An attempt has been made to prepare binderless boards from cotton plant stalks by resorting to a new biological process. The biological pretreatment aimed at in the present investigation completely replaces the conventional thermo mechanical pulping process. The role of aerobic bacteria was evident during the anaerobic treatment. The cocktail of enzymes in the active system elaborated mostly by anaerobic microorganisms assisted by the presence of aerobic flora are responsible for softening the lingo-cellulose complex. The effect of anaerobic process on various properties was evaluated. The results indicated that there was not much change in the chemical composition after one day of anaerobic treatment. As the number of days of anaerobic treatment increases reduction in the percentage of pulp yield was observed. The properties of the board obtained by this process satisfy the BIS specification excepting the water absorption. Additional advantage of this new process indicates that there is about 40 %saving in energy as compared to thermo mechanical pulping method.
展开▼
