Production of Rayon from Cellulose Biomass waste (Wastepaper) by

Zinc Chloride Process

 ABSTRACT

Rayon is a versatile fabric sharing many advantages with cotton. It is soft,

comfortable, absorbent, and breathable, takes dyes easily and is derived

from renewable raw materials. The man-made cellulose fibre, has been

made either by using the viscose process or the cuprammonia process. In

both methods, the starting raw material is a high-DP cellulose, and the

solvents used in both methods are difficult to recycle and also detrimental to

the environment. With these considerations, zinc chloride is chosen as an

alternative cellulose solvent to produce rayon from low-DP cellulose. It is

proposed advantageous to use zinc chloride as a cellulose because zinc

chloride, as a salt, could be recycled easily, and the zinc ion is not as toxic as

heavy metals. The most important implication of this zinc chloride method is

that low-DP cellulose can be obtained readily from cellulosic biomass, which

most cellulose exists as waste biomass such as waste paper and even,

agricultural residues.