Method for making natural cellulosic fiber bundles from cellulosic sources

1. A method for extracting natural cellulosic fiber bundles from wheat straw, which comprises wax on its surface, the method comprising performing a detergent treatment on the wheat straw to remove at least a portion of the wax from the surface of the wheat straw, performing an alkali treatment on the detergent-treated wheat straw to partially delignify the wheat straw and performing an enzyme treatment on the detergent-treated wheat straw to depolymerize hemicellulose, break covalent links between lignin and carbohydrates, and decompose cellulose chains in the wheat straw, or a combination thereof thereby yielding the extracted natural cellulosic fiber bundles, wherein said extracted natural cellulosic fiber bundles have a length that is greater than that of individual cells and a fineness of at least about 1 denier and no greater than about 300 denier.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the natural cellulosic fiber bundles have a length between about 0.5 and about 20 centimeters and a fineness between about 12 and about 180 denier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the alkali treatment comprises contacting the detergent-treated wheat straw with an alkali solution for a duration of about 15 to about 90 minutes to form a mixture having an alkali solution-to-solid ratio between about 1:1 and about 100:1 and a temperature within a range of about 60 to about 100° C., wherein the alkali solution comprises an alkali compound and has a normality that is between about 0.05 and about 2.5N.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the alkali compound is selected from the group consisting of alkali metal hydroxide, alkaline earth metal hydroxides, alkali metal carbonates, alkaline earth metal carbonates, and combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the enzyme treatment comprises contacting the detergent-treated wheat straw with an enzyme solution that comprises an enzyme at a concentration that is between about 0.05 and about 5 percent for a duration of about 10 to about 60 minutes to form a mixture having an enzyme solution-to-solid ratio between about 1:1 and about 100:1 and is at a temperature within a range of about 10 to about 65° C.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the enzyme is a xylanase, a cellulase-type enzyme, or a combination thereof, in which the cellulose-type enzyme is selected from the group consisting of endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases, β-glucosidases, and combinations thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the detergent treatment comprises contacting the wheat straw with a detergent solution that comprises a detergent solution having a detergent concentration that is between about 0.05 and about 30% (w/v) for a duration that is between about 20 minutes and about 24 hours maintained within the temperature range of about 0 to about 100° C.

8. A method for extracting natural cellulosic fiber bundles from cornhusks, the method comprising:

performing a first portion of an enzyme treatment on a cornhusk material, the first portion of the enzyme treatment comprising contacting the cornhusk material with a first enzyme solution that comprises a xylanase at a concentration that is between about 0.05 and about 5 percent for a duration of about 10 to about 60 minutes to form a first mixture having a first enzyme solution-to-husk ratio between about 1:1 and about 100:1 and is at a temperature within a range of about 10 to about 65° C.;

separating the first mixture into a first solid portion comprising the cornhusk material and a first liquid portion comprising the first enzyme solution;

performing an alkali treatment on the first solid portion, the alkali treatment comprising contacting the cornhusk material with an alkali solution for a duration of about 15 to about 90 minutes to form a second mixture having an alkali solution-to-solid ratio between about 1:1 and about 100:1 and is at a temperature within a range of about 60 to about 100° C., wherein the alkali solution comprises an alkali compound and has a normality that is between about 0.05 and about 2.5N;

separating the second mixture into a second solid portion comprising the cornhusk material and a second liquid portion comprising the alkali solution;

performing a second portion of the enzyme treatment on the second solid portion, the second portion of the enzyme treatment comprising contacting the cornhusk material with a second enzyme solution that comprises a cellulase at a concentration that is between about 0.05 and about 5 percent for a duration of about 10 to about 60 minutes to form a third mixture having a second enzyme solution-to-solid ratio between about 1:1 and about 100:1 and is at a temperature within a range of about 10 to about 65° C.; and

separating the third mixture into a second solid portion comprising the natural cellulosic fiber bundles and a third liquid portion comprising the second enzyme solution.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

rinsing the first solid portion, the second solid portion, and third solid portion with water;

contacting the rinsed second solid portion with an acid solution to neutralize any remaining alkali solution and then rinsing the second solid portion with water; and

drying the rinsed natural cellulosic fiber bundles.

10. A method for extracting natural cellulosic fiber bundles from wheat straw, which comprises wax on its surface, the method comprising:

performing a detergent treatment on the wheat straw to remove at least a portion of the wax from the surface of the wheat straw, wherein the detergent treatment comprises contacting the wheat straw with a detergent solution having a detergent concentration that is between about 0.05 and about 30% (w/v) for a duration that is between about 20 minutes and about 24 hours maintained within the temperature range of about 0 to about 100° C.;

performing an alkali treatment on the detergent-treated wheat straw, the alkali treatment comprising contacting the detergent-treated wheat straw with an alkali solution for a duration of about 15 to about 90 minutes to form a first mixture having a alkali solution-to-solid ratio between about 1:1 and about 100:1 and is at a temperature within a range of about 60 to about 100° C., wherein the alkali solution comprises an alkali compound and has a normality that is between about 0.05 and about 2.5 N;

separating the first mixture into a first solid portion comprising the wheat straw and a first liquid portion comprising the alkali solution;

performing an enzyme treatment on the first solid portion, the enzyme treatment comprising contacting the first solid portion with an enzyme solution that comprises an enzyme at a concentration between about 0.05 and about 5 percent for a duration of about 10 to about 60 minutes to form a second mixture having an enzyme solution-to-solid ratio between about 1:1 and about 100:1 and is at a temperature within a range of about 10 to about 65° C.; and

separating the second mixture into a second solid portion comprising the natural cellulosic fiber bundles and a second liquid portion comprising the enzyme solution.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the enzyme is a xylanase, a cellulase-type enzyme, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

rinsing the first solid portion and the second solid portion with water;

contacting the rinsed second solid portion with an acid solution to neutralize any remaining alkali solution and then rinsing the second solid portion with water; and

drying the rinsed natural cellulosic fiber bundles.