Effects of Raw Material Source on the Properties of CMC Composite Films.

Yao Yao,Xiaobao Li,Zhinan Luo,Xiaoping Li,Jeffrey J Morrell,Zhenbing Sun,Yang Liu,Zhengjie Tang,Chunli Li

doi:10.3390/polym14010032

Yao Yao, Xiaobao Li + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14010032

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Abstract

Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) can be derived from a variety of cellulosic materials and is widely used in petroleum mining, construction, paper making, and packaging. CMCs can be derived from many sources with the final properties reflecting the characteristics of the original lignocellulosic matrix as well as the subsequent separation steps that affect the degree of carboxy methyl substitution on the cellulose hydroxyls. While a large percentage of CMCs is derived from wood pulp, many other plant sources may produce more attractive properties for specific applications. The effects of five plant sources on the resulting properties of CMC and CMC/sodium alginate/glycerol composite films were studied. The degree of substitution and resulting tensile strength in leaf-derived CMC was from 0.87 to 0.89 and from 15.81 to 16.35 MPa, respectively, while the degree of substitution and resulting tensile strength in wooden materials-derived CMC were from 1.08 to 1.17 and from 26.08 to 28.97 MPa, respectively. Thus, the degree of substitution and resulting tensile strength tended to be 20% lower in leaf-derived CMCs compared to those prepared from wood or bamboo. Microstructures of bamboo cellulose, bamboo CMC powder, and bamboo leaf CMC composites’ films all differed from pine-derived material, but plant source had no noticeable effect on the X-ray diffraction characteristics, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra, or pyrolysis properties of CMC or composites films. The results highlighted the potential for using plant source as a tool for varying CMC properties for specific applications.

Highlights

Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) derived from the cellulose-containing materials is widely used in petroleum extraction, cement modification, textile production, paper making, soil improvement, and water pollution treatments [1,2,3]
CMCs prepared from bamboo leaves contained slender particles, which were not present in the other materials (Figure 3)
The degrees of substitution of hydroxyls were similar for CMCs from bamboo foliage and pine needles but were nearly 20% lower than those for CMCs from pine wood, bamboo culm, or hemp hurd (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) derived from the cellulose-containing materials is widely used in petroleum extraction, cement modification, textile production, paper making, soil improvement, and water pollution treatments [1,2,3]. While preparation of CMCs via acid-catalyzed reactions of cellulose with chloroacetic acid is relatively straightforward, the properties of the resulting product can vary widely depending on the plant source as well as the method of cellulose separation, which produces different degrees of substitution of carboxyl methyl groups on the cellulose hydroxyls These differences have stimulated research to identify alternative sources for CMC including plant foliage and bark [4,5,6,7,8]; for example, the DS (degree of substitution) of CMC derived from corn straw was between 0.6 to 0.7 [4] and the DS of CMC derived from rice straw and reed were lower than 1.0 [5]. A composite film was prepared by adding okra mucus and nano zinc oxide in the CMC solution, and the inhibition diameters of the optimal composite sample against Glucose aureus and Escherichia coli were 14.35 ± 0.21 mm and 10.31 ± 0.21 mm, respectively, but its tensile strength was 10.26 ± 0.66 MPa [11]

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