Isolation and characterization of microcrystalline cellulose from roselle fibers

Abstract

In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was extracted from roselle fiber through acid hydrolysis treatment and its properties were compared with those of commercially available MCC. The physicochemical and morphological characteristics, elemental composition, size distribution, crystallinity and thermal properties of the obtained MCC were analyzed in this work. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis provided clear evidence that the characteristic peak of lignin was absent in the spectrum of the MCC prepared from roselle fiber. Rough surface and slight aggregation of MCC were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis showed that pure MCC with small quantities of residues and impurities was obtained, with a similar elemental composition to that of commercial MCC. A mean diameter of approximately 44.28μm was measured for MCC by using a particle size analyzer (PSA). X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the crystallinity increased from 63% in roselle pulp to 78% in roselle MCC, the latter having a slightly higher crystallinity than that of commercial MCC (74%). TGA and DSC results indicated that the roselle MCC had better thermal stability than the roselle pulp, whereas it had poorer thermal stability in comparison with commercial MCC. Thus, the isolated MCC from roselle fibers will be going to use as reinforcing element in green composites and may be a precursor for future roselle derived nanocellulose, and thus a promising subject in nanocomposite research.

Preparation and Characterization of Microcrystalline Cellulose Produced from Betung Bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) through Acid Hydrolysis

“…Microcrystalline cellulose can be used as an additive in food and cosmetics and also used as tablets excipient. 1,2 Microcrystalline cellulose, as a filler, will produce tablets with high hardness, slight friability, rapid disintegration time, and high percentage of drug release. Moreover, microcrystalline cellulose commonly used for the manufacture of direct compression tablets.…”

Degradation and physical properties of sugar palm starch/sugar palm nanofibrillated cellulose bionanocomposite

“…HPH process involves passing the cellulose slurry through a very small nozzle at high pressure energy to break the cellulose slurry to the smallest possible size of the fibers from micro to nanoscale [16]. Recently, the application of NFCs as a load-bearing constituent in the development of novel and low-cost biodegradable materials has been raised [17][18][19][20]. The development of the nanocomposite from sugar palm starch (SPS) and sugar palm nanofibrillated cellulose (SPNFCs) may be the expected solution to overcome this problem.…”

Effects of Preparation Method on the Physicochemical Properties of Cationic Nanocellulose and Starch Nanocomposites

“…The intensity of the O-H peak in the MD-MCC spectrum was considerably less than that of the MCC spectrum, which indicates that the number of hydroxyl groups in the MD-MCC was reduced by the etherification reaction [6]. The peaks near 2900 cm −1 are attributed to the C-H stretching vibration of cellulose and the peaks at 1644 cm −1 have been assigned to water absorption because of the strong cellulose-water interaction [47]. In addition to the characteristic peaks of the cellulose backbone, there was a small peak near 1479 cm −1 in the MD-MCC and NC spectra.…”