Kinetics of degradation of cellulose in basic medium

Equations are proposed for calculating the kinetics of the change in the degree of polymerization of cellulose in basic medium; they describe the experimental data with sufficiently high accuracy. The dependence of the rate constant of degradation of cellulose in mercerization on the concentration and temperature of the alkali and the content of low-molecular-weight fractions in the reaction mass was established. It was found that degradation of cellulose in the disperse state in mercerization and preripening of alkaline cellulose obey the same rules. The “effective concentration of alkali” included in the liquid phase of alkaline cellulose was proposed as the criterion for evaluating the occurrence of preripening, identical to the concentration of mercerizing alkali. Using previously established degradation mechanisms and having calculated the residence time of the cellulose in basic medium in different stages of the manufacturing process, it is possible to evaluate and predict the degree of polymerization up to the finished product.