Regeneration and Recycling of Aqueous Periodate Solution in Dialdehyde Cellulose Production

The regeneration of aqueous iodate solution from the regioselective periodate oxidation of softwood cellulose pulp to dialdehyde cellulose using hypochlorite as a secondary oxidant was studied. The influence of oxidation time on the pulp dissolution and regeneration efficacy was examined in particular. In addition, the recycling of regenerated periodate solution back to oxidation was clarified. The solutions from the 10 and 15 min oxidations were regenerated with 100% conversion efficacy when 1.2–1.4 times the stoichiometric amounts of hypochlorite were used. However, the regeneration efficacy decreased when the reaction time in the oxidation increased to 30 min because the content of soluble impurities, which consumed the hypochlorite in the side-reactions, increased significantly as the oxidation reaction proceeded. The regenerated solutions possessed good oxidation performance, showing that periodate was successfully regenerated using hypochlorite and supporting the assumption that periodate can be effectively recycled in the process when short oxidation times are used.