Cellulose Solvents

Basics

• Cellulose is rather difficult to dissolve in most solvents
• Dissilving cellulose is rather useful for the production of textiles (Like Rayon). as well as the production of bioplastics (Cellophane)
• It is also useful for obtaining a high purity cellulose for various other chemistry and biology uses
• Thus developing special solvents is a useful accomplishment
• This Page Explores What Solvents Can be Used

Solvents

• Exerpt From The Cellulose Wikipedia Page:

Cellulose is soluble in Schweizer's reagent, cupriethylenediamine (CED), cadmiumethylenediamine (Cadoxen), N-methylmorpholine N-oxide, and lithium chloride / dimethylacetamide.[19] This is used in the production of regenerated celluloses (such as viscose and cellophane) from dissolving pulp. Cellulose is also soluble in many kinds of ionic liquids.[20]

• Also Read the Links Posted in The "See Also" and "Useful Links" Sections of this Page For Further Info

Schweizer's Reagent

• See Schweizer's Reagent
• Possibly The Simplest To Make
• Also safe (assuming you don't drink it or dump it in a river etc)

Viscose Method

• Two Part Process (Exluding Pulp Processing (ie just the dissolution is two steps) ):

1. Pulp is treated with an alkali solution
2. Alkali-Pulp is treated with Carbon Disulfide

• The carbon disulfide used is a rather nasty chemical
• See Viscose Method for more info

Dimethylacetamide

• Complex (and proboably quite expensive)
• Quite Toxic
• Not of too much intrest

N-methylmorpholine N-oxide

• VERY complex and expensive
• Possibly the most effective method commercially used (ie most pure product)
• Not too much information outside of scholarly papers (more delving into these is nessisary)
• See N-methylmorpholine N-oxide for more info

See Also

• Open Source Cellulose Based Semi-Synthetic Textile Producer
• Poli Log
• Schweizer's Reagent
• Viscose Method
• N-methylmorpholine N-oxide

Useful Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Cellulose
• The Subsection of the "Cellulose" Wikipedia Page on "Structure and Properties" (See the bit on solubility)
• This from 2010 on Cellulose Solvents