Research on Wheat Straw Pulping with Ionic Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazole Bromide

Abstract

In this paper, the pulping process of wheat straw using ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([Emim]Br) as the digestion liquor is presented. The influence of pulping conditions on the pulp yield are analysed by single-factor and orthogonal experiments, and optimum pulping conditions are obtained. The average pulp yield reaches 44 %, and the average recovery rate of ionic liquid is 93.5 %. The XRD pattern shows no obvious change in the crystal structure of the wheat straw cellulose. Additionally, the SEM image illustrates that there are many fine fibres in the pulp and the spaces between the fibres are large.

Keywords

• Pulping process
• pulp yield
• ionic liquid
• recovery rate
• wheat straw