Recovery of <em>N</em>-Methylmorpholine <em>N</em>-Oxide (NMMO) in Lyocell Fibre Manufacturing Process
2025
Maria Sawiak | Bernardo A. Souto | Lelia Lawson | Joy Lo | Patricia I. Dolez
The lyocell process offers an environmentally friendly strategy to produce regenerated cellulose fibre from biomass. However, it is critical to recover and reuse the <i>N</i>-methyl-morpholine-<i>N</i>-oxide (NMMO) solvent to maximize the environmental benefits and lower the cost. This article reviews NMMO recovery and characterization techniques at the lab and industrial scales, and methods to limit the NMMO degradation during the process. The article also presents the results of a pilot study investigating the recovery of NMMO from lyocell manmade cellulosic fibre (L-MMCF) manufacturing wastewater. The work described includes the development of a calibration curve for the determination of NMMO content in aqueous solutions using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Successful NMMO recovery from the wastewater was achieved using a rotary evaporator: the final NMMO concentration was 50, i.e., ready for use in the lyocell process, and no NMMO degradation was observed. The knowledge in this paper will support advances in L-MMCF manufacturing and the reduction in textile environmental footprint.
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