Comminution process of wood chips to produce wood particles, by feeding wood chips in a direction of travel substantially normal to grain through a counter rotating pair of intermeshing arrays of cutting discs arrayed axially perpendicular to the direction of wood chip travel, wherein the cutting discs have a uniform thickness (Td), to produce wood particles characterized by a length dimension (L) substantially equal to the Td and aligned substantially parallel to grain, a width dimension (W) normal to L and aligned cross grain, and a height dimension (H) aligned normal to W and L, wherein the WH dimensions define a pair of substantially parallel end surfaces with crosscut fibers.

Some variations provide a new nanolignocellulose composition comprising, on a bone-dry, ash-free, and acetyl-free basis, from 35 wt % to 80 wt % cellulose nanofibrils, cellulose microfibrils, or a combination thereof, from 15 wt % to 45 wt % lignin, and from 5 wt % to 20 wt % hemicelluloses. The hemicelluloses may contain xylan or mannan as the major component. Novel properties arise from the hemicellulose content that is intermediate between high hemicellulose content of raw biomass and low hemicellulose content of conventional nanocellulose. The nanolignocellulose composition is hydrophobic due to the presence of lignin. Processes for making and using the nanolignocellulose compositions are also described.

A sheet manufacturing apparatus includes a crusher unit, a defibrator unit, a second web forming unit, and a shaping unit. The crusher unit coarsely crushes a raw material that contains fibers into coarsely crushed pieces. The defibrator unit defibrates coarsely crushed pieces into defibrated material. The second web forming unit forms a web by accumulating defibrated material. The shaping unit forms a sheet from the web. The crusher unit is positioned vertically below the shaping unit.

Provided is a crusher capable of omitting a device for feeding a pulp sheet from outside into inside of a casing or suppressing a driving force of this device to be small and an absorber-manufacturing device provided with the same. A pulp sheet (P) is guided to a contact position (m) where the pulp sheet (P) and crushing edges (9b) of a cutter (9) come into contact from a position upstream of a virtual line (L3) orthogonal to a tangent line (L2) of a rotational path (R1) of the crushing edges (9b) at the contact position (m) and passing through the contact position (m) in a rotational direction (Y2) by a guiding section (5a) provided in a casing (5) and configured to guide the pulp sheet (P) from outside into inside of the casing (5).

A method for producing a cellulose ether having a high viscosity while keeping the same degree of polymerization as that in the production of a shaped pulp without changing a raw material or production facility. More specifically, provided is a method for producing a cellulose ether including steps of: cutting or pulverizing pulp to obtain sheet-like, chip-like, or powdery cellulose pulp, wherein the pulp is formed in a form of roll whose surface layer on at least one of the circumferential side and the ends is removed, or in a form of bale whose surface layer on at least one side is removed; bringing the obtained cellulose pulp into contact with an alkali metal hydroxide solution to obtain alkali cellulose; reacting the alkali cellulose with an alkylating agent to obtain a reaction product mixture; and subjecting the reaction product mixture to purification to obtain the cellulose ether.

A defibration device includes: a casing having a supply port through which small pieces containing fibers are supplied and a discharge port through which defibrated materials of the small pieces are discharged; a rotator rotatably installed in the casing; and a pipe body which is coupled to the supply port and from which the small pieces are ejected into the casing. The rotator includes at least one diffusion vane provided at a side portion of the rotator that faces the supply port and diffusing the small pieces ejected from the pipe body, and at least one defibration blade provided on an outer periphery portion of the rotator and defibrating the small pieces, and a pipe axis direction of the pipe body intersects a rotation track of the diffusion vane when the rotator rotates.

Various processes are disclosed for producing nanocellulose materials following steam extraction or hot-water digestion of biomass. Processes are also disclosed for producing nanocellulose materials from a wide variety of starting pulps or pretreated biomass feedstocks. The nanocellulose materials may be used as rheology modifiers in many applications. Water-based and oil-based drilling fluid formulations and additives are provided. Also, water-based and oil-based hydraulic fracturing fluid formulations and additives are provided. In other embodiments, polymer-nanocellulose composites are provided.

A process of comminution of one or more plant biomass materials having a grain direction to produce a mixture of plant biomass particles, by feeding the plant biomass material(s) in a direction of travel either substantially parallel to or substantially randomly to the grain direction one or more times through a counter rotating pair of intermeshing arrays of cutting discs (D) arrayed axially perpendicular to the direction of plant biomass travel.

The present invention relates generally to the reclaiming of carpet waste material. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for reclaiming carpet components such as yarn, tufting primary, binder, and secondary backing from post-industrial and post-consumer carpet waste in a substantially continuous flow process.

The present invention provides a liquid-absorbing raw material processing system and its operation method. The liquid-absorbing raw material processing system is composed of a cutting module, a bulk pulping module, a salt slurry processing module, and a liquid-absorbing raw material manufacturing module, which are connected in series. The operating method of the liquid-absorbing raw material processing system is to process absorptive articles such as diapers or sanitary napkins, etc., which are retained and made into fluff liquid-absorbing raw materials through the purification and separation steps performed by the modules of the liquid-absorbing raw material processing system.