Nanocellulose-reinforced corrugated medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12077915-B2
Application number	US-202217837144-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2022
Priority date	May 3, 2016
Publication date	Sep 3, 2024
Grant date	Sep 3, 2024

Abstract

The present invention provides a pulp product (e.g., paper) comprising cellulose and nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose is derived from the cellulose in a mechanical and/or chemical step that is separate from the main pulping process. The pulping process may be thermomechanical pulping or hydrothermal-mechanical pulping, for example. The pulp product is stronger and smoother with the presence of the nanocellulose. The nanocellulose further can function as a retention aid, for a step of forming the pulp product (e.g., in a paper machine). Other embodiments provide a corrugated medium pulp composition comprising cellulose pulp and nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose includes cellulose nanofibrils and/or cellulose nanocrystals and the nanocellulose may be hydrophobic. The nanocellulose improves the strength properties of the corrugated medium. In some embodiments, the cellulose pulp is a GreenBox+® pulp and the nanocellulose is derived from the AVAP® process.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A process for producing a corrugated medium pulp composition, said process comprising:
(a) obtaining a first pulp from a steam or hot-water extraction of a first amount of lignocellulosic biomass;
(b) further processing said first pulp to produce a corrugated medium product;
(c) obtaining a second pulp from fractionation of a second amount of lignocellulosic biomass in the presence of an acid catalyst, a solvent for lignin, and water; and
(d) mechanically treating said second pulp to generate nanocellulose, wherein said nanocellulose is lignin-coated hydrophobic nanocellulose,
wherein at least a portion of said nanocellulose is introduced to said corrugated medium product (i) directly to said first pulp, prior to step (b), (ii) directly to said corrugated medium product, after step (b), (iii) during step (b), or any combination thereof,
wherein said first pulp is not exposed to said acid catalyst from step (c) or said solvent for lignin from step (c),
and wherein said second pulp is not subjected to steam or hot-water extraction.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein said first amount of lignocellulosic biomass and said second amount of lignocellulosic biomass are from the same source of biomass.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein said first amount of lignocellulosic biomass and said second amount of lignocellulosic biomass are from different sources of biomass.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein said nanocellulose is predominantly in the form of cellulose nanofibrils.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein said acid catalyst is sulfur dioxide.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein said solvent for lignin is ethanol.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein said at least a portion of said nanocellulose is introduced to said corrugated medium product directly to said first pulp, prior to step (b).

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein said at least a portion of said nanocellulose is introduced directly to said corrugated medium product, after step (b).

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein said at least a portion of said nanocellulose is introduced to said corrugated medium product during step (b).

Assignees

• Granbio Intellectual Property Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Retsina Theodora
• Nelson Kimberly
• Hill Lee
• Pylkkanen Vesa
• Galliford Timothy J

Classifications

• D21H11/08

  Mechanical or thermomechanical pulp · CPC title

• D21H11/02

  Chemical or chemomechanical {or chemothermomechanical} pulp · CPC title

• D21H27/40 Primary

  at least one of the sheets being non-planar, e.g. crêped (crêping or corrugating paper B31F) · CPC title

• D21H11/18

  Highly hydrated, swollen or fibrillatable fibres · CPC title

• D21C9/007

  by mechanical or physical means · CPC title