Preparation, characterization, and properties of unbleached, bleached, and grafted pulps from JRC-321 variety jute fiber

Graft copolymerization onto jute pulps opened the door to new concepts in pulp and paper research. Jute pulp from the JRC-321 variety white jute fiber was prepared by the alkaline sulfite pulping process. The pulp obtained was bleached by the chlorination, extraction, and hypochlorite sequence technique to remove excess lignin for making bright and good quality paper. Special attention was focused on the graft copolymerization of acrylamide monomer onto the unbleached and bleached pulps by the use of a complex initiating system: Cu(II)/glycine/KHSO5 in aqueous solution. It was found that percentage grafting was high in the case of bleached pulp. The grafted pulps so obtained were characterized by FTIR and their thermal behavior was characterized by TGA. Their mechanical properties such as tensile strength, percentage elongation, and tenacity were measured and compared. The physical properties such as rot-resistance and water-retention capacity of the grafted and the ungrafted pulps were determined. The effect of the percentage grafting variation on the above mentioned properties was examined. (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Inc.