Utilisation of Astragalus armatus roots in papermaking

The chemical composition of Astragalus armatus contains quite a high amount of extractives in organic solvents (close to 13%), but a low percentage of lignin (around 17%) and an acceptable content of holocellulose (54%). The α-cellulose content is around 35%, and the ash content is around 3%. Using the insight of such data, the soda-anthraquinone cooking of Astragalus armatus produced lignocellulosic fibres. Different cooking temperatures (100, 120, 140, and 160°C) were tested and the delignification duration was 2 h. A yield of about 30% w/w was obtained, and the obtained pulps had a kappa number of 25. Finally, the isolated fibres were used to produce paper samples with a basis weight of 60 g/m2. The structural and mechanical properties of the prepared samples were close to those of other common annual plant-based fibre mats.