Process Optimization for Nanocrystalline Cellulose Production from Microcrystalline Cellulose

摘要

A process optimization has been developed for obtaining nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) by acid hydrolysis of commercially available microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in high yield (～ 40-50%). This method was based on control of key parameters such as the rate of addition of sulfuric acid solution to the MCC/water suspension, the mixing speed, the volume of collected NCC suspensions and the volume ratio of NCC suspension to water during dialysis. The resulting NCC products were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis (EA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Electron microscopy results showed that the rod-shaped NCC had lengths and widths of about 40-400 nm and 5-40 ran, respectively.