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Selective hydrolysis of cellulose for the preparation of microcrystalline cellulose by phosphotungstic acid

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Abstract

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), prepared from natural cellulose through acid hydrolysis, has been widely used in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries because of its high degree of crystallinity, small particle size and other characteristics. Being different from conventional mineral acids, phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40, HPW) was explored for hydrolyzing cellulose selectively for the preparation of MCC in this study. Various reaction parameters, such as the acid concentration, reaction time, temperature and solid-liquid ratio, were optimized. Rod-like MCC was obtained with a high yield of 93.62 % and also exhibited higher crystallinity and narrower particle diameter distribution (76.37 %, 13.77–26.17 μm) compared with the raw material (56.47 %, 32.41–49.74 μm) at 90 °C for 2 h with 58 % (w/w) HPW catalyst and a solid-liquid radio of 1:40. Furthermore, HPW can easily be extracted and recycled with diethyl ether for four runs without affecting the quality of the MCC products. The technology of protecting the crystalline region while selectively hydrolyzing the amorphous region of cellulose as much as possible by using HPW is of great significance. Due to the strong Brønsted acid sites and highest activity in solid heteropoly acid, the use of effective homogeneous HPW may offer an eco-friendly and sustainable way to selectively convert fiber resources into chemicals in the future.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (grant no. 20126125130001) and the Doctoral Scientific Research Fund of Shaanxi University of Science and Technology (grant no. BJ13-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Light Industry and Energy, Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Paper Technology and Specialty Papers, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Weiyang University Zone, Xi’an, 710021, Shaanxi, China

    Dandan Qiang, Meiyun Zhang, Jinbao Li, Huijuan Xiu & Qiang Liu

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  1. Dandan Qiang
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  2. Meiyun Zhang
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  3. Jinbao Li
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  4. Huijuan Xiu
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  5. Qiang Liu
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Correspondence to Dandan Qiang.

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Qiang, D., Zhang, M., Li, J. et al. Selective hydrolysis of cellulose for the preparation of microcrystalline cellulose by phosphotungstic acid. Cellulose 23, 1199–1207 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-016-0858-5

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