Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is abundantly available agro-waste world-wide and has been used in different applications and its utilization as a source of cellulose attracting attention in the area of biomedical and other applications. The present study investigates the surface morphology, topography, structural, elemental and thermal properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted by acid-hydrolysis from sugarcane bagasse as agro-waste. Morphological (field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM)), structural (fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD)), elemental analysis (energy dispersive x-ray diffraction (EDX)) and thermal characterization (TG-DTG-DTA) of CNCs was carried out. Morphological characterization clearly showed the formation of rod-shaped CNCs having size in the range of 250-480 nm (length) and 20-60 nm (diameter). Elemental analysis (EDX) showed 0.72 wt% sulfur impurity in CNCs along with other main components. X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis revealed that CNCs have higher crystallinity (72.5%) than that of chemically purified cellulose (CPC) (63.5%) but have lower thermal stability. These lab extracted CNCs supposed to have a high potential as nano-reinforcement into bionanocomposite for biomedical and other value-added products in industrial applications.

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Characterization of Cellulose Nanocrystals Produced by Acid-Hydrolysis from Sugarcane Bagasse as Agro-Waste

The fibrillation of pulp fiber was attempted by two methods, a high-pressure homogenizer treatment and a grinder treatment. The grinder treatment resulted in the successful fibrillation of wood pulp fibers into nanofibers. The nanofibers demonstrate promising characteristics as reinforcement material for optically transparent composites. Due to the size effect, the nanofiber-reinforced composite retains the transparency of the matrix resin even at high fiber content such as 70 wt %. Since the nanofiber is an aggregate of semi-crystalline extended cellulose chains, its addition also contributes to a significant improvement in the thermal expansion properties of plastics while maintaining its ease of bending. Cellulose nanofibers have tremendous potential as a future resource since they are produced in a sustainable manner by plants, one of the most abundant organic resources on earth.

Optically transparent composites reinforced with plant fiber-based nanofibers(ABSTRACTS (MASTER THESIS FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE))

This study investigated the impact of cellulose polymorphs on cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) preparation. Cellulose samples with different types of polymorphs (cellulose I, cellulose II, and cellulose III) were prepared. Subsequently, CNCs were obtained from the above cellulose samples by sulfuric acid hydrolysis. The initial cellulose and CNCs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and particle size distribution (PSD). A comparative study showed that the properties of CNCs were closely related to the polymorphs of initial cellulose. The original polymorphs of cellulose I and cellulose II were retained, while that of cellulose III was converted back to cellulose I during the sulfuric acid hydrolysis process of CNCs preparation. For cellulose I and cellulose II, the crystallinity of both corresponding CNCs continuously increased with the increase of sulfuric acid concentration, until reaching a maximum at approximately 84.0%, while the crystallinity of CNCs obtained from cellulose III was slightly affected by sulfuric acid concentration. The yields of CNCs obtained from cellulose II and cellulose III with 61 wt% H2SO4 were extremely high, reaching 46.8% and 43.4%, respectively. Smaller CNCs particles with short-length were obtained by sulfuric acid hydrolysis of cellulose II. In addition, the properties (yield, dimension and thermal degradation behavior) of CNCs obtained from cellulose III were more susceptible to the acid concentration compared with those of CNCs obtained from cellulose I.

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Research on cellulose nanocrystals produced from cellulose sources with various polymorphs

Chemical isolation and characterization of different cellulose nanofibers from cotton stalks

Extraction of cellulose nano-crystals from old corrugated container fiber using phosphoric acid and enzymatic hydrolysis followed by sonication.

Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) with small particle size and high crystallinity was prepared via the combined method of ultrasonication and acid hydrolysis from bleached softwood kraft pulp (BSKP). Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used for determination of morphology, crystal structure, and surface chemical groups. Thermal behavior was analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis. The analyses revealed that rod-shaped NCC particles with diameter of 10 to 20 nm can be obtained. Ultrasonication can induce cellulose folding, surface erosion, and external fibrillation of BSKP, together with the shorter average length of NCC (96 nm) than that prepared without ultrasonication (150 nm). Due to the smaller size and larger number of free ends of chains, the thermal stability of NCC was lower than BSKP. The degradation of BSKP exhibited one significant pyrolysis stage within the range of 300 to 420 °C. In contrast, UH-NCC exhibited three pyrolysis stages within the range of 210 to 450 °C. NCC prepared with ultrasonication decomposed at lower temperature and over a wider temperature range, together with higher char yield of 43% (compared with 27% for that without ultrasonication). The obtained NCC had similar surface chemical structures but higher crystallinity (82%) compared with that of the starting BSKP (74%).

https://ojs.cnr.ncsu.edu/index.php/BioRes/article/download/BioRes_06_4_4271_Li_WL_Nanocryst_Cellulose_SW_Kraft_Ultrason/1178

Nanocrystalline cellulose prepared from softwood kraft pulp via ultrasonic-assisted acid hydrolysis

Carbon foam was prepared by submitting birch sawdust to liquefaction, resinification, foaming, carbonization, and activation steps The foam was characterized by TG and DTG, XRD, SEM, and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K A mechanism for the formation of the porous carbon foam was proposed Solid non-graphitized lightweight carbon foams with specific surface areas of 534–555 m2/g and cell sizes of 100–200 μm were obtained, depending on the carbonization or activation temperature used The intermediate liquefied birch-based resin foam exhibits thermal stability superior to liquefied wood and inferior to phenolic resin, and decomposes rapidly in two stages, at 2857 and 4129 °C, respectively Further activation of the carbon foam in a stream of nitrogen above 800 °C improves the pore structure and homogeneity of the cell size significantly The matrix of the foams contains a large number of micropores, and the microstructure becomes more ordered as the activation temperature is increased

Rui Wang

Papers

Nanocrystalline cellulose prepared from softwood kraft pulp via ultrasonic-assisted acid hydrolysis

A porous carbon foam prepared from liquefied birch sawdust