Microfluidized carboxymethyl cellulose modified pulp: a nanofibrillated cellulose system with some attractive properties

A method (Ankerfors and Lindström in Method for providing nanocellulose comprising modified cellulose fibers, 2009) was employed to physically attach anionic carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) chains onto wood pulp, upon which it was fibrillated by a microfluidizer-type homogenizer at high applied pressures and at dilute conditions [<3 % (w/w)]. It was found that the CMC-modified pulp can be fibrillated at the same consistencies as many of the commercially available NFC products. The NFC manufacturing process was also deemed to be energy efficient, as it lacked the need for mechanical pre-treatment, which is often a prerequisite for the production of many existing NFC systems. The CMC-based NFC was studied with respect to the rheological characteristics, and was also characterized using AFM-imaging. Further, The NFC was made into films, and its tensile strength was determined together with its barrier properties. In general, the rheological characteristics (viscosity and storage modulus) together with the tensile strength and oxygen barrier properties of the films were improved with increasing the number of passes through the microfluidizer. The fibrillated CMC-modified pulp was found to be as efficient as other NFC systems when employed as dry strength additive. The employment of the investigated material, which can be produced at acceptable costs and through environmentally benign and industrially relevant processes can, hence, potentially lead to significant future savings in the energy consumption levels in the paper and cardboard manufacturing processes, which have been recognized as major application areas of NFC products.