Oil Flax Straw Processing and Utilization

Abstract The flax (Linum usitatissimum) is widely used as a source of linen oil and fiber. As a rule, the flax varieties serve to produce either seeds (oil), or stem fibers, as the "fiber'' varieties bring the low amount of seeds, while the "oil'' varieties have poor fibers that cannot be used in textile. The straw of the oil flax has not been applied in industry and has to be burned or degrade naturally in the field. However, it contains a low degree of polymerization cellulose, which can be used at least for varnish production. The main challenge in the industrial application of the oil flax cellulose is the necessity of separating the cellulose fibers and shive enriched in lignin. On the other hand, the low cost of the final products restricts the set of available tools. Here we describe a machine designed for oil flax straw stripping and several ways of further conversion of the obtained tow into microcrystalline or fluff-like cellulose. The supposed processes run at the temperatures below the water boiling point and at the atmospheric pressure and could be held in the plastic reactors.