Cellulose fibers were isolated from a kenaf bast fiber using a electron beam irradiation (EBI) treatment. The
methods of isolation were based on a hot water treatment after EBI and two-step bleaching processes. FT-IR
spectroscopy demonstrated that the content of lignin and hemicellulose in the bleached cellulose fibers
treated with various EBI doses decreased with increasing doses of EBI. Specifically, the lignin in the
bleached cellulose fibers treated at 300 kGy, was almost completely removed. Moreover, XRD analyses
showed that the bleached cellulose fibers treated at 300 kGy presented the highest crystallinity of all the
samples treated with EBI. Finally, the morphology of the bleached fiber was characterized by SEM imagery,
and the studies showed that the separated degree of bleached cellulose fibers treated with various EBI
doses increased with an increase of EBI dose, and the bleached cellulose fibers obtained by EBI treatment at
300 kGy was separated more uniformly than the bleached cellulose fiber obtained by alkali cooking with
non-irradiated kenaf fiber.