Abstract
Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is obtained from Vietnamese pineapple leaf waste through etherification. By treating pineapple leaf powder with a solution of NaOH then with HNO3 at 90°C for an appropriate time, cellulose can be efficiently extracted. To obtain CMC, carboxymethylation was performed by reaction of the pineapple cellulose with chloroacetic acid at 60°C for 1.5 h. The optimal conditions for this reaction were established. The resulting CMC had a degree of substitution (DS) of 0.91. The hydrogel was prepared by graft copolymerization of acrylic acid and acrylamide to the synthesized CMC. During that reaction, N,N′methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) served as the crosslinking agent and ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiator. The maximum hydrogel absorbencies for distilled water and 0.9 wt.% NaCl solution were relatively high, namely, 588.2 g/g and 79.3 g/g, respectively. Additionally, the water swelling and water retention behaviors of the hydrogel in soil were also investigated. The results showed that this hydrogel can be employed as a suitable moisture-holding additive in soil for cultivation purposes.
Highlights
Due to the current water resource crisis, water conservation is essential for the sustainable development of agricultural production
Cellulose was recovered from Vietnamese pineapple leaves by the chemical method
In a 1000 mL Becher cup containing 150 mL of isopropanol, 5 grams of cellulose extraction obtained from Vietnamese pineapple leaf powder was added under stirring for 30 min. en, 15 mL of (8%, 12%, 16%, and 20%, w/v) NaOH solution was added to the Becher cup and stirred for 1.5 h at 60°C
Summary
Due to the current water resource crisis, water conservation is essential for the sustainable development of agricultural production. A superabsorbent polymer (SAP) could be an effective solution for water conservation. Cellulose and its derivatives such as CMC, referred to as Na-CMC, are attracting much attention from researchers as they are the most abundant source of natural polymers, along with their biocompatibility and biodegradability. CMC used as a material to synthesize hydrogel requires a reasonably high solubility and degree of substitution (DS). A high DS limits the ability of polymer grafting on CMC. It is known that commercially available CMC is synthesized from cellulose of pure hardwood and cotton. Such manufacturing processes are often complex and the product is expensive. Pineapple leaves account for 70% of the total weight of the pineapple and are discarded
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