Extraction and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Cellulose from Cassava Bagasse

Abstract

The objective of this study was to produce highly crystalline nanocellulose from cassava bagasse, which is a by-product from the cassava starch industry that contains 15 to 50 wt% cellulose fibers. For this purpose, the lignocellulosic fiber that was isolated from cassava bagasse was bleached with sodium chlorite and hydrolyzed with sulfuric acid. The obtained suspension was spray-dried and the resulting microparticles were characterized by X-ray diffractometry to determine the crystallinity index. Microcrystalline cellulose was subjected to the same processing conditions and considered as a reference. The crystallinity index of the nanocellulose extracted from the cassava bagasse was higher than the crystallinity index of the nanocellulose extracted from the microcrystalline cellulose; 84.1 and 78.7%, respectively. No other studies have reported cellulose nanocrystals from cassava bagasse with a high crystallinity index. The nanocrystalline cellulose produced in this study is very promising for use in innovative industrial applications.