Preparation of Fiber Raw Materials by Cooking Golden Bamboo Grass (Arundo donax) with Calcified Regenerated Alkali Solution

The increasing consumption of paper products has led to a shortage of paper fiber raw materials. It is necessary to develop new plant materials to alleviate the shortage of fiber suitable for papermaking. In this study, the fast-growing plant golden bamboo grass (Arundo donax), which is cultivated and planted in Guangxi province of China, was used as a new material for pulping. The average pulp yield by cyclic-cooking method averaged 48.6%, being 4.1% greater than the pulp yield by the ordinary caustic soda method. Much of the increased yield was attributable to the reprecipitation of lignin onto the fibers. The paper properties of the pulp prepared by cycle-cooked method did not decrease significantly, compared with the pulp prepared by the usual single-cooked method. Therefore, the pulp met the requirements of national standards of many kinds of papers. However, the pulp was not suitable for bleaching, due to its high consumption of oxidizing agents to reach the required brightness. Therefore, this research demonstrates that the fast-growing plant, Arundo donax is a good raw material for pulp, and the innovative method of cycle-cooking method can significantly improve the pulp yield.