The search for alternative methods for the production of new materials or fuel from renewable and sustainable biomass feedstocks has gained increasing attention. In this study, Nypa fruticans (nipa palm) fronds from agricultural residues were evaluated to produce pure cellulose by combining prehydrolysis for 1–3 h at 150 °C, sulfur-free soda cooking for 1–1.5 h at 160 °C with 13–25% active alkali (AA), 0.1% soluble anthraquinone (SAQ) catalyst, and three-stage totally chlorine-free (TCF) bleaching, namely oxygen, peroxymonosulfuric acid, and alkaline hydrogen peroxide stages. The optimal conditions were 3 h prehydrolysis and 1.5 h cooking with 20% AA. Soda cooking with SAQ was better than the kraft and soda process without SAQ. The method decreased the kappa number as a residual lignin content index of pulp from 13.4 to 9.9–10.2 and improved the yields by approximately 6%. The TCF bleaching application produced pure cellulose with a brightness of 92.2% ISO, 94.8% α-cellulose, viscosity of 7.9 cP, and 0.2% ash content. These findings show that nipa palm fronds can be used to produce pure cellulose, serving as a dissolving pulp grade for viscose rayon and cellulose derivatives.

The need of dissolving pulp (DP) for rayon fiber production is increasing rapidly in recent years. Sustainable sources of DP raw materials and an effective manufacturing process are urgently required. This study aims to manufacture dissolving pulp (DP) with high brightness from Sansevieria-trifasciata (ST) fiber through the pre-hydrolysis, soda-Anthraquinone (Soda-AQ) cooking, and chlorine-free bleaching processes. The cellulose content, kappa number, pulp yield, and viscosity were analyzed. The results showed that the ?-cellulose content in ST raw material (39.43%) was relatively similar to the ?-cellulose content in Acacia pulping kraft (39.2%). Furthermore, the variations in pre-hydrolysis time affected the Kappa number, pulp yield, and viscosity. The DP obtained by the elementary chlorine-free (ECF) bleaching process had a viscosity of 9.3 cP, ?-cellulose content of 97.7%, and the brightness of 90.1% which was higher than the ISO standard of pulp brightness. The high DP brightness obtained from this unique combination of pre-hydrolysis, soda-AQ cooking and chlorine-free bleaching sequences has great potential for further development, as it can be used in viscose rayon staple fibers production.