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The objective of this study was to characterize the properties of pulp and paper produced from tea (Camellia sinensis) wastes, an agricultural residue widely available in Turkey, using the kraft-anthraquinone (AQ) cooking method. The chemical components and fiber morphology of tea wastes were investigated. The results indicated that tea wastes had low holocellulose, cellulose, and a-cellulose contents and high lignin content. Also, the suitability of the fiber for pulp and paper production was examined, and the fiber length, fiber width, lumen diameter, and cell wall thickness were measured. According to these values, it was found that the strength properties of papers obtained from tea wastes were insufficient. Therefore, tea waste pulps were mixed with Turkish pine pulps at various ratios. Twelve different cooking experiments were performed on the tea wastes, and the cooking with the best pulp yield was used for mixing. The second cooking, with 0.1% AQ, gave the best yield (33.26%), an increase of about 3.51% compared to the first cooking with no AQ. The physical and optical properties of the papers were also examined. Results showed that paper properties were improved by increasing the Turkish pine pulp rate. Consequently, tea wastes can be used in pulp and paper production when combined with softwood pulps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study shows that barley straw (Hordeum vulgare) can be a supplementary raw material of softwoods and hardwoods such as Pinus sylvestris and Eucalyptus camaldulensis, respectively, for the production of cellulose and paper, reducing an agricultural residue that has no added value. Barley straw has a lower content of cellulose at 36.4% than P. sylvestris and E. camaldulensis, but it contains a lower quantity of lignin, 15.9%. After pulping with soda anthraquinone (AQ), high contents of cellulose (56.5 to 67.5%) and holocellulose (>80%) were attained. Paper sheet properties were able to reach, and even improve upon, those of wood species (Pinus and Eucalyptus) pulped with kraft. Better values of total yield (56.5%), Kappa number (8.9), and ISO brightness (36.4%), were attained for paper sheets from barley straw pulp versus E. camaldulensis and P. sylvestris, respectively, and comparable values for viscosity, tensile, and burst index were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a facile method for the preparation of cellulosic catalyst paper: the in situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on zinc oxide (ZnO) whiskers, the preferential support for AuNPs, preloaded into a paper matrix. The ZnO paper composites were fabricated using a high-speed and low-cost paper-making technique, and immersed in an aqueous solution of HAuCl4. After drying, fine 5 nm AuNPs were successfully formed on the ZnO whiskers inside the paper matrix. As- prepared AuNPs@ZnO whisker-containing paper (AuNPs@ZnO paper) is similar to ordinary paper products, being flexible, lightweight, and easy to handle. The AuNPs@ZnO paper exhibited a high catalytic efficiency towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in aqueous media. Furthermore, the addition of a polyamideamine epichlorohydrin resin provided a wet strength to the AuNPs@ZnO paper, which enables several catalyst recycles with no significant losses in catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood and cellulose derivatives, in both fibrous and water-soluble macromolecular form, are emerging as outstanding candidates for organic electronics applications due to their large-scale availability, low cost, and easy processability. Paper and wood fibre-based derivatives are considered to be materials of choice as supports for communication world-wide. The interest in producing inexpensive and universally available conducting polymer/cellulose fibres substrates resides in the possibility of creating new materials that can be used for a broad range of advanced applications. For instance, PPy/cellulose fibres composites can be used for the preparation of energy storage devices thanks to the conjugation of the high specific area of cellulose fibres and the electrochemical properties of PPy. Other possible applications of such composites are in the area of the antistatic materials, sensors, electromagnetic interference shielding materials, smart packaging, and tissues. Concerning the woody polymers, some of them (i.e. cellulose derivatives) also exhibit biocompatibility, as well as film-forming properties and transparency. In combination with the electrical properties of PPy, these features make PPy/macromolecular cellulose composites suitable for applications as displays, lighting, and photovoltaics. Due to their chemical structure, macromolecular wood derivatives have been proposed with success as enhancing conductivity additives in Py polymerisation. The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of PPy chemistry and of the most relevant advances attained in the production of PPy/wood derived materials conducting composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Filter media, including those prepared from cellulosic materials, often suffer from permeability loss during continued use. To help understand such issues, one can take advantage of an extensive body of related research in such fields as industrial filtration, water purification, enhanced oil recovery, chromatography, paper manufacture, and the leaching of pollutants from impoundments. Though the mechanisms that appear to govern permeability-loss phenomena depend a lot on the details of various applications, the published research has revealed a number of common features. In particular, flow through a porous bed or fiber mat can be markedly reduced by deposition of particles or colloidal matter in positions that either block or partially restrict fluid flow. Progress has been achieved in the development of mechanistic models, as well as the use of such models in numerical simulations to explain various experimental findings. Further research of this type needs to be applied to cellulosic materials, which tend to be much more elongated in comparison to the bed materials and suspended matter considered most often by most researchers active in research related to permeability loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many words have been written regarding alkaline sizing of paper. The learned works often launch directly into cellulose-size reactions. Starch - a carbohydrate with a similar surface chemistry to cellulose - rarely features in the considerations. Yet the contact of size with the starch may be far more intimate and extensive than the contact with cellulose. It is suggested that the reaction of the size with starch is an important and overlooked contribution to our understanding of sizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-editors of BioResources note the completion of our first ten years. We think that the journal can be judged as a success based on having achieved an impact factor of about 1.4 each year since 2009 and having reached a publication rate of about 700 articles per year. We strive to be a "people's journal" serving scientists, students, and society. We plan to continue emphasizing editorial pieces and review articles, which supplement our main service of publishing peer-reviewed articles dealing with the science of lignocellulosic materials, chemicals, and their uses. We also support undergraduate scholarship in our academic department, including tuition payment, opportunities for pre-editing work, and support for undergraduates to attend conferences, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]