Determination of Cellulose Surface Energy by Imbibition Experiments in Relation to Bacterial Adhesion

Abstract

Bacterial adhesion is an important initiating step of microbial contamination in the paper and board industry. The adhesion process results from interactions between the cell surface, the liquid, and the fibers. In this context, we determined the cellulose pulp surface energy to better understand these interactions. As contact angles cannot be directly measured on cellulose fibers, experiments involving liquid imbibition into cellulose pulp sheets were performed. The results were interpreted in terms of Lifshitz–van der Waals (γ_s ^LW), electron‐donor (γ_s ⁻), and electron‐acceptor (γ_s ⁺) components of the surface energy. Results evidenced that cellulose fiber surface is characterized by significant electron‐donor capacity, as is the cell surface of the bacteria. These results suggests that hydrophobic, non‐specific type of interactions between the cell surface and cellulose are involved in this case.

Keywords:

• Bacterial adhesion
• Surface energy
• Imbibition experiments
• Cellulose fibres