THERMAL PROPERTIES OF CELLULOSE TRIACETATE AS PREPARED FROM LOW-GRADE DISSOLVING PULP

摘要

Because cellulose triacetate is prepared from low-grade dissolving pulp, a considerable amount of the insoluble residue was present in the acetylation medium of the acetic acid/acetic anhydride/sulfuric acid system. To reduce the insoluble residues, a solvent, such as nitromethane, nitroethane, or dichloroacetic acid, added to the acetylation medium was found to be very effective for its reduction. By exploring the optimum conditions for acetylation with these solvents, nitromethane added and dichloroacetic acid added systems with solvent/acetic acid = 3/7 (v/ v) were found to have a particularly high transmittance at lambda = 670 nm in their acetylation solution with a low insoluble residue. The obtained acetates revealed good thermal properties similar to that from high-grade dissolving pulps. Therefore, a high quality cellulose triacetate can be manufactured from acetylation systems with even low-grade dissolving pulps with an appropriate solvent added. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [References: 16]