Carboxymethyl cellulose and cellulose nanocrystals from cassava stem as thickeners in reactive printing of cotton

Abstract

Textile printing ink was developed using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from cassava stem waste as thickeners. Thermal analysis and optimum conditions for production of the CMC were investigated. The optimum parameters for the production of the printing ink were determined using theoretical simulation. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) result showed that the cassava stem CMC sample was stable until at around 225 °C when degradation started with maximum degradation rate at 288 °C which is in agreement with the result displayed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).37.879% NaOH, 14.8762 g monochloro acetic acid (MCA) and 178 min (reaction time) is the optimum condition that gave 141.359% CMC yield, 1.09 CMC degree of substitution (DS), and CMC viscosity of 39.5777cP. FTIR spectroscopy revealed the presence of CMC and CNCs in the printing ink. At the ratio of 22.45:1 for the CMC and CNCs, the ink exhibited optimum viscosity of 24,247.4 cP. Addition of CNC particles within the range of 0 to 9 wt% loading caused a slight increase in the overall viscosity of the printing ink. The printing ink flow curve is highly non-Newtonian and pseudoplastic. Therefore, CNCs in small proportions can act as a benign co- thickener to CMC in textile printing ink with desirable properties such as very good colour fastness to wash and soft handle.