This paper summarizes the authors’ research findings over the last five years on eucalyptus wood properties and their impact on process efficiency and pulp use, addressing the influence of species and harvesting age. Efficient production of kraft pulp is achieved with eucalyptus wood having reasonably high density, low extractives and lignin contents, high lignin S/G ratio, and high xylan and uronic acid contents. Woods containing large amounts of lignin tend to possess lignin with low S/G ratios and are hard to process. Age significantly affects the chemistry and morphology of wood and its behavior in kraft pulping and pulp use. Wood density, extractives content, and fiber coarseness increase with age. Eucalyptus hemicelluloses are composed mainly of a xylan unusually rich in uronic acids, which is reasonably stable in kraft pulping. The xylans retained in the kraft pulp substantially improve its refinability. The increase in wood age and density increases fiber coarseness, which negatively affects pulp refinability, but increases pulp drainability.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) receive great attention for their physical and optical properties, high surface area, high tensile strength, rigidity (Young’s modulus up to 140 GPa), and ease of surface modification. However, controlling the properties of CNC is still challenging, given the wide variety of pulp sources and the complexity of finding suitable processing conditions. In the present study, acid hydrolysis efficiently isolated CNC from wood Acacia mearnsii brown kraft pulp (AMKP). Initially, the AMKP was delignified by the treatment with acidified sodium chlorite. The Acacia mearnsii kraft pulp obtained was then subjected to acid hydrolysis with sulfuric acid at concentrations of 50 to 58% 45 °C for 60 min. The hydrolysate was sonicated in an ultrasonic processor for 30 min. The chemical composition was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), crystallinity by X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential by Zetasizer ZS equipment, thermal stability by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and morphology by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to verify the effect of acid concentration on the yield and properties of CNC. The optimization of the isolation process demonstrated that the maximum yield of 41.95% can be obtained when AMWP was hydrolyzed with sulfuric acid at a concentration of 54%. It was possible to isolate CNC with a crystallinity index between 71.66% and 81.76%, with the onset of thermal degradation at 240 °C; zeta potential of −47.87 to 57.23 mV; and rod-like morphology, with lengths and widths between 181.70 nm and 260.24 nm and 10.36 nm and 11.06 nm, respectively. Sulfuric acid concentration significantly affected the yield of acid hydrolysis, allowing the isolation of CNC with variable dimensions, high thermal stability, high crystallinity index, and great colloidal stability in aqueous medium.

Industrially made kraft pulps obtained by a modified cooking process may contain 60-75 mmol/kg of hexenuronic acids (HexAs), which represents 6-7.5 kappa units. HexAs do not react with oxygen and very little of it is actually removed across the oxygen delignification stage, causing low efficiencies in the range of 25-35%. In this study, an economical evaluation of the ECF bleaching processes was carried out, having none and double-stage oxygen delignification, when applied to eucalyptus pulps of kappa varying in the range of 14-21. The bleaching processes included sequences containing specific stages for HexAs removal (Z, A/D and DHT). Results indicated that the use of oxygen delignification was not economically attractive, particularly for HexA-rich low-kappa pulps, but processes without oxygen delignification present significant environmental challenges.

Aerogels are 3-D nanostructures of non-fluid colloidal interconnected porous networks consisting of loosely packed bonded particles that are expanded throughout their volume by gas and exhibit ultra-low density and high specific surface area. Cellulose-based aerogels can be obtained from hydrogels through a drying process, replacing the solvent (water) with air and keeping the pristine three-dimensional arrangement. In this work, hybrid cellulose-based aerogels were produced and their potential for use as dressings was assessed. Nanofibrilated cellulose (NFC) hydrogels were produced by a co-grinding process in a stone micronizer using a kraft cellulosic pulp and a phenolic extract from Maclura tinctoria (Tajuva) heartwood. NFC-based aerogels were produced by freeze followed by lyophilization, in a way that the Tajuva extract acted as a functionalizing agent. The obtained aerogels showed high porosity (ranging from 97% to 99%) and low density (ranging from 0.025 to 0.040 g·cm⁻³), as well a typical network and sheet-like structure with 100 to 300 μm pores, which yielded compressive strengths ranging from 60 to 340 kPa. The reached antibacterial and antioxidant activities, percentage of inhibitions and water uptakes suggest that the aerogels can be used as fluid absorbers. Additionally, the immobilization of the Tajuva extract indicates the potential for dentistry applications.