Enrichment of Cellulosic Waste Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Hurd into Non-Toxic Microfibres.

Reinu E Abraham,Cynthia S Wong,Munish Puri

doi:10.3390/ma9070562

Abstract

In this study a largely available lignocellulose feedstock hemp (Cannabis sativa), obtained as an industrial waste, was used for cellulose extraction. The extraction of cellulose microfibres from hemp biomass was conducted by alkaline treatment and an acidification process. The extracted cellulose microfibres were characterised using Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The viability of the study was determined by growing human fibroblasts on the preparation which resulted in being non-toxic; indicating its potential in preparing biological scaffolds. Upon enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose microfibre using cellulase from Trichoderma reesei, a maximum of 909 mg/g of reducing sugars were obtained, which endorses its suitability for biofuel production.

Highlights

Lignocellulose is available abundantly as agricultural and industrial waste, feedstock, and woody biomass
Earlier studies conducted using alkaline treatment have reported that the porosity of biomass increases as the lignin is removed from the structure [26]
Results from this study demonstrated that the bioprocessing method can produce cellulose microfibres that has excellent compatibility, expanding its use to biomedical applications, for example, tissue engineering

Summary

Introduction

Lignocellulose is available abundantly as agricultural and industrial waste, feedstock, and woody biomass. Cellulosic wastes can be utilised for extracting microfibres and nanocrystals, which has good demand in nano/biomaterial due to exceptional mechanical properties, high aspect ratio, higher crystallinity and thermal stability, and large surface area [2,3,4]. Their major applications in nanocomposites include the production of nanocomposite materials, nanotubes and thin films [5,6]; and the properties can be changed to alter its solubility, dispersibility and thermal properties [7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion