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Synthesis of porous emulsion‐templated monoliths from a pulp mill by‐product
Author(s) -
Forgacz Claire,
Birot Marc,
Deleuze Hervé
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.38981
Subject(s) - emulsion , black liquor , kraft process , materials science , pulmonary surfactant , pulp (tooth) , chemical engineering , porosity , dispersity , kraft paper , raw material , dewatering , emulsified fuel , composite material , lignin , chemistry , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , geotechnical engineering , pathology , engineering
Black liquor is a by‐product of the paper mill Kraft process that deserves more valorization than its present use as low‐grade fuel. In this work, we present an original approach allowing the preparation of macroporous interconnected monolithic materials using as‐received black liquor as main raw material. The process involves the formulation of an oil‐in‐water medium internal phase emulsion as soft templating porosity medium. The oil (internal phase) used is castor oil, whereas the continuous phase is constituted of black liquor containing a hydrophilic surfactant and epichlorohydrin as lignin crosslinking agent. Due to the high viscosity of the system, a specially designed emulsifying device was employed. The proper choices of the surfactant and emulsification conditions allow obtaining cellular biopolymers with almost monodisperse, interconnected void structure and satisfactory mechanical properties. These innovative results are promising for the future development of fully bio‐based emulsion‐derived materials. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013