Morphology and Mechanical Pulping Studies of Indian Cotton Stalk, 1996 Pulping Conference Proceedings

Rekha Bharti & S. Bharti

Servall Engineering Industries Limited

N. J. Rao, Atul Jain & Hemant Gupta

Institute of Paper Tech

Cotton stalk, an agricultural waste, is available in plenty in some parts of India. Its anatomical features are studied and micrographs have been made. Cotton Stalk contain both bast and core fibers like kenaf and jute. Bast fibers are longer and coarser than core fibers. The total cellullosic fraction is high 72.4% and lignin content is low 19.5%. The presence of bark cells along with bast fibers give problem in making highly bleached pulp for manufacture of fine grades of paper. Thus in present study Chemi mechanical pulping of cotton stalk was done using laboratory sprout waldron refiner for production of semibleached grades of paper like newsprint. Chemi mechanical pulps of brightness values of 42.6% could be achieved using sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphite along with hydrogen peroxide. Blends of Chemi mechanical pulp from cotton and chemical pulp of bagasse are studied for newsprint grade of paper.