The need for biodegradable and renewable polymers for packaging has stimulated the development of novel, biodegradable polymeric materials from natural sources. Depending on its macromolecular and chemical properties, xylan is considered to be a viable raw material for the manufacture of films for packaging purposes.In this study, xylan was isolated by cold caustic extraction from a commercial bleached birch kraft pulp. The resulting hemicellulose-lean pulp reveals a narrow molecular weight distribution and thus can be favourably used as a dissolving pulp in different conversion processes. Xylan, however, is completely deacetylated owing to the strong alkaline conditions applied during the extraction process. Thus, xylan has to be derivatized to render it water soluble.The purified xylan has been converted to carboxymethylxylan (CMX) by adjusting the degree of substitution to three different levels following known protocols. The present investigation involves the synthesis of CMX films, in view of their increasing areas of application in the packaging industry. The films prepared from CMX with various DS were examined for mechanical properties, water vapour and oxygen permeability, optical and thermal properties. Properties of CMX films were compared to those of films from commercial CMC and from other hemicellulose sources.

Biodegradable films from carboxymethyl xylan

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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