Chemical characterisation and suitability for papermaking applications studied on four species naturally growing in Tunisia.

Four plants species namely Astragalus armatus , Retama raetam , Pituranthos chloranthus and Nitraria retusa were collected from Kasserine (Tunisia) to study their suitability for pulp and papermaking. Their chemical composition revealed that the α-cellulose content in R. raetam was lower than the normal range of hardwood, but the others were acceptable for pulp production. The Klason lignin content in these species was lower than 20%, except for N. retusa (26%). The amount of extractives in organic solvents was quite high (close to 10%) in R. reatam and P. chloranthus . The previous raw materials were pulped by using the soda-anthraquinone cooking process, the morphological properties, kappa number and the degree of polymerisation of the pulps obtained were determined. Finally, laboratory handmade standard sheets were prepared from the unrefined pulps of P. chloranthus and A. armatus . Their characterisation showed that the prepared papers present low density values and quite good mechanical properties particularly for the unbleached pulp. This study demonstrates the high potentiality of these two species for papermaking applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]