Influence of cellulose type on the properties of extruded pellets. Part I. Physicochemical characterisation of the cellulose types after homogenisation

Abstract

The physicochemical properties of different types of powdered cellulose (PC) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were studied by examining the changes in particle size, viscosity and specific surface area after a homogenisation process. An additional characterisation was carried out using X-ray diffractometry. A preliminary investigation using a type of MCC showed that increasing the homogenisation pressure and the number of passage cycles led to a significant decrease in the particle size and simultaneously to a remarkable increase in the specific surface area and viscosity. Most MCC types showed the same pattern during the homogenisation process. “Colloidal” MCC displayed a higher viscosity than the others but without significant change in the viscosity after different homogenisation cycles. In contrast to this behaviour of the MCCs, the PCs showed no remarkable change in the particle size but did show a marked change in their viscosity. Furthermore, only MCC suspensions, with the exception of “colloidal” MCC, agglomerated after the homogenisation process, whereas this was not seen in the PC suspensions. Hence, since the MCC types as well as the PC types originally had the same chemical structure, this different behaviour among these types can only be attributed to their different physical properties.