The traditional papermaking process uses petroleum-based additives, which raise environmental concerns. As a result, these concerns have attracted the scientific community to explore green additives by introducing environmentally friendly cellulose modifications as additives to the papermaking process. A promising way to process pulp is the application of deep eutectic solvent-like mixtures, which expand new possibilities for delignification processes. This article aims to characterize the physical properties of pulps modified with deep eutectic solvent-like mixtures and to compare these properties to untreated softwood kraft pulp and pulp obtained after oxygen delignification (commercially available pulp; obtained from Mondi Štětí a.s.). The physical properties (mechanical and optical) of the original pulp and delignified pulps were evaluated based on the degree of beating (Schopper–Riegler degree), zeta potential, water retention value, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and whiteness. Technology employing deep eutectic solvent-like mixtures shows great promise for sustainable pulp production; however, its full-scale adoption will require further research focused on process optimization, solvent recovery, and economic cost reduction.

Barley straw represents an underutilized agricultural residue with potential as a supplementary source of papermaking fibers. This study compared nitrate–alkaline, soda, and peracetic-acid delignification processes for the preparation of pulp from barley straw and evaluated the resulting laboratory paper sheets. The raw material was characterized by a cellulose content of 35.84%, an acid-insoluble lignin content of 18.79%, and ash content of 7.65%. Seven pulping variants were assessed in terms of total yield, reject content, Schöpper–Riegler degree, and Kappa number, while the paper sheets were tested for tear index, burst index, ISO brightness, Cobb₆₀ water absorptiveness, and surface structure using optical microscopy. Total pulp yield ranged from 31.57% to 55.68%, and Kappa numbers varied from 13.50 to 47.86. Soda pulps had the highest Kappa numbers and the lowest brightness. Nitrate–alkaline treatments produced lower Kappa numbers than soda pulping but were generally accompanied by lower yields. Under the tested conditions, peracetic-acid delignification produced a pulp with a yield of 55.68%, a Kappa number of 13.50, an ISO brightness of 76.77%, a tear index of 6.26 mN·m²·g⁻¹, and a burst index of 0.67 kPa·m²·g⁻¹. Qualitative optical microscopy suggested a comparatively uniform fiber network. Among the evaluated variants, peracetic-acid delignification provided the most favorable combination of pulp yield, Kappa number, mechanical properties, and brightness; however, this finding is restricted to the specific treatment conditions applied in this study.

Waste dendromass is one of the least used types of biomass and together with waste from the harvesting and processing of agricultural crops, belongs to the wastes that have a high potential for the second-generation ethanol production. Mass concentration of biofuel added to fossil fuels is established by law and this concentration is determined within the reference values for each year. For example, for 2021 it was 8.0 % and for years from 2022 to 2030 the value will increase to 8.2 %. Biofuels in the so-called reference value in the total fuel content have been mandatory since 2017, while the specific reference value is calculated from the energy content of the total amount of fuels placed on the market. This paper provides initial considerations and pilot results based on experimental data obtained in our workplace concerning the application potential of selected type of dendromass – beech particles from the point of view of their pretreatment by steam explosion and steam extrusion for potential production of liquid biofuels based on lignocellulosic biomass. We compared temperature courses of the mentioned pretreatment methods and pretreated samples were tested by enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymatic hydrolysis results showed that steam explosion and steam extrusion led to concentration enhancement of fermentable monosaccharides compared to original samples depending on used pretreatment method.

The growing demand for sustainable packaging has driven research into paper as a renewable and biodegradable alternative to plastics. However, achieving high extensibility while maintaining sufficient tensile strength remains a challenge in paper-based materials. In particular, the coupled influence of low-consistency refining and different drying conditions on extensibility development remains insufficiently understood. Using bleached softwood kraft pulp, this study investigates how the synergistic interaction between low-consistency refining and drying conditions affects the extensibility and strength of paper. The novelty of this approach lies in demonstrating that the combination of refining and drying can enhance fibre-network extensibility while preserving tensile strength. While refining induces fibrillation and fibre swelling, increasing fibre conformability and shrinkage potential, the applied drying conditions governed the development of strain capacity within the fibre network. By coupling these processes, elongation values up to 21.1% were achieved without critical loss of tensile strength, partially overcoming the conventional strength-extensibility trade-off typically observed in paper materials. Multi-scale characterization combining water retention value, zeta potential, microscopy, limiting viscosity number, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and mechanical testing revealed that extensibility development is associated not only with fibre surface fibrillation, but also with subtle modifications in cellulose supramolecular organization and enhanced network rearrangement during drying. The findings provide new insights into process-driven tailoring of stretchable fibre-based materials for sustainable packaging applications.