wood meal samples, regardless of their age and colour to assess pulp properties.