ON THE PROSPECTS OF PROCESSING HEMP HUSK INTO A CELLULOSE PRODUCT

Abstract

Technical hemp seeds are a source of valuable oil and biologically active substances. With the growth of their production and processing, the volume of secondary raw materials also increases, including the husk remaining after the collapse of hemp seeds. The purpose of this study is to obtain cellulose from hemp husk and characterize the cellulose product. Hemp husk is a mixture of the seed coat and the remnants of the kernel. The studied husk contained 7.7% of the core fraction. The cellulose content in the raw material was 40.8%, lignin – 28.7%. The content of water-soluble compounds varied in the range of 19–20%. The amount of extractives (in ethyl alcohol) was 4.6%. The cellulose product was obtained using peroxide treatment and a combined method combining enzyme and peroxide treatment of raw materials. The yield of the product was 32–37%, the content of cellulose in it was from 80 to 96%, the degree of polymerization was 170–200, the content of crystalline cellulose was 47–57%. It was found that during the peroxide treatment, the product yield after 120 minutes of the process did not change; the degree of polymerization decreased and began to grow steadily after 150 min, which can be explained by the recrystallization of the amorphous fraction. The conducted IR spectroscopic study indicates a low content of non-cellulose components in the target product. The paper shows the possibility of obtaining basic cellulose raw materials for the production of purified cellulose.The cellulose product obtained from hemp husk is characterized by a low content of crystalline cellulose, as a result of which it is a promising raw material for the production of powdered cellulose.