Tag Archives: sugarcane

Nanocellulose from sugarcane?

Iran adds to this blog’s growing catalogue of plant materials from which nanocellulose can be derived. From an April 27, 2014 news item on Nanowerk,

Researchers from University of Tehran utilized sugarcane waste to produce nanocomposite film (“All-cellulose nanocomposite film made from bagasse cellulose nanofibers for food packaging application”).

The product has unique physical and mechanical properties and has many applications in packaging, glue making, medicine and electronic industries.

An April 28, 2014 Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC) news release, which originated the news item, describes the advantages of this potential product and the research that led to it,

These nanofibers have simpler, faster and more cost-effective production method in comparison with other production methods. The size of the produced cellulose nanofiber has been reported about 39±13 nm while tension resistant of the nanocomposite produced from the nanofibers has been reported about 140 MPa. The produced nanocomposite has higher strength in comparison with the majority of biodegradable and non-biodegradable films. It seems that the produced nanocomposite can be considered an appropriate option for the elimination of artificial polymers and oil derivatives from packaging materials.

In order to produce the product, cellulose fibers were produced through mechanical milling method after separation and purification of cellulose from sugarcane bagasse, and then nanopapers were produced. Next, full cellulose nanocomposite was produced through partial dissolving method, and its characteristics were evaluated.

Results showed that as the time of partial dissolving increases, the diffusivity of the nanocomposite into vapor decreases due to the increase in glassy part (amorphous) to crystalline part. However, thermal resistant decreases as the time of partial dissolving increases because a decrease is observed in the crystalline part.

In addition, when cellulose microfibers turn into nanofibers, resistance against the tension of the produced films increases. The researchers believe that the reason for the increase is the reduction in fault points (points that lead to the fracture in cellulose fibers), increase in specific area, and integrity of nanofibers. Transparency of samples significantly increases as the size of particles decreases to nanometric scale.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

All-cellulose nanocomposite film made from bagasse cellulose nanofibers for food packaging application by Moein Ghaderi, Mohammad Mousavi, Hossein Yousefi, & Mohsen Labbafi. Carbohydrate Polymers, vol. 104, issue 1, January 2014, pp. 59-65 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.01.013

This paper is behind a paywall.