CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CANOLA PLANT AND ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY

In this research, the chemical composition and morphological properties of canola plant cultivated in Iran were investigated. Canola straw was collected from a cultivation farm near Babul, Mazandaran, Iran. Average width, fiber length, lumen diameter and cell wall thickness were measured as 27.95, 860, 18.86, and 4.42 mu m, respectively. The typical chemical composition, involving the amounts of cellulose, lignin, ash and ethanol/acetone extractives, was determined as 44, 19.21, 6, and 13 wt%, respectively. Optimum pulping conditions were selected applying a cooking temperature of 170 degrees C, and cooking time of 30 min, in addition to the introduction of a 20% sodium sulfite (based on Na(2)0). The pulps were refined by a PR mill. The obtained results showed that the mechanical properties of the handsheets made from canola NSSC pulp exhibited better properties, in comparison with mixed hardwood NSSC pulp in production of corrugating paper.