MORPHOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL AND THERMAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROFIBRILLATED CELLULOSE

Elaine Cristiana Lengowski,Silvana Nisgoski,Graciela Inês Bolzon De Muñiz,Leonardo Coelho Simon,Alan Sulado De Andrade

doi:10.1590/1806-90882018000100013

Elaine Cristiana Lengowski, Silvana Nisgoski + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-90882018000100013

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Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to characterize microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) produced with a Masuko Sangyo Super Masscolloider using bleached and unbleached pulp of Eucalyptus spp. The MFC was characterized regarding morphology (TEM), crystallinity, viscosity, zeta potential and thermal properties (TGA). Regardless of the fiber type, the processing dramatically reduced the dimensions of the material, so as to obtain structures with nanometric dimensions. MFC produced with unbleached pulp preserved the original brown color of the pulp, which may be advantageous for some applications in the packaging sector, while films produced with bleached pulp were more translucent. The MFC showed lower values of viscosity and crystallinity index in relation to cellulosic pulp. The zeta potential was influenced by the type of fiber used. The main thermal transitions in MFC occurred after 200 ºC, demonstrating the potential of this material forhigh-temperature applications.

Highlights

There is a growing trend toward developing safer and more sustainable products (Ianuzzi, 2012), through use of materials with low toxicity from renewable sources and/or that are recyclable,to reduce the use of petroleumbased packaging, metal components and other nonrenewable materials in the industrial setting
microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) produced with unbleached pulp preserved the original brown color of the pulp, which may be advantageous for some applications in the packaging sector, while films produced with bleached pulp were more translucent
According to Fujisawa et al (2011), this new class of cellulose can be divided into three groups: cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), produced by a chemical process of acid hydrolysis followed by mechanical agitation of the suspension in water; microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), obtained by mechanical disintegration of the cellulose in water; and microfibrillated cellulose (NFC), prepared using a combination of chemical oxidation followed by mechanical processing in water, or only by the mechanical processing

Summary

Introduction

There is a growing trend toward developing safer and more sustainable products (Ianuzzi, 2012), through use of materials with low toxicity from renewable sources and/or that are recyclable,to reduce the use of petroleumbased packaging, metal components and other nonrenewable materials in the industrial setting. The use of microfibrilated cellulose (MFC) in the development of composite materials has attracted the attention of researchers because this material has high resistance and rigidity, together with low molecular mass (Siró and Plackett, 2010), high aspect ratio (100 - 150 nm mn-1) (Sehaqui et al, 2011; Lavoine et al, 2012) (10 - 100 m2 g-1) and lower crystallinity (Rebouillat and Pla, 2013) These results suggest that small amounts, when used as additives, can result in significant gains in physical-mechanical properties (Rebouillat and Pla, 2013; Lehmonen et al, 2017) as well as the possibility of producing thin films with high transparency and resistance (Dufresne, 2008)

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