On the mechanism of the mercerization of cellulose in wood

When spruce wood was treated with 20% aqueous NaOH, only partial conversion of cellulose I to cellulose II took place. In contrast, complete conversion occurred when a low yield kraft pulp from the same wood was mercerized. This difference in behavior is interpreted in terms of restricted swelling of the wood in the mercerizing alkali; this treatment preserves some memory of meridional order. Differences in polarity of the molecules in cellulose I and cellulose II are also considered as a possible reason for the difficulty in mercerizing the cellulose in wood.