Abstract
Recent advances in nanocellulose technology have enabled production of materials for various applications with attractive properties. The aim of this work was to analyze the nanofibrillated cellulose of Eucalyptus sp. obtained by different grinding intensities. Delignified Eucalyptus sp. kraftpulp was used to obtain the nanofibrillated cellulose in the mechanical grinding process, with 2, 10 and 20 passes. Images were captured by scanning and transmission electron microscopy to observe cellulose structures. For each mechanical treatment, three films were produced, which were used to evaluate the crystallinity index. Viscosity measurement evaluated the influence of mechanical treatment on nanofibrillated cellulose. Microscopic analysis showed that the mechanical process promoted fiber defibrillation, resulting in the exposure of microfibrils in all treatments evaluated. Differences were not verified in the conformation and dimensions of the structures for the different numbers of passes, and the nanofibrils presented average diameter of approximately 30 nm. The mechanical process to obtain the nanofibrillated cellulose reduced of the crystallinity index and the viscosity of the nanofibrillated cellulose compared to cellulose before processing. The average particle size declined with rising number of grinder passes.
Highlights
Cellulose is a renewable polymer abundantly found in nature that has been widely studied for its properties such as low cost, biodegradability and potential application in various areas (NAKAGAITO et al, 2009)
Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) is a type of nanocellulose obtained from cellulosic pulp using mechanical processes, and may or may not undergo some type of chemical or enzymatic treatment
According to Besbes et al (2011), the mechanical method of nanocellulose production leads to the production of a gel with high water content, as verified in this study (Figure 1)
Summary
Cellulose is a renewable polymer abundantly found in nature that has been widely studied for its properties such as low cost, biodegradability and potential application in various areas (NAKAGAITO et al, 2009). One of the products obtained from cellulose, through mechanical, chemical, physical and/or biological processes, is nanocellulose, which has potential for application in new products in many areas, such as pulp and paper (BALEA et al, 2018), packaging (HERRERA et al, 2016), composites (CHING et al, 2015; KARGARZADEH et al, 2017) and drugs (ELIZONDO et al, 2012). Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) is a type of nanocellulose obtained from cellulosic pulp using mechanical processes, and may or may not undergo some type of chemical or enzymatic treatment.
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