Abstract
The recognition of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) in the past years as a high prospect material has been prominent, but the impractical cellulose extraction method from biomass remained as a technological barrier for industrial practice. In this study, the telescopic approach on the fractionation of lignin and cellulose was performed by organosolv extraction and catalytic oxidation from oil palm empty fruit bunch fibers. The integration of these techniques managed to synthesize CNF in a short time. Aside from the size, the zeta potential of CNF was measured at −41.9 mV, which allow higher stability of the cellulose in water suspension. The stability of CNF facilitated a better dispersion of Fe(0) nanoparticles with the average diameter size of 52.3–73.24 nm through the formulation of CNF/Fe(0). The total uptake capacity of CNF towards 5-fluorouracil was calculated at 0.123 mg/g. While the synergistic reactions of adsorption-oxidation were significantly improved the removal efficacy three to four times greater even at a high concentration of 5-fluorouracil. Alternatively, the sludge generation after the oxidation reaction was completely managed by the encapsulation of Fe(0) nanoparticles in regenerated cellulose.
Highlights
In 2017, the area of oil palm plantations in Malaysia has increased to 5.8 million hectares
Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers were procured from Szetech Engineering Sdn Bhd (Selangor, Malaysia)
The proposed telescopic method might be able to maintain the continuity of the subsequent processes of delignification as well as remove undissolved lignin residues via catalytic oxidation, or Fenton oxidation www.nature.com/scientificreports
Summary
In 2017, the area of oil palm plantations in Malaysia has increased to 5.8 million hectares. Fenton oxidation deconstructs lignin polymers and can further depolymerize cellulosic as well as hemicellulosic substances under mild conditions[14,15,16]. While CNF is regarded as a potential rapid nanocomposite adsorbent, the synergy between its adsorptive and multifunctional properties has yet to be translated into a more environmental-friendly water remediation[18] The catalytic activity such zero valent iron (Fe(0)) nanoparticles has been prominent Fenton’s reagent for water remediation process[19]. The large surface area of graphene oxide (GO) for example, comprises with a great number of reactive oxygen functional groups (hydroxyl, epoxy, carbonyl and carboxyl) to provide an impeccable technique for the higher distribution of nanoparticles and effective filler for cellulose-based materials[18,31]. The high efficacy of Fenton oxidation makes it a practical approach to the removal of pharmaceutical effluents, apart from the generation of iron sludge[22,37,38]
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