Preliminary Study on Pulping of Rice Straw in Tris-(2-Hydroxyethyl) Ammonium Acetate Ionic Liquid under Microwave Irradiation

This study investigated the pulping process of cooking rice straw in tris(2-hydroxyethyl) ammonium acetate ionic liquid under microwave irradiation. The optimal processing conditions were determined via othogonal experimentation based on analyses of the effects of the main factors, namely the mass ratio of ionic liquid to rice straw, cooking time, and microwave power, on the cooking of pulp. Those conditions are as follows: mass ratio of ionic liquid to rice straw 5:1, cooking time 30 min, and microwave power 350 W. When subsequent verification experiments were conducted under the conditions above, the pulp yield was as high as 47.28%, the ionic liquid was able to be recycled, and the recovery was as high as 96.9%. The physical properties of the paper confirmed that paper of satisfactory commercial quality could be produced using this technology.