Nanocellulose Extracted from Paraguayan Residual Agro-Industrial Biomass: Extraction Process, Physicochemical and Morphological Characterization

Maria Edelira Velázquez, Omayra Beatriz Ferreiro, Diego Batista Menezes, Yendry Corrales-Ureña, José Roberto Vega-Baudrit and Juan Daniel Rivaldi ()
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Maria Edelira Velázquez: Facultad de Comunicación, Arte y Ciencias de la Tecnología, Universidad Americana, Asunción 1206, Paraguay
Omayra Beatriz Ferreiro: Facultad de Comunicación, Arte y Ciencias de la Tecnología, Universidad Americana, Asunción 1206, Paraguay
Diego Batista Menezes: Laboratorio Nacional de Nanotecnología LANOTEC, CENAT, Pavas, San José 10109, Costa Rica
Yendry Corrales-Ureña: Laboratorio Nacional de Nanotecnología LANOTEC, CENAT, Pavas, San José 10109, Costa Rica
José Roberto Vega-Baudrit: Laboratorio Nacional de Nanotecnología LANOTEC, CENAT, Pavas, San José 10109, Costa Rica
Juan Daniel Rivaldi: Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo 111421, Paraguay

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: Residual biomasses from agro-industries in Paraguay, including soybean hulls (SBHs) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB), were studied as a source for nanocellulose extraction for the first time. For that purpose, both biomasses were delignified in a semi-pilot stainless-steel reactor, and the cellulose pulp was subjected to a bleaching process with NaClO (2.5%, w / v ). The nanocellulose (CNC) was obtained after two-step acid hydrolysis. Firstly, the bleached cellulose was hydrolyzed with HCl (17%, w / w ) for two hours at 60 °C to obtain microcrystals by removing most of the amorphous fraction. The celluloses were then treated with H 2 SO 4 (65%, w / w ) at 45 °C for 45 min to obtain nanocellulose. Physicochemical and morphological properties were analyzed using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The SBHs nanocellulose had a whisker-like form with a 230 ± 42 nm diameter and a 12 ± 2 nm height, and the SCB nanocellulose had a fibril-like form with a 103 ± 30 nm diameter and a height of 6 ± 3 nm. The nanocellulose from SBHs and SCB had good thermal stability as its degradation temperature started at 250 °C. Furthermore, the nanocellulose obtained was negatively charged and formed stable dispersion in water at 0.1 mg/mL concentration and a pH of around 6.5.

Keywords: residual biomass; soybean hulls; sugarcane bagasse; acid hydrolysis; nanocellulose (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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