Disclosed are keratin fibre cellular components, specifically keratin fibre cuticle and cortical cells, and their use as absorption and filtration media, and in thermal insulation materials. The keratin fibre cellular components may be oxidised. The keratin fibre cellular components have improved absorbency and filtration capacity compared to the source keratin fibres. The keratin fibre cellular components may be used in, for example, various products for passive absorption and active filtration of gas or liquid media.

A method for producing a high yield Kraft pulp is provided. In particular, the method involves adding a composition comprising an organic amine phosphonate and a sulphonated linear alcohol ethoxylate surfactant to a pulping process. The composition enhances the delignification of cellulosic fiber in chemical wood pulps.

A method for producing a high yield Kraft pulp is provided. In particular, the method involves adding a composition comprising an organic amine phosphonate and a sulphonated linear alcohol ethoxylate surfactant to a pulping process. The composition enhances the delignification of cellulosic fiber in chemical wood pulps.

An oxygen bleaching method of pulp includes the steps of: adding a solution formulated by a magnesium salt and an activator to an unbleached chemical pulp, stirring to be mixed well, and bleaching by introducing oxygen. The activators are nano zero-valent metals that are conventional, low-cost, and recyclable. These activators can activate low-concentration oxygen at low-temperature in neutral aqueous solution to efficiently generate peroxide anion radicals, so as to promote the generation of hydroperoxide anions and peroxide ions, achieving high efficient delignification. The whole process does not generate waste water, the oxygen consumption is only 50-85% of the original process, the yield is increased by 1.5-2.8% compared with the original system, the pulp brightness is increased to 28-32° SR, and the magnesium salt can be recycled and reused.

A method of producing high yield chemical cellulosic pulp includes: (a) chemically pulping wood chips to separate lignin and liberate cellulosic fibers from the wood chips to generate a cellulosic pulp; (b) washing and screening the pulp of step (a); (c) pre-treating the washed pulp with oxygen; (d) optionally washing the treated pulp of step (c); (e) bleaching the pre-treated pulp in an extended duration oxidative bleaching stage; (f) optionally washing the bleached pulp of step (e); and (g) optionally further oxidatively or reductively bleaching the bleached pulp in a shorter duration bleaching stage, wherein the bleached pulp is produced at a yield of greater than 60% based on the weight of the pulped wood chips (dry basis).

The present invention provides a method for non-catalytic delignification of biomass, without externally added catalyst, with a mixed solvent of oxygenated organic solvent and water in the presence of an oxidant, at moderate temperature and pressure. Further, the separation of delignified cellulose from liquid mixture is carried out at around equivalent process conditions. Low modified kappa number delignified cellulose is obtained after separation of a liquid mixture containing a mixed solvent, hemicelluloses, lignin and traces of miscellaneous compounds. Furthermore, the method has lower chemical consumption in the downstream process, ease of operation and robustness.

In some embodiments, a method may include reducing the microbial load in contaminated water of water recycle loops. These water recycling loops may include pulp and paper mills, cooling towers and water loops, evaporation ponds, feedstock processing systems and/or non-potable water systems. The methods may include providing a peracetate oxidant solution. The peracetate solution may include peracetate anions and a peracid. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution may include a pH from about pH 10 to about pH 12. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution has a molar ratio of peracetate anions to peracid ranging from about 60:1 to about 6000:1. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution has a molar ratio of peracetate to hydrogen peroxide of greater than about 16:1. The peracetate solution may provide bleaching, sanitizing and/or disinfection of contaminated water and surfaces. The peracetate oxidant solution may provide enhanced separation of microbes from contaminated water.

An improved continuous process for production of cellulose from glass-like feedstock, which includes: (i) cooking of comminuted grass-like feedstock in white liquor which contains 0.5-2.0% w/w NaOH and 0.5-25.0% w/w NaCl at 95-100° C.; (ii) bleaching process of the brown cellulose in the white liquor of the same composition with oxygen (O.sub.2) and chlorine (Cl.sub.2) at 70-100° C., yielding bleached cellulose pulp; where, (iii) lignin and other side-products are separated by continuous electrolysis, where the white liquor is regenerated, together with O.sub.2 and Cl.sub.2 for the bleaching purpose, thereby closing the cycle of the process.

In a process for oxidation of white liquor, in particular of white liquor used in a process of production of paper or cellulose, the oxygen required for the oxidation is supplied to the reactor or the reactors in which the oxidation is carried out at least partially in the form of oxygen-containing nanobubbles. Due to the relatively long lifetime of the nanobubbles this very efficiently provides oxygen also for oxidation reactions in the white liquor proceeding at different rates.

In a process for oxidation of white liquor, in particular of white liquor used in a process of production of paper or cellulose, the oxygen required for the oxidation is supplied to the reactor or the reactors in which the oxidation is carried out at least partially in the form of oxygen-containing nanobubbles. Due to the relatively long lifetime of the nanobubbles this very efficiently provides oxygen also for oxidation reactions in the white liquor proceeding at different rates.