Unlocking the potential of cellulose feedstocks to produce dissolving pulp: strategies for manufacturing sustainable and high-performance materials

Dissolving pulp (DissolvP), a high-purity cellulose material engineered for dissolution, homogeneous processing, and chemical derivatization, serves as the irreplaceable strategic bridge connecting lignocellulosic biomass to the global textile, polymer, and advanced materials industries. Despite its central role in the transition to a circular bioeconomy, the long cross-disciplinary industrial chain for DissolvP manufacturing often treats feedstock selection, pulping chemistry, purification, quality control, and downstream applications separately. To overcome this compartmentalization, we propose a materials-oriented perspective of DissolvP as a platform governed by raw-material chemistry, fractionation severity, and application-specific quality thresholds. This perspective extends the traditional manufacturing goal from maximizing purity to precision engineering of cellulose molecular architecture, enabling rational design of application-optimized DissolvP grades. From this perspective, we critically evaluate both established and emerging low-emission production routes, highlighting green purification strategies for upgrading conventional chemical pulps. We tightly align upstream pulping engineering with downstream cellulose valorization to establish a unified framework for low-carbon, closed-loop DissolvP manufacturing. Finally, we identify four high-priority research directions that will drive the next generation of sustainable DissolvP technology, offering a clear roadmap for both academic research and industrial development.