The present study deals with utilization of Egyptian bagasse in both conventional and non-conventional fields. The conventional application is devoted to papermaking, where bagasse pulp is the most appropriate pulp for this purpose due to the suitability of fiber length and high cellulose and hemicellulose contents. The non-conventional application is dedicated to the preparation of cellulosic derivatives having liquid crystalline properties.The first approach deals with using modified soy protein isolate (SPI) as binder for cellulosic fibers in paper composites. Modification of SPI was carried out through i) denaturation with urea and NaOH. ii) addition of acrylamide to the denatured SPI. iii) changing pH of SPI. These types of modification were used to improve the adhesion properties of SPI. Pronounced mechanical and physical properties of paper sheets filled with 0.5, 2.5 or 5% denatured SPI was obtained upon using 2.5%. The optimum condition of SPI addition was used in ii and iii modifications. The additional effect of acrylamide on SPI was pronounced where the mechanical and physical properties were enhanced. Correlation between the mechanical and physical properties of paper sheets with the pH of SPI was studied. The used pHs were 3, 5, 7 and 10.The results showed that the maximum breaking length was obtainedAbstract - xix -at the isoelectric point of SPI at pH 5 (at the isoelectric point (IEP) the number of positive and negative charges on the polyion is the same, giving a net charge of zero) and it began to decrease when the pH is increased to pH 10. Both the burst index and the tear index showed parallel trends.In the second approach, a series of 4- alkyoxybenzoyloxypropyl cellulose (ABPC-n) samples were synthesized via the esterification of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) with 4-alkoxybenzoic acid bearing alkoxy chain with different lengths. On the other hand, cellulose was isolated in pure form from Egyptian bagasse pulp. Hydroxypropylation was then conducted on the isolated cellulose. 4-alkyoxybenzoyloxypropyl cellulose (ABPC-m) samples were synthesized via the esterification of the latter product with the same acid, bearing 2, 10 and 12 carbon atoms in the side chain and characterized.The molecular structure of both esters (ABPC-n and ABPC-m) was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The liquid crystalline (LC) phases and transition behaviors were investigated using polarized light microscopy (PLM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. The lyotropic behavior of the derivatives was investigated in DMA solutions using PLM andAbstract - xx -the critical concentration was firstly determined via refractive index measurements.
