Preparation and Characterisation of Cellulose Nanocrystal from Sugarcane Peels by XRD, SEM and CP/MAS 13C NMR

Sugarcane peels are agro-waste resources discarded before taking the sugarcane juice. In the present study, cellulose nanocrystal was isolated from sugarcane peel by sulphuric acid hydrolysis. Two pretreatments, alkaline treatment and bleaching with acidified sodium chlorite, were applied. Sulphuric acid hydrolysis was performed at 450C for 45 min using 64% concentrated sulphuric acid. The resulting cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) of the sugarcane peel was characterised by studying the surface morphology using scanning electron microscope (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was studied to identify the crystalline nature of the CNC. CP/MAS 13C solid- state NMR was used to evaluate the purity and molecular structure of the CNC. The SEM image of the nanocrystal showed that the bundles of fibre were separated into individual CNC, with the size decreasing to a nanosize indicating an effective removal of the amorphous region. XRD diffraction pattern showed that the CNC possessed the cellulose crystalline configuration with crystallinity index of 99.2% and crystallite particle size dimension of 5.56 nm. The NMR spectra of the CNC revealed that all the signals have six carbon atoms of cellulose and the disappearance of several signals also indicated the disruption of the amorphous region. The results revealed effective synthesis of CNC from sugarcane peel, suggesting the leaching of the amorphous domain, apparent crystallinity and purity of the CNC. The cellulose nanocrystal prepared is considered to be a potent material for various industrial applications

Isolation and characterisation of cellulose nanocrystals obtained from sugarcane peel by SEM, XRD and CP/MAS 13NMR

Sugarcane peels are agricultural waste materials discarded before taking the sugarcane juice. In the present study cellulose nanocrystal was isolated from sugarcane peel by sulphuric acid hydrolysis. Two pretreatments; alkaline treatment and bleaching with acidified sodium chlorite were applied. Sulphuric acid hydrolysis was performed at 450C for 45 mins using 64% concentration sulphuric acid. The resulting cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) of the sugarcane peel was characterised by studying the surface morphology using scanning electron microscope (SEM), SEM-EDX was used to identify the elemental composition of the sample. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was studied to identify the crystallinity nature of the CNC. CP/MAS 13C solid- state NMR was used to evaluate the purity and molecular structure of the CNC. The SEM image of the nanocrystal showed that the fibre bundles were separated into individual CNC; with the size decreasing to a nanosize indicating an effective removal of the amorphous region. EDX showed the presence of 0.93 wt% of elemental sulphur impurity with the major components (carbon and oxygen). XRD diffraction pattern showed that the CNC retained the cellulose crystalline structure with crystallinity index of 99.22% and crystallite particle size dimension of 5.56 nm. The NMR spectra of the CNC revealed that all the signals were attributed to six carbon atoms of the glucose unit and the disappearance of several signals also indicated the disruption of the amorphous region. The results revealed effective synthesis of CNC from sugarcane peel, suggesting the leaching of the amorphous domain, apparent crystallinity and purity of the CNC. The cellulose nanocrystal obtained is considered to be a potential material for various industrial applications

Adsorption of lead ion from aqueous solution unto cellulose nanocrystal from cassava peel

Acid hydrolysis was used for the synthesis of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) from cassava peel (CP). The process was carried out at 450C for 45 min using 64% concentrated sulphuric acid, Pb2+ was removed from aqueous solution using the synthesized CNC adsorbent. Cassava peel cellulose nanocrystal (CPCNC) was characterised using FT-IR and X-Ray diffraction techniques. The different operational factors were examined to enhance the conditions for optimum adsorption of Pb2+. The equilibrium adsorption figures fitted well into both the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models, indicating that adsorption was due to the formation of a monolayer adsorption unto a homogenous surface and showed a good relationship between the Pb2+ and the CPCNC. The separation factor, RL, which is a dimensionless constant ranged between 0.02 and 0.248 and indicated that the adsorption was feasible and favourable. The optimum adsorption capacity was 6.4 mg Pb2+/g CNC at 25oC and pH 6. This study revealed that this novel nanomaterial has an unlimited prospect for effective removal of lead ion from aqueous solution