Effects of supercritical carbon dioxide on morphology of apocynum venetum fibers

This paper investigated the structures and compositions of apocynum venetum fibers treated with pectinase and mixture of sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide in supercritical carbon dioxide fluid. The apocynum venetum fibers were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Fourier transform infrared analysis indicated that pectinase could remove the pectin and hemicellulose and the mixture of sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide could extract the lignin in supercritical carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, the results of X-ray diffraction showed that cellulose crystallinity index and crystallite sizes of treated fibers increased in comparison with that of untreated fibers. The studies of scanning electron microscopy also revealed a complete removal of non-cellulosic gummy material from surface of treated apocynum venetum fibers. Small gummy on the surface of apocynum venetum fibers would be removed by supercritical carbon dioxide, which can be verified by bubble dynamics