Pulp refining in improving degree of substitution of methylcellulose preparation from jute pulp

Jute is the most important crop in Bangladesh, and it plays a vital role in the country’s economy. Bangladesh is the second largest jute producer in the world. In this paper, methylcellulose was prepared from jute pulp in bleached, unbleached, and refined and unrefined state. The methoxyl content of the methylcellulose prepared from the unbleached pulps were only 13.2–14.3%, while the methoxyl content for bleached pulp reached to 16.5–18.8%. The methoxyl content of bleached pulp after 3000 revolution of refining reached to 24.63% in 4 h of reaction time, which further increased to 36.60% in 5 h reaction time. Further PFI revolution did not increase methoxyl content significantly. The water solubility of the prepared methylcellulose was directly related with degree of substitution (DS). The infrared spectra of methylcellulose at the regions of 3400 and 2900 cm −1 and its ratio showed a lower intensity than the pulp sample evidencing the methylation of the samples.