A continuación, el resumen de mi tesis doctoral… en verso. Sí. The abstract of my PhD thesis in verse.

If you want to model cationization
To know the little secrets it hides,
Use a pseudo-second order equation.
Be sure to use some sodium hydroxide.

Alkali means more power,
Clearly boosts reaction rate,
Since crystallinity is lower
And reactivity is raised.

By reacting with hydroxide
A chlorohydrin is cyclized.
It becomes then an epoxide.
It’s ready to cationize!

Anydroglucose monomers’
Carbon six etherified.
When the reaction is over
Cellulose is quaternized.

Add cationic fibers if you’re making paper,
And I tell you, fines won’t go through the fabric.
Add cationic fibers to your whitewater
So TiO2 retention will be drastic.
Weaker or stronger, authors don’t agree,
Just don’t use it to flocculate PCC.

To beat a polyelectrolyte,
Become a polyelectrolyte.
But is the degree of polymerization
Enough for bridging flocculation?

Make it from wood pulp, extract
The short-chained fraction with solvent.
Take it apart, and made the rest react
Minute by minute, droplet by droplet.

Quaternary ammonium, positive charge,
Low packed density, may become soluble,
Viscosity higher, due to stiffer chains.
Biting glycosidic bonds, biodegradable.

That’s cationic cellulose,
He who tested it knows.