Quality Evaluation of Cellulose Nanofiber Manufactured with a Prototype Grinder for the Development of a Taylor-Flow Nanogrinding System

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to develop a domestic grinder for the production of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). Therefore, we manufactured a prototype grinder using Taylor-flow nanogrinding technology and evaluated the quality of the CNFs produced using it. To produce the CNFs, we pretreated hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HwBKP) with 0.5% or 1.0% of an enzyme. The enzyme-pretreated CNFs (EN-CNFs) were produced using the prototype grinder, and their particle size, viscosity, and fiber width were measured. As a control, EN-CNFs were also prepared with an imported microgrinder under the same conditions used for the prototype grinder and the same physical properties were investigated.<BR>With regard to the prototype grinder, as the grinding time increased, the particle size and fiber width decreased, and the viscosity increased. The imported grinder showed the same trends. Based on the fiber width of the EN-CNFs, the CNF manufacturing performance of the prototype grinder was judged to be 41.3% of that of the imported grinder. We drew the following conclusions based on our analysis of the fiber width and the difference in design between the two grinders: The effective method for improving the grinding efficiency of a domestic Taylor-flow nanogrinder should be developed by studying the particle size of the diamond coating electrodeposited on the cylinder surface, the gap between the fixed cylinder and the rotating cylinder, and the efficiency of the cooling process.