Separation of cellulose from industrial paper mill wastewater dried sludge using a commercial and cheap ionic liquid

Industrial wastewaters and their treatment are now placed at the heart of the environmental concerns that industries face. Some research work has been carried out in order to limit the impact of these wastes on the environment as well as their costs. In this study, wastewater dehydrated sludge (55% wt. water content) from the paper industry was used to recover cellulose by using tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride, [P(CH2OH)4]Cl, ionic liquid as a solvent. The ionic liquid has shown remarkable results in terms of cellulose extraction in addition to its non-volatility and lower toxicity compared to organic volatile solvents. All cellulose, based on dry sludge, was recovered from the industrial dehydrated sludge with better operation conditions. The influence of temperature and the quantity of ionic liquid was preliminary studied in order to optimise the extraction conditions.