Preparation of cotton linter nanowhiskers by high-pressure homogenization process and its application in thermoplastic starch

Abstract

The present work deals with the preparation of cotton linter nanowhiskers (CLNW) by acid hydrolysis and subsequent processing in a high-pressure homogenizer. Prepared CLNW were then used as a reinforcing material in thermoplastic starch (TPS), with an aim to improve its performance properties. Concentration of CLNW was varied as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt% in TPS. TPS/CLNW nanocomposite films were prepared by solution-casting process. The nanocomposite films were characterized by tensile, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), water vapor permeability (WVP), oxygen permeability (OP), X-ray diffraction and light transmittance properties. 3 wt% CLNW-loaded TPS nanocomposite films demonstrated 88 % improvement in the tensile strength as compared to the pristine TPS polymer film; whereas, WVP and OP decreased by 90 and 92 %, respectively, which is highly appreciable compared to the quantity of CLNW added. DSC thermograms of nanocomposite films did not show any significant effect on melting temperature as compared to the pristine TPS. Light transmittance (T r ) value of TPS decreased with increased content of CLNW. Better interaction between CLNW and TPS, caused due to the hydrophilic nature of both the materials, and uniform distribution of CLNW in TPS were the prime reason for the improvement in properties observed at 3 wt% loading of CLNW in TPS. However, CLNW was seen to have formed agglomerates at higher concentration as determined from SEM analysis. These nanocomposite films can have potential use in food and pharmaceutical packaging applications.

Production of biodegradable starch nanocomposites using cellulose nanocrystals extracted from coconut fibers

“…They found that the film traction increased with increasing nanocrystal concentration from 1% to 5%, but decreased significantly (p < 0.05) for 10% nanocrystals. Similar reports have been made by other researchers regarding the tensile properties of films with different matrixes containing cellulose nanocrystals [61][62][63][64][65][66] .…”

“…This causes them to fall short of market expectations, especially in the food industry. Consequently, several studies have been conducted on the use of reinforcing additives such as fibers [13,14] and cellulose nanocrystals [15][16][17] to improve the mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of starch-based films. Cellulose is the most important polymer and is used in various fields, especially because of its availability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability [18,19] .…”

Micro/Nano-fibrillated Cellulose from Cotton Linters as Strength Additive in Unbleached Kraft Paper: Experimental, Semi-empirical, and Mechanistic Studies

“…The authors' earlier work reported on the preparation of cellulose nanowhiskers from cotton linters to use as reinforcing material in thermoplastic starch (Savadekar et al 2015) and nanofibrils in k-carrageenan films (Savadekar et al 2012). In this work, MFC/NFC prepared from cotton linters were demonstrated to improve the mechanical properties of unbleached kraft paper.…”

Effect of post-treatments and concentration of cotton linter cellulose nanocrystals on the properties of agar-based nanocomposite films

“…Cellulose nanocrystals have been used to improve mechanical and gas barrier properties of agar-based films (Reddy & Rhim, 2014). Cotton linters are short fibers adhered to cottonseed after ginning and obtained as leftover in the textile industry as they are too short for normal uses (Lu, Weng, & Cao, 2005;Savadekar, Karande, Vigneshwaran, Kadam, & Mhaske, 2014). Cotton linter contains high cellulose content (80% of holocellulose with 75% of ␣-cellulose) (Morais et al, 2013) compared with other natural resources.…”