Effects of electron beam treatment on the characteristics of pulping and papermaking of hemp bast fibers

The new alkali pulping process combined with electron beam treatment was applied to utilize hemp bast tissues as a new valuable fibrous resource. Hemp bast tissues have some chemical properties with high lignin contents and holocellulose not to be defiberized by alkali pulping only, compared with the bast tissue of paper mulberry. To make up for the weakness of traditional alkali pulping process, electron beams were directly irradiated into the swelled bast tissue of hemp in NaOH solution and distilled water, and then facilitated the defiberization of hemp bast tissues. The papermaking from hemp bast fibers manufactured by the combination pulping process showed good apparent density, formation structure and air permeability, and had some mechanical properties with lower tensile, tear, burst strength and folding endurance. It is finally concluded that the combination pulping process with electron beam treatment could be suggested a new alternative for non-woody fibers.