Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline cellulose derived from Pineapple peel residues

Abstract

Pineapple peel biomass was used as raw material for nanocellulose extraction. The raw material is a residue from the Costa Rican fruit industry. The nanocellulose was obtained by a two-step hydrolysis process. Firstly, the cellulose was hydrolyzed with HCl to obtain microcrystalline cellulose. In the second step, the hydrolysis was carried out using H2SO4 to obtain smaller fragments and decrease the lignin content. A time-dependent study was carried out to determine the particle size decrease depending on the contact time with the H2SO4. The chemical, thermal and morphological properties were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The nanofiber-like cellulose was obtained after 60 minutes of exposure to 65 wt% H2SO4.