CHARACTERIZATION OF ALKALICELLULOSE OF PINUS RADIATA AND EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS BASED ON ITS MOLECULAR WEIGHT AND DEGREE OF ACCESIBILITY

The alkaline degradation of bleached kraft celllulose from Pinus Radiata and Eucalyptus Globulus in a 30% NaOH w/w solution over the time was studied. Both types of cellulose showed at the beginning, first hour, a fast drop in their molecular weight, determined by capillar viscometry, and then the decaying was more slow, reaching stabilization at the end of treatment. Besides, the degree of accesibility obtained in the cellulose at different times of treatment (1h, 8h, and 24h) was evaluated through the determination of % moisture of the alkalicellulose obtained. It was not observed any effect of the time over the degree of accesibility for both types of cellulose