Chemical and biometrical properties of plum wood and its application in pulp and paper production

Abstract

Plum (Prunus domestica) is one of the most widespread species of fruit trees in Asia and South-East Europe. There are large quantities of fruit wood trees without suitable usage in world. The aim of this research was to examine biometrical and chemical properties of the plum wood and its application in the pulp and paper industry. Five normal plum trees were randomly selected from Shahriyar province, Iran. A log cut down at stem (breast height) and branch for each of trees. The pith parts of cross-section were removed to examine the chemical (according to the TAPPI standard) and biometrical properties (according to the Franklin method). Results indicated that there were significant differences between stem and branch samples in fiber diameter and lumen diameter. Types of wood (branch and stem) had not significant differences on the chemical properties and fiber length, cell wall thickness and morphological properties. Among all of studied properties, the lignin, cellulose, fiber diameter, fiber lumen diameter, cell wall thickness and flexibility coefficient in branch wood is higher than stem wood. Although Runkel and flexibility coefficients of stem and branch fibers are lower than the accepted standard, but because of closing amount of lignin, extractive composition and fiber length to hardwood species, it can solve some of the problems of the lack of raw materials for paper production.

Characterization and within-tree variation of wood anatomy of Acacia melanoxylon

“…Fibre lumen is important in the pulp beating process e.g. a larger fibre lumen improves the beating and the penetration of liquid to the empty spaces of the fibre wall (Young, 1981).The Runkle index is related with the suitability of a fibrous material for pulp and paper production: high Runkle index fibres produce bulkier paper because the fibres will be stiffer and less flexible and will have poor bonding ability (Kiaei et al 2014).…”

Factors affecting the hygroexpansion of paper

“…Effect of wood species, parts of the plant, age and compression wood Depending on the specie, plant part, age, and growing conditions, fibers have different sorption isotherms [109,110] and suitability for papermaking [14,38,102,111]. As mentioned in the previous section, the paper properties are related to the ratios of the different geometrical dimensions of the fibers [14].…”

“…In general, the ratios of the different geometrical dimensions of fibers are related to paper properties as follows [14] (see Fig. 6):…”

“…For the measurement of single fiber hygroexpansion, atomic force microscopy (AFM) [12,13] and light microscopy [14] in combination with specially designed software for fiber analysis [15,16] were used to acquire images of fibers and cellulose fibrils. Even 3D images can be obtained by microtomography [17,18].…”

Evaluation of Common Wheat Stubbles (Triticum aestivum L.) for Pulp and Paper Production

“…The Runkel value is the ratio of fi ber cell wall thickness and its lumen and it determines the suitability of a fi brous material for pulp and paper production. If a wood species has a high Runkel value, its fi ber will be stiff and less fl exible and have poor bonding ability (Kiaei et al, 2014). The Runkel values of the raw materials were higher than those of other species.…”