Extraction and Characterization of Nanocellulose Structures from Linter Dissolving Pulp Using Ultrafine Grinder

The objective of this study was to extract cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from Linter dissolving pulp through a simple and environmentally friendly physical method of refining pretreatment coupled with ultrafine grinder. The morphology, structure and properties of the Linter pulp and obtained NFCs were investigated using Optical Microscopy (OM), electron microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis. The OM results indicate that, the Linter Pulp had length and wide mainly ranged 1.3 mm and 13 mu m respectively. Based on AFM images, most of extracted nanocellulose had spherical shape and the average of nanocellulose diameter was varied between 30-70 nm when measured by AFM and SEM. Also the FTIR spectra confirmed that the basic structure of nanocellulose was maintained and no derivative was formed. The X-ray results show that by this method of extraction, the crystallinity index of Nanocellulose isolated (62%) decreased in compared to Linter Pulp (79.5%). Also Linter pulp decomposes at higher temperature (280 degrees C) than isolated nanocellulose (240 degrees C).