The Effect of Various Acids on Properties of Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) Extracted from Rice Husk (RH)

Abstract

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was successfully extracted from rice husk (RH) via acid hydrolysis process using nitric acid (HNO3) in comparison with sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and hydrochloric acid (HCl). MCC-RH extracted using HNO3 produced the highest percentage yield at 83.5% as compared to H2SO4 and HCl at 80.6% and 81.8% respectively. Analysis of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy affirmed the successive elimination of non-cellulosic material from RH cellulose resulting highly purified MCC-RH. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis showed MCC-RH treated with HCl gives the highest crystallinity index value of 54.2% while HNO3 and H2SO4 produced comparable results of 52.4% and 49.7% respectively. The results indicate successive extraction of MCC-RH using HNO3 that has great potential to replace strong acid such as H2SO4 and HCl in acid hydrolysis.