Abstract
In China, fiber supply lags behind the growing demand for paper and paperboard products. The increasing consumption of paper products necessitated the need for new fiber sources. The red alga Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is economically cultivated on a large scale in China for industrial agar extraction. During the extraction processes, considerable amounts of solid residues are produced as extraction wastes. In this study, we explored the potential of using the agar extraction residues as raw materials for pulping and papermaking. The results show that the extraction wastes of G. lemaneiformis could indeed be utilized for papermaking. Evaluation of the paper handsheets showed that a higher content of algal material resulted in paper that had lower strength and permeability but higher waterproof and greaseproof characteristics, as well as better antimicrobial effects. The results indicated that alga extraction residues could be employed as functional fillers to produce paper products that are potentially useful in the food-packaging industry.
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Acknowledgments
This work is supported by National Natural Science Fundation of China (grant No.41106131), The Nonprofit Research Project for the State Oceanic Administration (grant No.201105008-2), The National High technology Research and Development Program (grant No.2012AA10A411), National Science & Technology Pillar Program (grant No.2012BAC07B00) and The Basic Research of QingdTo (grant No.11-2-4-8-(5)-jch).
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Jicheng Pei, Apeng Lin, and Fangdong Zhang contributed equally to this work
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Pei, J., Lin, A., Zhang, F. et al. Using agar extraction waste of Gracilaria lemaneiformis in the papermaking industry. J Appl Phycol 25, 1135–1141 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9929-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-012-9929-7