Evaluation of the effects of chemical composition and refining treatments on the properties of nanofibrillated cellulose films from sugarcane bagasse

Published Date
Industrial Crops and Products
30 November 2016, Vol.91:238–248, doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.07.017

Author 

• Beatriz Stangherlin Santucci ^a,b
• Julien Bras ^c,d
• Mohamed Naceur Belgacem ^c,d
• Antonio Aprigio da Silva Curvelo ^a,b
• Maria Teresa Borges Pimenta ^a,,

• aLaboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM), Caixa Postal 6179, Campinas, São Paulo 13083-970, Brazil
• bGrupo de Físico-química orgânica, Departamento de Físico-química, Instituto de Química de São Carlos⿿Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 780, São Carlos, São Paulo 13560-970, Brazil
• cUniv. Grenoble Alpes, LGP2, F-38000 Grenoble, France
• dCNRS, LGP2, F-38000 Grenoble, France

Received 11 February 2016. Revised 14 July 2016. Accepted 16 July 2016. Available online 26 July 2016. 

Highlights

• ⿢
  The combination of mechanical refining and enzymatic treatment was successful applied to produce homogeneous nanofibrils from sugarcane bagasse.
• ⿢
  NFC films with similar morphologies were obtained with high crystallinity without changes in thermal stability relative to those of the initial materials.
• ⿢
  The residual lignin content affects the nanofibrillation process, the mechanical properties of in the NFC films and modifies the film-water interactions.

Abstract

The different chemical and mechanical pre-treatments applied to pulp prior to nanofibrillation may also influence the characteristics of the fibrils and prepared films. In this work, the effects of the chemical composition and the degree of fibrillation of sugarcane bagasse pulps on the properties of the resulting nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) films were investigated. Several environmentally-friendly treatments that reduce cost and simplify processing were applied to the bagasse fibres. Ethanol-based organosolv pulps with different residual lignin contents (2.9%, 5.0%, and 9.4%) were refined by Jokro milling and Bauer disk refining. Nanofibrils were isolated through an enzymatic treatment followed by high-intensity sonication. NFC films with similar morphologies were obtained with high crystallinity without changes in thermal stability relative to those of the initial materials. The residual lignin content affects the nanofibrillation process, the mechanical properties of the NFC filmsand modifies the film-water interactions. The combination of mechanical refining and enzymatic treatment was successful applied to produce homogeneous nanofibrils from sugarcane bagasse.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

• Sugarcane bagasse
• Lignin-containing nanocellulose
• Organosolv
• Enzymatic treatment
• Sonication

---

Fig. 1.

 Table 1

Table 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

Fig. 7.

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

• ⿿ 
  Corresponding author.

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

For further details log on website :
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926669016304629