Commercial bamboo chips were evaluated as raw material for dissolving
pulp production. The chips were auto-hydrolyzed (AH) and subsequently
cooked by the NaOH/AQ process and bleached to full brightness with the
O-CCE-D-(EP)-D-P sequence. The term CCE designates a cold caustic
extraction stage. The bamboo chip chemistry (22.4% lignin, 19.5%
xylans, 49.3% cellulose, 16.8% total extractives, and 1.5% ash) was
apparently unfavorable; however high quality dissolving pulp was
produced using the aforementioned technologies, even when compared
to results obtained with traditional eucalypt commercial wood chips. The
pulp showed high brightness (92.4 % ISO) and α-cellulose content
(94.9%). Its contents of hemicelluloses, extractives and ash were within
acceptable levels for a dissolving pulp aimed at viscose rayon
production. Thus, the bamboo chip furnish investigated can be regarded
as a viable raw material for dissolving pulp production.