Process Optimization for Nanocrystalline Cellulose Production from Microcrystalline Cellulose
ABSTRACTA process optimization has been developed for obtaining nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) by acid hydrolysis of commercially available microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in high yield (~ 40-50%). This method was based on control of key parameters such as the rate of addition of sulfuric acid solution to the MCC/water suspension, the mixing speed, the volume of collected NCC suspensions and the volume ratio of NCC suspension to water during dialysis. The resulting NCC products were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis (EA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Electron microscopy results showed that the rod-shaped NCC had lengths and widths of about 40-400 nm and 5-40 nm, respectively.