Hybrid films based on holistic celery nanocellulose and lignin/hemicellulose with enhanced mechanical properties and dye removal

Abstract

The endeavor to isolate celery lignocellulosic components and reconstruct into nanocellulose filled and holistic biocomposite films is to demonstrate the potential of re-engineering vegetables into nanocomposite films. The structure−properties relations of these hybrid films were analyzed systematically. The work explored that celery was isolated into the cellulose-rich solid and lignin/hemicellulose (LH) solution using moderate alkali immersions. The 16.1% LH yield was obtained, and cellulose nanofibrils (CCNF) were derived from the solid, at 43.1% yield of the original celery by oxalic acid hydrolysis. Oxalic acid hydrolysis followed by microfluidization was used to separate CCNF with dimensions of 5–6 nm and 1.3–1.7 μm. The LH solution containing CCNF was cast into film structures that exhibited significantly improved mechanical and flexibility properties. Moreover, results suggested that these hybrid films showed a high MB removal efficiency, which ranged from 192.1 to 429.9 mg/g. Totally, over 67.9% celery hybrids were used and it provided an effective and value-added utilization technology for celery and other vegetables.