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Cellulose Isolation and Wet Spinning of Protein Extracted Clover Grass
University of Borås, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business.
2025 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

As a consequence of global population growth and megatrend of increasing consumption, the demand for textiles is rising. Since cotton production has reached its peak and forests are increasingly protected, a cellulose gap has emerged. A potential alternative of non-wood feedstock for lignocellulosic materials is protein extracted clover grass (PECG), a biproduct of the recently expanding and systematically resource efficient green biorefinery industry. This thesis explored the material development of PECG, from dissolving pulp production and wet spinning of multifilament yarns to evaluating its textile processability through circular knitting. Three scenarios were examined: Scenario A, dissolving pulp A (PA) was produced in collaboration with Chalmers University (Sweden). Scenario B, the pulping process from scenario A was refined through sand removal to produce pulp B (PB) at Aarhus University (Denmark). Scenario C, PA was blended with standard dissolving pulp from woody raw materials (PC). Biomass compositional analysis using the Van Soest method, CHN(O)S elemental analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy showed effective cellulose isolation for both PA and PB, comparable to the benchmark PC except for the ash content. However, sand removal significantly reduced the ash content of PB, improving the spinnability compared to PA. To produce man-made cellulosic fibres (MMCF), the cellulose pulps were first dissolved in the ionic liquid EMIMAc to create spin dopes. Higher particle impurity in PA, due to the absence of sand removal, was confirmed by light microscopy of the spin dopes. Rheological measurements were conducted to determine spin dopes’ crossover points, which indicated suitability for wet solution spinning. Fibre characterisation, including cross-sectional shape, elongation at break, tenacity, and initial modulus, was performed and compared to the conventional MMCFs viscose rayon and Tencel™ Lyocell. Both scenarios B and C (pulping process refinement and blending with conventional pulp) improved spinnability compared to scenario A, with the most significant improvement of strength observed in the filaments made from 100% grass pulp. Nevertheless, multifilament yarns produced from both 100% grass and the 50/50% grass/wood blend were successfully knitted into tubular textiles. This thesis provides proof of concept that PECG could be a viable raw material for MMCF production and, ultimately, for textile manufacturing.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025.
Keywords [en]
Dissolving pulp, cellulose gap, non-conventional cellulose feedstock, non-wood regenerated cellulose, alternative man-made cellulosic fibre
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-33757OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hb-33757DiVA, id: diva2:1976978
Available from: 2025-07-01 Created: 2025-06-25 Last updated: 2025-09-24Bibliographically approved

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