NANOFIBRILLATED CELLULOSE, THE SMALL PROMISING FIBER: CHARACTERISTICS AND POTENTIALITIES

Eliane Lopes Da Silva,Graciela Inés Bolzon De Muñiz,Joielan Xipaia Dos Santos,Helena Cristina Vieira,Cyro Ketzer Saul,Silvana Nisgoski

doi:10.5380/rf.v49i3.58864

Eliane Lopes Da Silva, Graciela Inés Bolzon De Muñiz + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5380/rf.v49i3.58864

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Journal: FLORESTA	Publication Date: Jul 16, 2019
Citations: 2	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Federal University of Paraná

Abstract

Cellulose: an abundant, biodegradable and renewable plant material that is available all around the globe, from which nanofibrillated cellulose (a homogeneous suspension of fibers with nanometer-scale diameters) can be extracted. The nanofibrillated cellulose, in what concerns its range of application, may completely or partially replace other materials due to its particular physical properties. Knowing its characteristics and properties is important in understanding its behavior in various applications. In light of this remarks, the objective of this research was to extract the nanocellulose from bleached eucalyptus pulp through mechanical milling to characterize the resulting nanofibrillated cellulose and compare both. The nanofibrillated cellulose presented a very distinct appearance in relation to the original cellulose pulp when they were analysed in the same concentrations, demonstrating greater water absorption and fibrillar interweaving. The nanofibrillated material showed different responses in comparison to the original in terms of dimensions, thermal stability, crystallinity, viscosity, and degree of polymerization. The nanofibrillated cellulose displays the same chemical composition through infrared analysis and has diameters of around 21.7 nm, smaller than the cellulose diameter of 11.4 μm. The nanofibrillated cellulose also exhibits lower thermal resistance: its decomposition temperature was about 20 ºC lower than that of the original cellulose pulp, and its crystallinity index has decreased. As for viscosity and degree of polymerization, there was reduction of 25% compared to the original material. The results presented hereby indicate that the nanofibrillated cellulose has unique features in relation to the original cellulose pulp, which supports its application as an alternative to existing materials.

Highlights

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) exhibits attractive properties such as large surface area, high aspect ratio, low thermal expansion, non-abrasive nature and non-toxic character
Nanofibrillated cellulose may even substitute in great measure most of the plastic (SABA et al, 2014), since its physical properties enable its application in composite materials
The nanofibrillated cellulose samples showed a visible change in their physical appearance (Figure 1C)

Summary

Introduction

Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) exhibits attractive properties such as large surface area, high aspect ratio, low thermal expansion, non-abrasive nature and non-toxic character. NFC has great potential application in various industrial segments, such as textiles, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, catalysis, surface coatings, drug delivery, food packaging and nanocomposite materials (CORREIA, et al, 2016; DEEPA et al, 2015; KHALIL et al, 2014; SACUI et al, 2014; LAVOINE et al, 2014) It can impact different fields due to its peculiarities, and because it is very light, resistant, cheap, renewable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly (SOUZA et al, 2016; SOUZA et al, 2010). Composite materials with natural fibers are used in the automotive industry, for example, due to an overall weight reduction, which increases efficiency and reduces engine emissions (MOON et al, 2016)

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