Valorization of Parthenium hysterophorus weed for cellulose extraction and its application for bioplastic preparation

Abstract

Parthenium hysterophorus, the world’s one of the most dangerous weeds, was used in the present study for the extraction of cellulose. The extraction of cellulose from Parthenium hysterophorus was optimized using Plackett Burman (P-B) Design and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) involving Box-Behnken Design (BBD). The extracted cellulose was obtained with a maximum yield of 36.43% using 2.5% (wt/vol) of acid, 5.9% (wt/vol) of alkali and 2.6% (wt/vol) of chlorination treatment. The yield of the cellulose found to be 36.43% which was 74% higher than the pre-optimized value of 21%. SEM micrographs of the extracted cellulose showed cleaner surface and fibrillar morphology compared with Parthenium biomass. The functional groups of extracted cellulose were characterized by FTIR. The amorphous and crystalline nature of the extracted cellulose was determined by XRD and the Crystallinity Index was calculated as ~55.28. The thermal stability of the extracted cellulose was better than the commercial cellulose and it was stable up to the temperature close to 350 °C. The extracted cellulose was used to synthesize cellulose acetate and was used further for the preparation of bioplastic film. The prepared bioplastic was highly resistant to salt and 10% sulfuric acid, but was labile in the presence of alkali. The produced bioplastic film exhibited tensile strength of 10.8 ± 0.15 MPa, 2.86 ± 0.28% elongation at break and Young’s modulus of 153.61 ± 0.08 MPa. Therefore, Parthenium hysterophorus can be a potential source for the preparation of bioplastic and the produced bioplastic can be potentially applied in food, medicine and packaging industries.