Patent US9708760

(a) combining an ionic liquid and a cellulose pulp to provide a cellulose solution, wherein the cellulose pulp has an alpha cellulose content from 70 to 90 wt %, a hemicellulose content from about 5 to about 20% by weight, and a degree of polymerization from about 150 to about 1,000;

(b) adding an esterification agent, optionally a catalyst to the cellulose solution to provide a reaction mixture; and

(c) isolating the esterified cellulose pulp composition from the reaction mixture;

wherein the esterified cellulose pulp composition has a degree of substitution from about 0.1 to about 3.0, a sulfur content less than about 45 ppm, and a nitrogen content less than about 0.2% by weight based on the total weight of the composition.

(a) combining an ionic liquid and a cellulose pulp to provide a cellulose solution;

(b) adding an esterification agent to the cellulose solution to provide a reaction mixture; and

 

(c) isolating from the reaction mixture an esterified cellulose pulp composition having a degree of substitution from about 0.1 to about 3.0, a hemicellulose content from about 2.5 to about 20 percent by weight based on the total weight of the composition, and an intrinsic viscosity from 0.7 to 3.0 dL/g.