The reinforcement mechanism of bacterial cellulose on paper made from woody and non-woody fiber sources

To protect forest resources and increase the value of agro-industrial residues, it would be helpful to produce paper-based materials from non-woody or recycled fiber resources. This study investigated the reinforcement mechanism of bacterial cellulose (BC) on paper sheets made from different sources including softwood, hardwood, sugarcane bagasse, bamboo, wheat straw, and recycled fiber, which represent a selection of high quality, medium quality, and low quality fibers. The results showed that by maintaining BC addition at a low level of 0.5–1.5% (total paper dry weight), the paper sheets made from high and medium quality fibers have the maximum tensile index improvement, with 5–25%. The tensile index of low quality fiber including wheat straw pulp and recycled fiber pulp increased slightly and gradually with the level of BC addition; at 5% BC addition, the tensile indexes increased by 9 and 40%, respectively. To investigate the BC reinforcement mechanism, different fiber characteristics, SEM images of BC reinforced paper, BC retention rate on paper, and the effects of dispersant addition were evaluated. It was found that high BC addition or retention rate in paper sheets do not necessarily result in good BC reinforcement effects but that proper dispersion of BC is important.