Ultrastructural changes in a holocellulose pulp revealed by enzymes, thermoporosimetry and atomic force microscopy

To increase our knowledge of the ultrastructure within softwood fibres, enzymatic treatment, thermoporosimetry, light microscopy, and atomic force microscopy with image analysis were used to investigate the structure of holocellulose softwood pulp fibres. The size of the average cellulose fibril aggregates and the width of pore and matrix lamellae were found to be uniform across the secondary cell-wall layer in the transverse direction of the wood fibre wall. In holocellulose, these dimensions were very similar to those in the native wood, whereas in kraft pulp the cellulose fibril aggregates were larger and the pore and matrix lamellae broader. These differences between holocellulose and kraft pulp fibres suggest that a high temperature is needed for cellulose fibril aggregation to occur. Neither refining nor drying of the holocellulose pulp changed the cellulose fibril aggregate size. Upon drying and enzymatic treatment, a small decrease in the pore and matrix lamella width was evident throughout the fibre wall. This indicated not only uniform distribution of pores throughout the fibre wall, but also enzymatic accessibility to the entire fibre wall. The holocellulose pulp had a somewhat larger pore volume than the kraft pulp. Refining of the holocellulose pulp led to pore closure, probably due to increased mobility of the fibre wall. The enzymatic treatment revealed that during hydrolysis of one hemicellulose, part of the other was also dissolved, indicating that the two hemicelluloses are to some extent linked to each other in the structure.